A grange is different from a social hall...in Iowa we have granges....they were an association of farmers in a given township. The grange in the township west of me has been turned into a dinner theater/ winery. But I grew up in the northeast...urban New Jersey and lived back door to Italian hall...maybe had another name but that's what we called it. I took ballet lessons there...went to girl scout meetings and who knows what else....and we also had Koskuisko ( am sure I am spelling that wrong!) Hall and the Masonic Hall where we went to DeMoley dances and other events. The Red cross owned a building a block from my house, and there was a large room that could be used for workshops and meetings. Seems there were always women hanging around with Grey Lady uniforms...I don't even remember what Grey Ladies were!! Oh yes and The Womans' Club owned a building that could be rented for recitals and meetings....Kiwanis met there and we had a girl's club meetings and dances there. I don't know of any granges in my area that are still operating as granges....but we still have Odd Fellows, Moose and Optimists with meeting places in town, as well as VFW and American Legion and Elks. What is the difference between the Italian Hall which was out my back door and the VFW? Both have members and both "rent out" and are almost always open to the members.

Hi Phylrae, I've killed Fuzzy Wuzzy several times and hope you have better luck and better judgement than I did planting too early in cold outdoor soil. It's 4 ft tall, doable in a pot, but will still need a stake or support. I've had luck in ~14 inch x 14 inch shrub pots, no problem. Tubers form well, easy to tend and move if needed. Slightly smaller pots would probably work too. Bumble Rumble is highly acclaimed for its colors. They should do well in a pot too. Great colors! Ditto for Giggles. The only caution is that the collarettes have far fewer outer petals so cut flowers amply early so you don't lose those outer petals to age and thus much of the appeal of the bloom. I've had good luck with a couple collarettes as cutflowers, so no worries, just a word of caution on their delicate structure.

Greco-Roman Wrestling The day begins with Precious Angel flexing her muscles and sprinting around the table at 6:15am. She then begins hurdling over the legs and then does a spring board onto the balance beam (the wicker laundry basket) followed by a head first dive into the litter box. Standing up and slowly shaking her head she becomes a target for her opponent, Pumpkin Spice also known as Pumpkin Noodles. Pumpkin slowly circles the laundry basket slinking close to the floor and keeping her eyes glued to her opponent. With a fell swoop she lands on top of Precious and pins her to the floor. Precious is down for a count of two before she takes her rear feet and upends Pumpkin. She then pins Pumpkin to the floor and holds her down to the count of three before they both spring apart and begin circling the mat(aka towel) and sizing up their opponent before the next take down. Precious lightly paws Pumkin's tale and then Pumpkin hunkers down and faster than a speeding bullet she lands on top of Precious and holds her for a count of five. Pumpkin is declared the winner and she leaps onto the nearest chair and then dives down on Precious' back and a new match ensues. This has become a normal morning adventure before they sit by the bed waiting for a response from me and declaring it is time for their morning feast. I have two spoiled to the core kittens who refuse to drink water from the tap. They sniff at it and then sit, stare acusingly at me and then sit near the counter where the Zepherhills water sits and refuse to take their eyse off the bottle until I pour water into their bowl at which point two heads begin lapping water like mad. The next move is to follow me into the kitchen and sit and watch until I open the Fancy Feast and then they beging dancing in circles when they hear the spoon banging against the plates. I place the plates on the floor and two flashes beging inhaling their food. Following their feast they take a few moments to groom their beautiful faces before they sit near my feet and watch every move. They are waiting for me to take the fishing pole out with their fake fish attached. Then it becomes gymnastic time as they stand on hind legs and bat at the fish, grab it and attempt to run before the elastic line reels them back in and finally they roll with the fish on the floor (by the way I had to purchase a second one so that they each have one). Pumpkin is the smart one. She has managed to free her fish twice now by chewing the rubber line into two pieces. Oh the terrorist. I was awoken in the wee hours of the morning yesterday when I heard a crash of stuff landing on the floor off of the table. I then felt a thud on the bed and finally on my head followed by a pat down massage of my fact. I had the television on and in the flickering light I slowly opened one eye and stared into the sweetest most innocent face you have ever seen. Precious stopped in mid-pat and became a still statue and while staring at me her eyes seemed to be saying I am not doing anything why are you looking at me and then she patted my cheek and her eyes seemed to say how can you sleep when something as cute as me wants to play. I just reached up, grabbed her and placed her next to me and slowly stroked her head as her eyes closed and her breathing became slow and regular. I shortly felt a second thud as Pumpkin jumped onto the bed and placed her little terror filled eyes under my hand. I slowly stroked her until she fell asleep with her head on Precious' stomach. They were still there when I awoke around 7. That is the first time tey have done that. I have misplaced the memory card to the camera after uploading images from a shoot and as soon as I locate it I will take pictures and post them. Thanks for the kind words as regards my writing *blushing* Pictures coming soon I hope. Linda

Well - I was thinking mine wasn't a mini, until I saw yours. But I've heard that sometimes mini's can get oversized. I was trying to measure it better yesterday, and it really isn't 3'x3' - it's more 3' high, but barely 2' wide. And the flowers are only a little over an inch in diameter. Thanks for answering. And sorry to sidetrack your wonderful thread - your minis (and photos) are absolutely stunning!