I hope everyone had a happy holidays indeed! I have to say I'm a little worn out from the "festivities" and glad to know I'm working over New Years and have an excuse to balance out my system and start the new year clean as a whistle. A camera is a super wonderful gift, Brad! I'm happy to hear we'll be seeing more pictures of your plants. I got back yesterday to see some well developed sp. Ko Chang Island (IML 1508) buds, so I'm hopeful to snap some pictures of those tonight. I recently got hold of a new camera myself, so we can be shutterbugs together. Santa is bringing me some Hoyas but his sled is a little delayed by the bad weather. :) Anyone else get some new and exciting additions to their family?

My Wish List... -Tomato- "Marmande VF" HEIRLOOM - Lycopersicon esculentum AMISH PASTE BANANA LEGS BESSER cherry BLACK SEA MAN BOX CAR WILLIE BRANDYWINE, BLACK BRANDYWINE, YELLOW BROWN BERRY CHERRY ROMA CHRISTMAS GRAPES COSMONAUT VOLKOV DIXIE GOLDEN GIANT TOMATO DJENA LEE`S GOLDEN GIRL EARLIANA FIRST PICK GARDEN PEACH GERMAN RED STRAWBERRY GREAT WHITE GREEN GRAPE HILLBILLY HUNGARIAN HEART TOMATO JAPANESE BLACK TRIFELE JAUNE FLAMMEE JEFFERSON GIANT LEMON DROP cherry LONG KEEPER MANITOBA MATT�S WILD CHERRY MOUNTAIN PRINCESS MULE TEAM NYAGOUS OREGON SPRING PINEAPPLE PLUM LEMON RED PEAR RUSSIAN BLACK SAUSAGE SILVERY FIR TREE SWISS ALPINE Tasmanian Chocolate TIFFIN MENNONITE TINY TIM WATERMELON BEEFSTEAK WHITE CHERRY WHITE WONDER WINDOW BOX RED -Tomatillo- PINEAPPLE TOMATILLO PURPLE TOMATILLO -Bee Balm- Any! -Melon- Watermelon - "Dixie Queen" HEIRLOOM - Citrullus lanatus Watermelon - "Congo" HEIRLOOM - Citrullus lanatus Cantaloupe - "Honey Rock" HEIRLOOM - Cucumis melo Cantaloupe - "Rocky Ford" HEIRLOOM - Cucumis melo -Beet- "Crosby Egyptian" HEIRLOOM - Beta vulgaris -Corn- "Golden Beauty" HEIRLOOM - Zea mays "Silver Queen" (White Corn) HEIRLOOM - Zea mays -Leek- "American Flag" HEIRLOOM - Allium ampeloprasum -Pea- "Thomas Laxton" HEIRLOOM - Pisum sativum "Oregon Sugar Pod II" HEIRLOOM - Pisum sativum -Swiss Chard- "Ruby Red" HEIRLOOM - Beta vulgaris -Herbs- ANGELICA HOREHOUND HYSSOP ST JOHN'S WORT VALERIAN -Squash- Pumpkin - Styrian -Columbine- Blue Barlow Barlow Pink Dorothy Rose -Berries- Goji Berry (always need more for genetic diversity) Cranberry - American Pilgrim Thornless Blackberry Bottom line: Anything that's your favorite,...heirloom veggie, flower, shrub or otherwise,... common or rare. I plan on doing a lot of sharing. - Cryptid

Thanks ladies. I made the Merry Christmas santa in 92 or 93. Sandi,no the hutch is not from Sears.It's Broyhill and we got it at WT Grants when they were going out of business many years ago.Which was a surprise to us.DH and i had been running all over looking for a dining room set,but i wanted all wood and they were using a lot of that stuff on chairs that looks like wicker.Sorry the name escapes me now. We had been to several towns and couldn't find anything we liked.We were on our way home and i said let's stop in Grants and see what they have on sale.Mind you this store had never had furniture in it in all the years it had been in business.We walked in and dh was ahead of me,he calls me over and said "look what i found".It was perfect and we bought it on the spot.Got it for a good price too,and they delivered it the next day.Now how lucky was that??? Kathi

sarah c, your 'shrimp boil' sounds very exotic to my English ears . . . and taste buds. I only remember shrimps from childhood when we used to collect little grey, wiggly things in out 'shrimping nets' while on sea-side holidays. They were thrown into boiling water and the next half hour was spent spitting out bits of shell and 'innards'. These days our shore-lines/river estuaries etc are still so polluted they don't make yummy, or healthy eating. Yours must be bigger and fatter (and all American) than our weedy specimens. ;-) Mary, Christmas pudding is a 'must-have' after the turkey (the diet can be started after the New Year). I think many folk buy them ready-made but the DH always makes one in early December which gives it time to mature. The recipe is really simple, but the initial cooking time takes several hours of slow cooking. Some people make a couple and save one for next year. The recipe below is from the popular and very practical cook Delia Smith. Nothing flashy or flouncy about her and if you do what she says everything will work out! Here is a link that might be useful: Traditional Christmas Pud