I also think the pesto idea is the best thing to do. It really preserves the fresh taste of the basil. I make several batches of pesto throughout the summer. I then pour it into ice cube trays, freeze, and them pop them out into zip lock bags. You can use the pesto as a last minute ingredient in hundreds of dishes. My favorite way is just in a bowl with olive oil and some good crusty bread to dunk! Here is the recipe: 2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves 1/4 cup olive oil Whir in a food processor or blender until fairly smooth. That's it!! A true pesto recipe has parmesan, garlic, and pine nuts, but I leave those out when I'm just wanting to freeze it.

So much misinformation, so little time... "At the price of those bulbs..." I paid about $1 each for CFLs purchased in the last 8 years or so. Have some and haven't replaced for so long I don't maintain a watch on price but often see them for $1 or less. A decent incandescent is not much less than that. It'd be far more ethically accurate to say they cost "a few cents more" rather than "many times more". The savings on use is something you can calculate easily. The less you use it, the less the savings. I still have incandescent in the hallway lights because one is seldom used and the other is on and off a lot, on for only a very short time, sometimes seconds only, and that's not good for CFL. Otherwise I've converted my whole house to CFL inside and out for the most part. In 10-12 years of use, I've had 3 bulbs die. I'm not going into detail on the math, but I could see the savings on the electric bill when I put the first 4 CFLs in. LED is a tougher sell for me. Here the price is still over $20 for a bulb and the cost savings in use between CFL and LED is not as significant as CFL to incandescent. So I'm waiting until LED cost drops and for CFLs to die before I'll consider going LED. When someone uses the criteria of costing many times, not much difference, and the like, well they're not going to be able to see a savings. Without doing some basic math you'll never know if there's a savings. And I suspect you don't want to see a savings either. Some people are just plain paranoid about energy savings and logic won't change that. Fine, it's their quirk, so be it, but don't try to tell me that I'm not saving money with it. I'd be happy to compare electric bills with you and maybe that would be as good as the consideration that 76% is only "saving a little power". I should also say that for reading I use less CFL lighting than I required for incandescent adding to savings. The original fluorescent tube bulbs I put in are over 30 years old and going strong. Some of the original CFLs I put in are 14+ years old. I have probably 25+ CFLs in my house. I replaced the outdoor bulbs a few years ago and though they're not supposed to be for outdoor use, even incandescent are not always for outdoor use and I've never replaced them and they work fine, even at -40°F which is about the coldest I've been here with them on. I replaced the outdoor ones about 5 years ago, and none have died. I also have CFLs in swag/globe fixtures since they run cooler. Also use 4 of them in my ceiling fan light fixture (52 watts instead of 240). So 60%-75% electric savings on 25+ bulbs - well, you can do the math on what I've saved. Or not saved. For $1 a bulb, investment lately too. Granted I paid about $5-$6 per bulb on the first 4 or so bulbs. I have no doubt I've recouped that cost many times over. The problem is I have a box of the incandescent bulbs sitting in the basement because incands needed constant replacing in certain areas here. I suppose I could sell them on ebay to the paranoids. I'm willing to bet that people who have these bulb dying prematurely are mishandling the bulbs. Are you cranking away on them by the spiral glass part? If you do, NO WONDER they die early! LOL Secondly when you put them in, are you running them for a while or just start flipping them on and off? Even incandescents die prematurely when you don't give them the "burn in" they need. Jannie hit it on the head. Much of the hatred is because they're different and some people cannot deal with change. I bought one of the conventional "bulb shaped" types for the shade that clips onto the bulb. Maybe that would appease the paranoid. There's also the hysteria over CFLs containing mercury. Yes you should not throw them in the garbage, but you do NOT have to take them to a "hazardous waste facility". That's just more hysteria and misinformation being sent out in emails along with the Nigerian General and the $250 cookie recipe. All you have to do is take them to a recycling place usually or take them to your local hardware or DIY store. They send them in for recycling. And people should do a little research on the mercury scare rather than taking emails for gospel. Do you live near a coal-fired power plant? If you do, that plant puts more mercury INTO THE AIR, in one day, (or is it one hour?) than is contained in all the CFL bulbs in the world. You're breathing in the mercury in the air but that doesn't concern people. Mercury in a contained bulb scares people into hysteria! Why are people so scared of mercury? It's probably in a lot of the fish you eat. It definitely is in many headlights on cars, thermostats and thermometers. Have you ever heard of mercury vapor lights? Many streetlights are mercvaps. Are you afraid to go outdoors? Pilot light sensors in gas appliances, thermostat probes, gauges, relays, switches, clothes irons, children's chemistry sets, vintage toys can contain mercury. Some batteries and paint contain mercury. It's in some children's shoes for cryin out loud! LOL Oh and when you go into a store you probably have fluorescent lighting shining on you. Guess what they contain! Come on now, you get 3 guesses! (Sniff, sniff), I think I smell red herring. In fairness, they do advise caution on cleaning up a broken bulb. No caution on breathing near power plants though. I remember in school (and at home) breaking thermometers and handling the mercury. The little silver balls. Anyone else remember fever themometers? Did you ever break one of them? Did you call your house a "hazardous waste site" when it was broken? I'll bet not. BTW, I still have mercury thermometers in my house and I don't run scared from them.

As a perpetual tourist (I live here), here's my take: 1) STATUE OF LIBERTY. This is an all day trip. Go early. Book your tickets ahead of time on the Internet. Pack a lunch. The kind of food they sell on the island is the kind that gets you sick on the ferry going back. You can go to the highest point, the crown, if you go on the first boat of the day. But it's not worth it (tiny little room, tiny windows, crappy view, horrific climb up corkscrew stairs to get there). The rest of the day, you'll go to the base, which has a great view. There is also a fantastic museum IN the Statue. You can buy combo tickets for the Statue and Ellis Island, but even if you whiz through the Statue, you will end up with about an hour to spend on Ellis Island--if you are really interested in Ellis Island, think about making it a separate trip. 2) I third the STATEN ISLAND FERRY. Here's what I usually do with my guests. Find out when sunset is (check the paper's weather page or the Internet). Make sure that you are in the waiting room for the Staten Island Ferry 15 minutes before that time. Get on the ferry. Watch the sunset of the Statue of Liberty. When you get to Staten Island, get off the ferry and get on the next one going to Manhattan. If you are in the front of the boat, facing Manhattan, you will get a postcard view of downtown Manhattan all lit up. Did I mention that this trip is FREE??? As I think of more, I'll post more.

Darn! Darn! Darn! I lost the post I was going to post yesterday, only it wasn't the site it was my lap top....hit some silly key and POOF! everything gone! I was so mad I swept and mopped every floor in the house, and hour later I was still mad so I washed windows....them I can ran out of steam and crashed! Anj....it is nice to see you again and still the busy wife and mom! And just think school is almost out and then you will have new challenges, but what wonderful memories you will have when you children are grown and on their own...gosh! Are they even "on their own?" Mine still come home to talk over things. Luvs....AH! the pond. Haven't found the "hole" yet but we are moving in on it. We have half of the pond to go, but with the weather everything outside came to a stop. I know that my pond sound like so much work, but it is so nice to sit outside for a meal and listen to the sound of the water falls and watch the fish. The little birds are so used to us they bathe in the stream without fear and then there is the flowers during the summer, iris, water lilies, hyacinths, water hawthorn and lotus. It's worth it! Work on our friends home stops during most of the summer, they are very active in our fraternal order, state officers and national chairman, and they help maintain our private campgrounds, so they are rarely home. DH and I are putting together a work party for the fall as a surprise for them, it should be a lot of fun as well as getting things done. And yes, it is nearing completion, all of the essentials are done as well as the wall and ceiling. The mud and tape comes next, then the texture which will be left to a pro. Nice that your neighbors find nice things for you to paint. My BGF finds me thing as well, 1,000 teddy bears, or and entire ceramic village, 25 buildings. Do you know how hard it is to come up with colors for those old houses? Impossible! And she didn't want any of the painted ones back....so I donated the ones I have finished to a charity. Punk....you have been busy painting and now your helper is off for a week and your plans to branch out...WOW! And... DaaaH! I never thought about googling the lanterns and I do it all the time and about the iris...I read the instructions and...no way! Well, maybe I'll change the oils for acrylics, maybe not! Well see.... My pansy's have given me a closer look at what I can do and what I don't know! I don't know flowers! Well, this chapter is getting longgggggggggg, keep safe! Belle