Greg and Joan, I'm looking forward to more pics from you two! Golden Pagoda is intriguing. You don't see that one much, and I bet it gets very prominent points in the Houston heat. Joan, maybe you hire a little crew of teenagers every Spring Break to help you out with those 200 trees! Can't wait to see the blooms that are developing here, and you bet I'll post when I get a chance. Robert, that Lemon Drop is Thornton's and one of only a few big ones I have. It's certainly the "branchiest". That's what you can look forward to in a few more years! Bill, our little guy gets us invited back to a lot of places! We would all love to go back to CA soon. Will definitely let you know if we get a chance. K, glad the seeds are coming up for you; they're the perfect flowers for a Texas drought! Yes, that is TLD on the tree because my memory is just THAT bad, lol. Sometimes I abbreviate and then ask myself, "Now what the heck does that stand for again?" Dave, thanks for the compliments! I'm in Austin. We're 8b but I've seen at least one big plumeria tree kept in the ground all winter in my neighborhood. It can be done in a sheltered spot with frost cloth since our freezes are all short-lived. Mike, I found another possible oh-please-let-it-be inflo today, so I feel like I won the lottery! Hope you also have a great bloom year!

French Lace Cookies The cookies are easy to make but a bit attention demanding, read the instructions before you get started so you are familiar with the process. Heat over to 350 degrees and move rack to top of oven. Line 2 large cookie sheets with aluminum foil and have a flat tray covered with wax paper prepared to cool the cookies (a cooling rack will not work as well for these, I use another large cookie sheet) One batch makes approximately 3 dozen cookies. Mix - 1 stick (1/4 pound) unsalted butter at room temp 1 slightly generous cup of finely ground nuts (walnuts, blanched almonds, hazlenuts, or pecans - each gives a slightly different taste to the cookies - for the plant swap I used my home grown walnuts with a small amount of pecans) 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1 level tablespoon flour Chocolate chips (though you can use any flavor such as white chocolate, butterscotch or anything that appeals to you, though you can also leave the cookies plain) In a heavy pan, preferably a cast iron one, combine all the ingredients (I usually add the flour to the nuts in my food processor as I grind them up) except the chocolate chips over a medium low heat. Stir constantly until the mix becomes a thick paste, like cooked farina or oatmeal. Don't let the mix boil, just get thick. Turn the heat off. Using two teaspoons make rounded little balls of the mix and drop them onto the aluminum foil and flatten each ball slightly. Only bake one pan at a time, and only make 6 to 8 cookies at a time, spacing the cookies far apart, as they will spread. The first time you do this you might want to make a test batch with just 2 cookies to see how far they spread and how fast they cook. The cookies take about 6 or 7 minutes to cook. The biggest problem with these cookies is they burn very easily, so you can't have your attention distracted or do anything else whilst you make these. Once the first batch is in the oven get the second batch ready. After a couple of minutes baking, turn the cookie sheet in the oven so they cook evenly. If they are cooking too quickly (browning too much at the edges before the centers cook) turn the oven down to 325. Check the cookies every couple of minutes. Reverse the cookie sheet as you feel necessary. You want them to be lightly browned with bubbles over the entire surface of the cookie, don't let them get too brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and drop 3 chocolate chips on each cookie. Let the cookies sit in the pan and the chips melt. Start the next batch cooking. After a couple of minutes spread the chocolate gently over the top of the cookie using the back of a spoon. (don't forget to rotate the batch in the oven.) Move the cooked batch of cookies on their sheet of the foil onto a flat surface to cool completely and when they are cooled (this only takes a few minutes they cool quickly) carefully peel them off the aluminum foil and place them on the wax paper lined cookie sheet or tray. The cookies are very fragile so be careful. Place the tray with the cookies in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate. When you have a single layer of cookies finished and the chocolate has hardened, cover them with a layer of wax paper. Start the second layer on top of the first and continue to bake, spread chocolate and cool. Use a paper towel to smooth out the used aluminum foil and put it back on the cookie sheet to reuse. I usually have a third piece of aluminum foil in use so I have one batch in the over, one batch with chips melting/cooling and one batch being made into balls ready to go in the oven. I know these instructions sound complicated and too detailed, but hopefully they will save you the burnt cookie learning curve :o) -Rosalinda

For those of you in Florida - see if you can find a concentrated cleaner called "WEB" - (made in Lake Worth, FL by Southland Products Co 561-582-4814 according to the bottle) - sold in Winn-Dixie and at ACE Hardware - combines strong detergent with acid so it removes the soap scum AND hard water stains - just did my shower doors - came out looking new !! - be sure to follow directions for diluting - and rinse well with water -- would suggest a stiff brush or plastic dish scrubber rather than Brillo pad - (aluminum doesn't like steel wool)- works super on tile too - -happy cleaning - Dave

That's wonderful news! (And now I feel better about sleeping through the deadline this morning.) Congratulations, and keep up the good work!