Gee, I wonder how many pounds of batter, gallons of milk, pounds of butter and gallons of syrup we'd need for 400-600 pancakes? Ya know I was just thinking that I really don't have enough to do in the next five weeks and especially the day of the swap and was wondering what in the World I'm going to do with all that excess time on my hands. Maybe YOU would like to organize that for me! I REALLY do appreciate your interest in it and for bringing it up!!! Maybe you and I can discuss that at length in person on the 17th. Doug sayes that you are the QUEEEN of pancakes and would love to handle it for me. I heard that your moniker in Knox County is Mrs. Bec Butterworth and Aunt Jemima Holder. In the meantime... the park has a very nice restaurant that starts serving Breakfast at 7:00 am! There is also The Country Diner and Becky's Family Restaurant right up the road in Chapel Hill. Remember to tell them that you are with the MTPS and that in October Bec will be making pancakes for the MTPS and everyone in Maury & Marshall Counties at HHSP!

Using treats for basic obedience is not being the dominate figure. Treats are fine for teaching tricks, but pack leaders do not reward for good behavior. One problem is your dogs do not know when you want them to bark and when you do not want them to bark. You allow them to get excited and bark when they are in the yard. To them, there is no difference on the leash. Teaching them not to bark on leash will not be easy. You can do it simply by demanding they be quiet when you say so. Side jerks(not enough to cause them to move) and a NO before they start the unwanted behavior redirects attention. The correction before the behavior tells them what behavior is unwanted. And that method re-enforces your status as leader because you demand obedience without touching the dog. I ceased using NO years ago, because that word is also used for teaching children and can confuse a dog. I use a sharp Hey! or EH!. That gets everyones attention and can be explained to humans. My neighbors no longer answer or respond when thay hear them. I rescued a whippet mix who dearly LOVES chasing squirrels. She gets a lot of exercise doing that. The accompanying barking was way too much. Molly barks at the garbage truck and the school buses, but not at the mal carrier or squirrels. Training is the reason.

*** and their roses should rightly (by your logic) be termed 'English Roses'. *** Not mine, Lozza. I've just said, even if we go after that logic (the place of origin), it woudn't be incorrect to conclude why David Austin calls his roses English roses. Other growers, like Kordes and Harkness, were happy to call their roses by their own names. They've put their names before their country, because that's what they think is more important, maybe. Isn't that a little self-ish on their side if David was self-ingratiating? Plus, they weren't doing the same thing as DA did -- they were happy breeding something else, not introducing something completely new. But sincerely, I don't give a damn how they want to call their roses -- I call them as they suggest me. Kordes wants 'Kordes roses'? It's ok with me. If he wanted 'German roses', I'd be happy with that too. But let us be polite and say: o tempora, o mores. This discussion goes nowhere, because word 'English' is too strong a word for a today's rose marketing. Let me paraphrase Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, when he was asked why Apple puts on all their products 'Designed by Apple in California'. Was he separatist, not loyal to his own country (USA)? He said something like this: "It happened that we just like where we are -- we just like California." Will Sun Corp. be unhappy, because they're in California too and make computers too? Lozza, many people are just bored today and see problems in everything. Please let's not join them. - Tom PS. Why don't we investigate about Dutchess of Portland and about her whereabouts?

Finished up (gobbled up really) the rest of the Michael Dirda essays in his book "Reading" which I just loved and recommend for any serious book lover. The essays are engaging, intelligent and challenging all at the same time. I am not familiar with a lot of his work so most of this is new to me, but I am finding it delightful. Just had to order another one of his books to continue this delightful reading experience... Then read "The Sheltering Sky" by Paul Bowles (see other thread for that), and then read my way through a book of quotations taken from children's books from long ago and quite recent. It was interesting to see just how en pointe some of the quotes could be when applied to adult life and its various issues. It was called "What the Dormouse Said" and was edited by Amy Gash. A good thrift shop find. Now onto "Tepper isn't Going Out" by Calvin Trillan - an ordinary guy in NYC decides to sit in his car and read while waiting for his meter to run out. NYCers take it to be a sign of something and it builds from there. Nothing too outstanding, but not bad.