SEE'S Chocolates.......ah, yes. Growing up in the northeast I'd never heard of them until my son married a California girl. Her family always sends her boxes of a variety of SEE'S Chocolates and they are good ! One of the treats I would enjoy also was when my son would give me a treasured small box of Vosages chocolates. They were so delicious and special I would cut them in half to make them last longer !! Funny sidebar....When he was first dating her we loved to shock her by diving into some horrid huge box of chocolates that clients would nicely leave for my son. Our family "tradition" for these less than wonderful chocolates was to take any and all we wanted and nip them, then put them back in the box. It was a riot of tasting and horrific behavior. I don't think she knew what to make of it then but NOW she understands and joins right in the craziness. ( okay, it's weird...but normal is just a setting on the washer !)

Ginny, we had a discussion about frocks somewhere around RP not long ago. I got the impression no US female has worn one for many years but the word is still around over here although it has come to be used as in a 'party frock' event or maybe a summery picnic-by-the-river/watching a game of polo with an eligible Royal. At the other extreme 'frocks' are worn by the transvestite community. The artist Grayson Perry collected his Turner Prize wearing a natty little number . . . a path down which I shall no further tread. Re plus-fours my father wore them as a young man about town/golf course, years before he married. We still have the long socks/stockings that he wore with them. They were kept for Christmas Eve and left at the end of our beds for 'Father Christmas' (as we in the UK call Santa Claus). They were inherited by our children, pity Dad didn't have three legs. Still holding up well since c1930 . . . could the same be said of modern materials?

Here's my grits recipe, as I currently make it. It has evolved over the years: Cajun Style Grits 2 cups water (or chicken stock) 2 tsp vegetable or chicken soup base (or use 1 tsp salt instead if using stock instead of water) 1 minced Habanero chili 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (can use a whole one) 1 cup chopped celery (I use the leaves with the celery) 3 large cloves garlic 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp dried sage 7/8 cup quick grits (be sure not to use “instant”) 1-2 cooked Italian sausages, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced 1/4" thick 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or as much as you want) 2 eggs, plus 1/3 cup water, mixed together. Put the water in a medium saucepan on high heat. Add the soup base, chili, pepper, celery, and garlic, and simmer the ingredients for about five minutes. Then add the butter, oil, oregano, basil, thyme, and sage and remove from heat. Add the grits (all at once, if you like), and stir with a spoon to combine. Because there are already a lot of ingredients in the mix, the grits will not clump, as the celery, etc will break them up, but the pan must be off heat. Return the pan to low heat and simmer stirring for about a minute, and then cover the pan to simmer for five minutes more, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and add the sausages and cheese (which should be cold), reserving a small amount of cheese for topping. This will cool the mixture down enough for you to add the egg mixture. I reduced the original amount of water in this recipe so that some of it could be added to the eggs, and this will allow you to add the egg mixture without having to temper the eggs. Pour the mixture into an 8” square casserole dish (I use Corningware), add the remaining cheese to the top, cover the pan (easy to do with Corningware) and bake 35 minutes at 360°. Remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until set, but before the cheese browns. Allow the pan to cool uncovered for about 5 minutes before serving, but return the lid after serving to keep the rest of it hot. Variations: You can use different cheese inside, such as Swiss or Jarlsberg, but it is best to use only cheddar on top, as other cheese may become rubbery. You can use milder chilies, and you may want to use only half of a Habanero to start. If you use Jalapeño, you may need two of them, seeds removed. I sometimes use fresh Cayenne from my back yard, but I normally have Habanero chilies on hand. You can taste the mixture before adding the eggs to see if it needs more heat. I always use two sausages if I have them, but one will do, or you can leave them out altogether. You can also vary the herbs to your taste and use fresh sage instead of dried if you have it. If you omit the celery, you will need to use more water. I also often add more mild chilies, if I happen to have them, if I use 1/2 bell pepper - otherwise I use a whole red bell pepper.

We stayed at Stourhead many years ago - I don't know if the National Trust is still doing it, but then there were rooms you could stay in overnight like a hotel. After the "open" hours came to an end, they closed the gates, and only people staying overnight were there. I remember getting up and running around the lake in the morning, before the gates opened again - it was magical. As I remember, descendants of that same man who flooded the "old" garden (The place had changed hands after the English Civil war - the original family's original house was still on the property - as a ruin - not in the same place as the new house, so the "old" garden was actually rather new) signed it over to the National Trust after THEIR only son died in WWI. Jackie