DISCLAIMER: ridiculously wordy post below! Advance apologies! My belated thanks to you all for your compliments, and for the laughs--maybe I should start calling Donna S "Mad Max" or "Wonder Woman" LOLOL Nothing cracks me up more than recalling memories of our collective 70s-80s past :) K, do you suppose my cousin would KILL me for recollecting on here how he used to stick a towel in the back of his shirt, and then spin himself around like WW? LOL!!! (But not me...I never did that...nope, nope...) OK, Jen, speaking of dating one's self: I am so freaking clueless when it comes to computer issues--I have absolutely no idea how to make my photos larger! Perhaps you can help me--you use Flickr too, right? I'm all ears :) To your question, Jen, Donna S was sluggish to come out of dormancy this past spring--by the time she did, two of her three tips had sealed over. Those two both eventually branched profusely (4 each, I believe), and on one of those two, the biggest new branch popped an inflo. The second inflo is on the tip that did not seal over. Clearly, this tree wants to put out flowers...and I ain't complainin'! K, you next: beer and snails?...discuss... :) Mona, how totally cool that you work at a plant farm!!! I'm jealous. BTW I'm 40 exactly, so my family relation with you would I suppose depend on how young you would have become a mom LOL that's YOUR call, not mine haha :) but son, brother, good either way! :) So sorry to hear about your Charlotte E, but how nice to hear of the generosity of Tally in sending you a replacement! Sending a shout out and a thank-you to her too! Simi, thank you for your kind words. Haleakala is a stunner, for sure--I'm tickled with it. Tell you what--if Haleakala continues to be unavailable in the years ahead (which would be a real pity, gotta say), reach out to me...perhaps we will be able to arrange a trade. Based on your lovely photos, I am certain that you have some beauties that I might be interested in! Deal? Lynn, like I always say on here: we addicts help each other remain in denial by continuing to enable each others' addictions. You don't have to thank me LOL it's my pleasure :) Besides, your amazing collection has made my own wish list considerably longer too mmmkay? ;) Kim--thanks, and please, please post photos of your Titanic when that ship comes in!! I coveted that lovely flower and bid on it multiple times in past years but never came out on top. Peg, thanks to you as well, and you'll be pleased to know that your Veracruz Rose is becoming a lovely little baby tree :) It was probably all the better for our waiting on the shipping. You'll have Christmas at Thanksgiving in St. Pete!! :) So exciting, right? Brian: thanks! Do you have Waimea? It really is one of the best, both in appearance and in scent. Houston: I giggled when I saw your post, and appreciate the kind addition to my Bat-post LOL I have been admiring your gorgeous photos as well! Shame on me for not adding my compliments to your post. Good work! OK, call me Mr. Diarrhea of the Mouth...I'll wrap this up, but, I appreciate everyone's insightful comments on the topic of general growth habit as our trees age. Next season will be the year where the majority of my collection will turn 3 (so, so many bought in the frenzy of 2010--yeowza!) and I hope and pray that I will be able to report next year at this time that year 3 is when our trees "stop the madness" and become adults, thereafter growing slowly and modestly. If it turns out that they continue to grow as fast as they have so far, I'm gonna have a big problem on my hands! Holy hugeness! In closing: here's a phone camera pic of Haleakala from early this morning-- as Jen aptly says: THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!! Have a great week, all. Greg

Cold Duck! I had forgotten all about that! I thought it was so fancy because my parents weren't wine drinkers. I do remember them drinking whisky sours with the foam on top and a maraschino cherry! Stacy, great photo! Your Mom had style. Just like my photos of my mother - always with the cig but it looked cool! We always went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, which was a candlelight service - even when we were little and we were dressed up. I always think I want to do that now with my kids but never make it for the midnight. We always had Kielbasa and Sauerkraut in the crockpot Christmas Eve and "noshes" my Mom called it like cheese and crackers. We lived in the country but there was a Tavern down the road which always had hay rides and hot chocolate and dunkin dounuts on Christmas Eve day. Desserts - hmmm Mom wasn't a big baker but her specialty was Lemon Meringue Pie. Sometimes Banana Crème or Chocolate Crème Pie and Mrs. Smith did the rest (coconut custard - ewe). She did make us kids Pudding in a cloud in wine glasses. I loved that! Christmas Day varied. Mom was Bohemian and French and Dad is all Irish so they just boiled something and then added butter - LOL. Kidding! Sometimes she did a fresh Roast Pork with Brown Sauerkraut and Dumplings (my favorite) or more often a Roast Beef Dinner. It was tradition for mom to burn the dinner rolls which I have continued. Another tradition was for my sister and I to get everything the same but different colors which we promptly switched. Always pajamas, underwear and socks. Now, my SIL and I switch off on hosting Christmas Eve for DH's family and Christmas we go to my sisters. I am actually having more of an open house this year so I am not sure of the menu. Actually I have an idea but need one more thing - will probably post about it. My sister usually caters Christmas Dinner - LOL - all Italian dishes. My son is so in to the holidays and loves to decorate. We are making new traditions. I love that even though he is only little he says things like "mom, we are going to do this or put this here because that is how we do it every year". I love doing little surprise things for him this time of year - even if it is just letting him have Reddi Whip squirted in his mouth for breakfast. We also always had bowls of nuts in the shell and chocolate covered cherries and mints and Irish Coffees and Baileys. With the packaging of toys these days requiring power tools to pry open the heavy duty plastic and then all those twisties ties - I think I will start another new tradition for myself this year - a mimosa first thing in the morning. Thinking about the bowl of nuts reminded me of a very unusual nut cracker we had. I can't believe I just found it on ebay! I have to have a talk with my dad when I see him this Christmas - LOL. Here is a link that might be useful: nutcracker

deborahnj - Ar first I thought that I was seeing things - I hadn't posted pics of my tree yet! I can't believe all those ornaments have survived all these years (esp. the paper ones). Are you going to give those all to him once he's got a place of his own? Anyway, we finally put the tree up last night (after seeing Princess and the Frog and buying teacher gifts, making cookies). Ta da! I'd like to say that *everything* on the tree was made by a loved one, but we've got some store-bought wooden beads that look like cranberries, some Mardi Gras beads that were in the box and DD wanted them, some big pinecones that used to smell like cinnamon, and candy canes we bought yesterday (of course the kids had to sample them). We do have the reindeer with "hand" antlers DD made 3 yrs ago (grownup - grandma? I forget - helped with the eyes) Some stars we bought at Michaels and DS painted (blush - I confess I forget what year - maybe 2001?), several "cookies" he has made in early grades (strange combination of applesauce and cinnamon?). He wants to make gingerbread (no time today - did 3 dozen chocolate cookies and then put a roast in, the power went out half an hour later! Thank goodness it came back on after cycling a few times. Next year's big gift - a generator!) Ceramic stars my cousin made for us (1 big one and 2 small ones) as wedding favors when she got married in 2005, glass ball with small gold beads another cousin made one year (DS wanted red glass ornaments - maybe next year), a buck and a doe we bought at one of DS's school bazaars a few years back And my favorites - knitted skate, stockings, sweaters, etc. that my grandma made about 10 years ago (she died in 2001). I also have some "stained glass" ornaments my siblings made for me about 25 years ago, and a stuffed gingerbread man I embroidered when I was a teenager. I was telling DD that DS had a jump on her, she'd better get crackin' so she made a few more ornaments today - incl. the star on top of our tree. DS actually thought of that one after seeing the straw angel was kind of blah, I was thinking DD could make a yellow paper 5-pointed start but DS wanted a Christmas star (18 points but we were lucky to get 10), and DD wanted glitter but I said foil would be easier (then regretted it as I was the one folding the foil as she taped it). Oh and for zipdee, the stand we got (along with the tree that Mom decided was too big for their house) from my parents last year (though I think your glossy red one is prettier) So much for the elegant blue and silver tree I wanted (and bought all the ornaments for last Dec 26). But I figured DD was still little, we had all these special family ornaments, I might as well let the kids enjoy decorating the tree for a few more years. Yes, we have multicolor (LED) lights! I have to find a Walmart with them in stock tomorrow since it's a new tree and new lights I'm short by about 20 ft.

Last night I finally finished Paul Murray Kendall's famous biography Richard the Third. It was a fascinating, sympathetic biography of a controversial figure. I found myself agreeing with Kendall's hypothesis that Richard was defeated at Bosworth, not as the result of some sort of poetic justice, but rather due to the betrayal of self-serving nobles, who in turn found just as much to grumble about during the reign of Henry VII. I found it poignant how hard Richard III worked to cultivate and favor the very people who meant him the most harm. Fundamentally, Richard seemed to have an inability to maneuver and pirouette through the politics of court life. Kendall finds countless examples of traitors whose were left off easy by Richard, only to redouble their efforts to conspire against the King. Kendall raises many interesting points, but often lacks the objectivity needed in the biography of such a complex subject. In an afterword regarding whether Richard was responsible for the murder of the "Princes in the Tower", Kendall argues that the boys may have met death at the behest of other figures at court, most likely the Duke of Buckingham. Though ultimately unsolvable (mostly due to the Tudor historians who apparently destroyed countless records portraying Richard in a positive light), I still feel that he had the most to gain from the murder of his nephews.