I've carried and grown the peachy ones, bright yellow ones, variegated leafed ones, speckled ones, and dusky purple ones. For the most part, they all get their fifteen minutes of fame, sell like hotcakes for a few seasons and go back to obscurity. Selling an orange poinsettia at Christmas is about like selling a pink pumpkin at Halloween. In the mid-eighties.........everyone was decorating their homes in dusty rose. So, we sold a lot of pink. I used to sell heavily to florists, and that's when I moved a lot of lemon yellow to high end orders because it was hard to get, and a novelty. When I stopped selling to florists, I never had another order for yellow. So why mostly red this year? It's nostalgic, and in times of economic depression, that's what people want for the most part. They want their Christmas to remind them of happier times, when they were kids and that meant the poinsettias were red. The economy plays into it in other ways too. It's called 'reduce the shrink'. Red is a better seller and the main crop of the mix. Pastels used to be perhaps 25% of my market. It's dropped steadily for at least five years and accounts for less than ten percent of my sales this year. Nobody is ordering them on the wholesale level. I noticed last year when I went in to town right before Christmas day..........nearly all the unsold points on display were pastels. So, my guess the stores are playing it safe. Since so many are sold through box stores, which means the wholesale growers don't get paid for any if they don't sell, the growers are also playing it safe. In this case, poo runs uphill. It's going through the whole production/distribution chain. I was talking to my seed broker yesterday and asked whether I can afford to wait in case I need to supplement what I already bought. My seed order went in last August, and I have some of my spring line growing on at present. So, it's late and I was told vegetable seed availability is already tight. It's not like less seed was produced, or demand necessarily increased. It's about holding down speculation orders on a perishable product.

I can't verify how good the Back to Basics Blender Express is, but I've had fantastic success with their Smoothie Maker. And with Back to Basics you can order replacement parts for just about any of their products. I'm very happy with their products.

I think we're each frugal in our own way. We spend our money on what truly matters to us, and scrimp and save it when comes to the things that don't add that much to our lives. I feel very fortunate to be able to travel and that's where the largest chunk of our disposable income goes. Traveling abroad especially has added immeasurably to my life in ways that a "staycation" never could, so I'm not planning to cut back on that luxury. (That said, we do seek out the best value while traveling. No high-end resorts for us - good thing they aren't our style, because we wouldn't be able to afford them!) Our cars are older (one is 16 years old), and we don't plan to replace them until we absolutely have to. While I might enjoy having a nice new vehicle with all the bells and whistles, it's not important enough to me to part with the money to own one. I don't shop often for clothes. Yesterday I did buy 3 new pairs of jeans ("Not Your Daughters Jeans": Ever tried them? They're wonderful!), and they'll last me quite awhile. I have friends who are real clotheshorses and are constantly buying something new to wear. Hey, more power to them. That's what they feel adds sparkle to their lives. :-) I thoroughly enjoyed picking up several treasures at yard sales yesterday. I haven't done that in quite awhile, but got some terrific pieces to add to my decor for very little money. Aside from traveling a few times a year, we don't spend much money on entertainment. I was going to buy concert tickets but stopped myself when I realized it would cost about $250 for the two of us to see the show. It just wasn't that important to me, when it came down to parting with the money. What I love most is that time of the evening when DH and I both curl up in the living room with our books, cats nestled nearby, just reading and relaxing. Together, but each absorbed in different stories. It's nice and I enjoy that more than I would going out to dinner or to a movie. Fun, interesting topic!

Well, what a surprise! I was in the side garden today doing some weeding and weed whacking and looked over at my sago palm and saw that just in the last week of regular rain (very heavy rain for an hour yesterday evening) look what finally woke up! The mother trunk of my sago! The pup on the right opened out some time ago, but the main trunk in the left I was just sure was a goner. It only took it 5 months and lots of water, but IT'S ALIVE! And it looks like another pup is trying to come out beetween them! I need to get rid of that one. You know the old saying: Two's company, three's a crowd.