Toni, I don't know how you keep your mind wrapped around all of those plants! Wow! I'm so glad you got the A/C! Even if you only run it to sleep, that's got to be such a relief. I like to spend as much time sitting on my porch as possible but don't think I'd enjoy it as much if I wasn't able to count on cooling off when I come in. Thinking about you a lot while sweating out there lately. It sounds like it was you that really pushed for getting the A/C. Usually guys are more wimpy about heat. When I ask honey where my flannel shirt is because, at 76 degrees I'm "a little chilled," he thinks that's hilarious and says he's finally cooling off. After a long hot shower, the bathroom is nice and warm, steamy. And with 70-80% humidity, 65 degrees feels a lot warmer than if we used the heat pump which eliminates all of that lovely humidity. I can't breathe dry air and would rather shiver a bit than have static hair. I have these boot slippers that kind of look like moon boots and they are awesome. And hey, the money we saved paid for a trip to New Orleans in April, gas, parking, really nice hotel, souvenirs, 5-star meals and a night on Bourbon St. Ooooh the plant-filled brick court yards there... All plant lovers should visit NOLA (and I recommend April!) My house plants are all outside for the summer, too. I keep hanging more of them up and wish there was a way to hang them all. They can't get blown off that way. Not all of the porch plants are house plants, some are just summer pots, mostly Coleus, that I will dump in the beds after I take next year's cuttings and frost kills the roots. And some are dupes waiting to go live with a friend who had a baby last week, when she's ready to handle more plants. I have a back porch too but there's too many mosquitoes to hang out long enough to look at plants so they're all out front. I love moving them around a lot out there as they change and grow, making the 'wall of foliage.' Marybright, I wish I had at least a dozen of those nursery benches to use inside for the winter. They would be a perfect height by the windows. I've always thought there was a "hole" in this area regarding available items at the garden center. Putting plants on the real furniture is often disastrous and ruinous - and too high. There's often guttation and the inevitable failure to notice the one time water unexpectedly, silently overflows the saucer. I hate the plastic tablecloths I use but would rather look at them for a few months than ruin the furniture, especially my gramma's cedar hope chest which is such a perfect plant bench height and size. P.S. Why does drought only kill the grass you never even thought about digging out to make a new bed? A little-known codicil of Murphy's Law I'm sure.

Hasenfeffer (Sour Rabbit Stew) SUBMITTED BY: NXNER "Original German rabbit stew recipe passed down from my great-grandmother who immigrated to US in 1889. This is a lot of work to make but well worth it. It is an acquired taste dish; once hooked, you can't get enough. Serve with fresh mashed potatoes and celery sticks. Use the stock as gravy for mashed potatoes. Always tastes better as leftovers. Hope you enjoy!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PREP TIME 1 Hr COOK TIME 1 Hr 15 Min READY IN 10 Hrs 15 Min INGREDIENTS 2 3/4 cups red wine vinegar 3 cups water 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar 8 whole cloves 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 5 stalks celery, chopped 1 lemon, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon pickling spice 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 (2 1/2 pound) rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces 3 tablespoons vegetable oil DIRECTIONS In a large pot, combine the water, white sugar, whole cloves, onion, celery, lemon, cinnamon, ground cloves, salt, pickling spice and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn off and allow to cool. Place the rabbit pieces into the mixture to marinate. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread flour out onto a parchment or aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flour is a light brown color. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and pat dry. Strain the marinade, and discard the solids. Reserve the liquid for later. Heat the oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat the chicken with the toasted flour. Place into the hot oil, and cook until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan, and set aside. If there is oil left in the pan, sprinkle enough of the toasted flour over it to absorb the liquid. In a jar with a lid, mix 1/2 cup of the marinade with 1/4 cup of the remaining toasted flour. Close the lid, and shake vigorously until well blended with no lumps. Heat the pan with the rabbit drippings over low heat. Gradually stir in the marinade mixture, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Return the rabbit pieces to the pan. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, or until the meat is falling off of the bones. You may remove the bones prior to serving if desired.

Can you safely use it on a SS sink if you have a BN strainer?? I can always remove the strainer when I clean the sink, but I can't remove the thing the strainer sits in, which will also be BN, right? Not sure how one can use BKF at all if there's a BN strainer (which I am now regretting getting!!). I was heartbroken when I ruined my polished nickel sink flange with BKF shortly after install. That was a few years ago, I'm used to the dull gray flange now. Do you think it would work well on a stove? I have a white Frigidaire gas stove. I use it my Frigidaire gas stove. I add just enough water to make a paste and let it sit on the brown spots while I clean the rest of the kitchen. The spots come off with no scrubbing after about 10 minutes.

Some remain attractive. But two have become my nemesis. Acre bungeranium (Trident Maple) doesn’t’ so much hold its leaves as it holds copious amounts of its samaras. They do not all fall in the spring either. Very unattractive and they eventually germinate everywhere. I fear I may have introduced an alien species. i had a pin oak which held its leaves all winter. Quite attractive, I thought. But the leaves dessicate and come off the tree like tissue in the spring, hiding in other vegetation, and make cleanup difficult. So annoying that I cut the pin oak down. A few Acer palmatums hold dead leaves but they disappear at spring bud out.