No Christie I don't have any verbena bonariensis, it's not hardy to my zone. I do have sedums and that was a favorite with the buckeyes. I also had some short orange cosmos last year and they liked those. I was going to plant some snapdragons this year and I forgot, I'm not sure what else is a host plant for them.

You're welcome! Oh, yes, I know La Crescenta weather! I had a very large (twelve-hundred-plus plants) rose garden in Newhall for eighteen years. Happily, I'm down to under two hundred here in Encino, now, not counting seedlings. I'd think once you have the plants sufficiently hardened off, putting them outside when the weather cools off, in a protected area while they continue maturing would be much better for them than anything indoors. Do you have issues with squirrels, rabbits or other rodents where you are? Hopefully not, as they can devour a new, tender young plant like those in a sitting. I budded some plants earlier this spring and they were developing nicely...until a rat or squirrel gnawed the shoots back to the shanks. They went far enough to even get the guard buds, so they failed. As long as you're not concerned with the plants blowing away or being washed away by heavy erosion, there isn't any winter storm weather you should really have to be concerned with there. It doesn't get cold enough to damage roses as a general rule. They're honestly not as fragile as we like to think they are! As long as the potting soil drains and doesn't remain goopy, soggy, it shouldn't be an issue for cuttings. I've planted all of mine in the plain old Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Soil because it remains damp enough for smaller pots to not dry out in a day when we have the heat and wind spike so common in our areas. It works just fine, much better than the non moisture control has because it does hold more water than the "regular stuff" without being soggy. The only bagged soil I've encountered in recent history which was real garbage has been Super Soil. It USED to be decent, but now is a mucky, goopy mess, so I'd avoid that like the plague. My dissatisfaction with the other brands I've more recently used has been they have dried out too quickly, often requiring being watered daily when it is hot, dry and/or windy. The Moisture Control hasn't. That can make a huge difference during a heat or wind spike. I even use the Moisture Control soil to raise my rose seedlings in with good success. I only cut it with either seed starter mix or perlite for the seed cover to prevent it from being too heavy to allow small seedlings from breaking through. If your bags are remaining sufficiently moist to only require watering every two weeks, you probably don't need to mist the cuttings. It sounds as if they are remaining moist enough. Too much misting in the bags can easily turn to rot very quickly. I'd only mist them if you're seeing them being flagging or wilting from heat. Otherwise, it seems you have your bases covered. Good luck! Kim

Congratulations! As Rebecca said, yes, weave in your tail. Be sure to go up and down, not side to side. Side to side will take away from the stretchyness provided by the ribbing at that point. (I once did side to side weaving on a sock where I changed colors frequently, and it really make the sock hard to get on.) Can you join at cast-on so you don't have the dip? I join by the trading stitches method. I don't know how others do it. Yes, picking up stitches for the gusset is the hardest part. I usually pick up 2 extra also. I bought double sets of needles and worked on each sock alternating back and forth so they were both done at the same time, but I have never had "second sock syndrome" where I didn't want to start the second one. He wants to play with your masterpiece, your fabulous creation!!!??? LOL! Oh well, at least he takes an interest in what Mom's doing. Tell him you'll knit him a pair to wear one of these days. Cute story.

Marigene, I often leave out the sugar, especially when my homegrown tomatoes are at their sweetest. Ashley likes it sweet, though, she's a kid. (grin) The paste was simply for the texture, I like my salsa thick and chunky. Michelle, the first draft of the recipe called for pressure canning because I wanted to be certain the acidity level was safe enough to water bath. It took MSU several years to agree with me on the amount of vinegar needed to water bath the stuff, but they finally came through! My cilantro is ready, I have jalapenos, the onions are ready to be pulled. Come on tomatoes, turn red! I'm down to 2 jars... Annie