Molanic, yes, I have grown many plants to attract the Painted Lady, but never had any eggs/caterpillars at all. Maybe they prefer prairie habitat? I am a city gal, but I still get lots of them and American Ladies, too. I have grown the following: Hollyhocks False Nettle (still have for Red Admirals and QMs) Sunflowers Malva (High Mallow) Wormwood/Artemisia ssp. Thistle (Carduus ssp.) Lambsquarters (Chenopodium) Plantain (both lance-leaved and Dooryard) Yarrow The Dallas County Lep Society lists the following larval host plants for them, by family, genus and species. You can see I grew/grow many of the plants mentioned: ASTERACEAE: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), Western Sagewort (Artemisia campestris), Mexican Sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana), Musk-Thistle (Carduus nutans), Basket-Flower (Centaurea spp.), Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum), Texas Thistle (Cirsium texanum), Wavy-Leaf Thistle (Cirsium undulatum), Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Milk-Thistle (Silybum marianum). BORAGINACEAE: Borage (Borago officinalis), Blueweed (Echium vulgare). CHENOPODIACEAE: Beet (Beta vulgaris), Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album). FABACEAE: Soy Bean (Glycine max). MALVACEAE: Hollyhock (Alcea rosea), Common Mallow (Malva neglecta), Little Mallow (Malva parviflora), Running Mallow (Malva rotundifolia), High Mallow (Malva sylvestris), Globe-Mallow (Sphaeralcea spp.). PLANTAGINACEAE: English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Dooryard Plantain (Plantago major). URTICACEAE: Nettle (Urtica spp.). I have found several other butterfly species on a few of these plants, like Red Admirals and QMs on False Nettle, Gorgone and Silvery Checkerspots on Sunflowers, Buckeyes on Plantain, and Sooty Duskywings on Lambsquarters. You would think that as common as the Painted Ladies are, and as larval plant generalists, we would have found them on something, huh? I would like to add Artemisia ludoviciana, Milk Thistle (Silybum), and Pearly Everlasting (I have tried this but not been successful at growing it yet). Maybe another thistle other than Silybum, altho it's potential invasiveness makes me a little nervous about growing it. Also, you'd think with the numbers of PLs I see in the garden, at least one might be a gravid female, right? But, no such luck so far....... Maybe we will get lucky this year. Susan

Jeanne, I love that outfit on Dollybaby! Adorable. Karen, Teegan looks delighted with her new tree, village house and santa. So sweet. I still love her on the sled too. I had redressed TJ in her Christmas dress but hadn't got that picture and table posted when I seen this post. BTW, things are moving pretty fast here for me these days. So I took her out of the high chair and thought I would set her on the old sled. Didn't work, her little legs don't spread that far, so sat her in front of it with some snowies and her bear. Then I remembered seeing everyones neat ice skates. I ran to get a set I had painted but could only find one. Yes, one! The other one must be out in the shed. To cold to go hunt it down tonight so decided to share the one I found.LOL Placed it on top of the sled and here she is. I have a couple of the kids little red wagon's that I will have to drag out and play with sometime. Dollbaby & Teegan, TJ's ready,"Let's Party". Hope the others will join the party here. Punk

I'd probably be staying at home any way ... but the car is in the vehicle hosp. so, as it's difficult to hitch-hike at night, I figure I need either to stay home, or arrange transportation with someone. More importantly - don't have an invitation to a party. I've thought that it would be a good idea to emulate the little New Year babe that arrives without much clothing ... as I'm not too enthusiastic about emulating the old gray long-haired and -bearded guy with the flowing robes and scythe that looks to be about ready to cash in his chips. And as I don't need to depend on Depends (not yet) ... I thought that I might celebrate in my original attire ... nuthin'. Trouble with that is ... that's it's usually about 60 degrees in here ... so I'd be in for some teeth chattering (if I had any to speak of). So I guess that I'll just stay with the four or five (sometimes six) layers on top and three or four on the lower parts. Maybe dress up a bit, for currently I'm wearing a quilted jacket, both of whose arms had had the outside cloth multipley ripped, so that when I visited the neighbour farmer a few weeks ago, their son in law notified me, with a serious expression, that he wondered whether I was aware that my jacket had a hole in the elbow ... to which I replied, just as seriously, straight-faced, "Which one?". I've since repaired all of the rips, on both arms ... and was surprised at how much of the task that I was able to do on the sewing machine. Even if it were to be just jammies - more "Bbr-r-r - r - r" time, if lacking a thick blanket under which to snuggle. The friend who drove me on some errands, then home, yesterday said that they have a party at home with another long-term-friend couple from 60 miles away, as they've done for many years ... and then the friends sleep over, to avoid driving while under the influence. This year it's their turn to host, so they were planning and working on the goodies. He's a distant relative, and his wife, in whose campaign I helped quite a bit when she ran for Federal Parliament a few years ago, is now on the (elected) Executive Committee of the city. May you all have a joyous time to conclude the old year ... and usher in the new. ole joyful P.S. If you're to be away from home, and imbibing ... please arrange for a designated driver to deliver you home: we all prefer not to hear of a friend being dead or dismembered to start the new year, right? o j

Every Christmas Eve as a child, we went to my grandmother's house and we had Mexican food for dinner and homemade eggnog and candy for dessert. There was always toffee, bon-bons, fudge, winter strawberries, fruitcake, dipped pretzels, Chex mix, haystacks, peanut brittle, and a few other candies I don't recall. Christmas cookies have never been in a thing in my family, it was always tins with various hemade candies. But that eggnog, I looked forward to it every year. My grandmother passed away when I was pregnant with my first. When my mom and dad started caring for my grandad, my mother found all the Christmas recipes, including the recipe for the homemade eggnog which I had never had the foresight to ask my grandmother for the recipe. I started making it a few years ago and now my 7 year old in particular looks forward to it. I made it last night for our big family get-together and I only got a taste as everyone wanted a cup! I've never had eggnog with alcohol, didn't even know that was a thing until I was an adult, and I can't stand the stuff in a carton. Grandmother's recipe is so rich, thick and decadent that it is usually eaten with a spoon. I look forward to it every year on Christmas Eve.