Nick and I are going to hit it today too. He wants a new CP and then he wants to to go to Hollywood Studios, LOL, but he's still just 10. Did anyone get anything good? Was anyone selling carnivores? Last year at all the plant sales I bought gingers for under the Oak and Chinese Lantern tree on the border of my garden. While I was in India the neighbor cut down the Lantern tree and trimmed back the oak severly well over my yard. I probably had $300 worth of gingers under it that are all going white with sunburn. That was my only safe spot to grow them. But I don't want another 'enemy' neighbor. I already don't get along with my south neighbor. when he move in (we live in a circle cul-de-sac) he didn't know where the property line was and he cut down all of my plants in a flower bed including a papaya, a bay leaf, and a bougie. Then he argued about the property line! Like it had magically moved just because he moved in. Oh well.

Greetings from Virginia Beach! Here are the details about the upcoming 2006 Southeast Citrus Expo. It should be a great time and all those in the surrounding areas are encouraged to attend. SOUTHEAST CITRUS EXPO 2006 The Southeast Citrus Exposition is now into its fourth year. Its purpose is to encourage citrus growing outside the commercial citrus belt for both the home gardener and the serious enthusiast. This years Expo will feature expert speakers who will provide information on growing cold-hardy citrus in the Southeast United States. Topics that will be discussed will be: in ground or container culture, advice on choosing citrus, cold protection, grafting and selection of root stock, as well as other topics. The Expo will include a citrus fruit contest, plant sale, and tours of citrus trees growing in Virginia Beach, Virginia. When: Saturday November 18th 2006 from 10:00AM to 4:30PM (entries of fruit for the contest must be received between 9:00AM and 10:00AM ( NO LATER) Where: Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Virginia Beach, VA. 717 General Booth Blvd. Virginia Beach, VA. 23451 (757) 425-FISH www.virginiaaquarium.com Directions: From I-95 North 11 miles above the VA./NC. State Line take RT# 58 East to Norfolk/Virginia Beach. Stay on RT#58 until Bowers Hill Intersection. At Bowers Hill, bear right onto I-64 East. Take a right on to I-264 East, stay on I-264 until Atlantic Ave at the Virginia Beach Ocean Front. Take a right on Atlantic Ave, go over the Rudee Inlet Bridge, continue approximately ¾ miles and you will see the Virginia Aquarium on the right. 2006 Expo Agenda 7:30  9:00AM Early Bird Plant Sale at Pungo Palms Nursery Plant Sale promptly ends at 9:00AM ( Note: Vendors can setup at 7:00AM) 9:00  10:00AM Registration and Admission ( Make sure you participate in the drawing for afternoon tour groups A or B) Admission to the Citrus Expo will be FREE for those attending. Admission to the Aquarium will be at a reduced group rate. Raffle tickets for the Expo plant giveaway will be available before the lectures and during the display of the fruit in the competition. Tickets will be $1.00 and will benefit the Citrus Expo. Plants for Raffle will be donated by the Expo coordinators & vendors. These will include: cold-hardy citrus, cold-hardy palms, and other rare plants. 10:00  1045AM Presentation by Bob Koch, "Citrus Grown in Containers", Located in the March Pavilion Auditorium. 11:00  11:45AM Presentation by Stan McKenzie and Ned Rahn, " In Ground Citrus Culture", Located in the Marsh Pavilion Auditorium. 12:00  1:00PM Fruit Competition Awards, Fruit Display, and Raffle in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean PavilionÂs Promenade Room Note: all fruit entered in the competition will be on display 1:15  2:15PM (Lunch on your own) a list and location of restaurants within three miles Of the Aquarium will be provided. Expo Afternoon Tours and Plant Sale For afternoon tours, all participants will be gathered into two groups. Group A Group B 2:20  3:15PM Group A Will tour Robert MotycaÂs Citrus located in his back yard Robert will give a talk on approach grafting. 3:15  4:00PM Group B Will tour Robert MotycaÂs Citrus located in his back yard Robert will give a talk on approach grafting. 3:40  4:30PM+?? "ALL" End of the day plant sale at Pungo Palms Nursery and tour Of in ground citrus The Southeast Citrus Expo is sponsored by: *GaryÂs Nursery, New Bern, North Carolina Wholesale and retail grower of cold hardy palms, Bananas, citrus, and other plants in eastern North Carolina since 1975. Gary will have plants available for purchase at the Plant sale. Visit GaryÂs Nursery online at www.garysnursery.com *McKenzie Farms Nursery, Scranton, South Carolina Stan "The Citrusman" McKenzie sells many varieties of cold hardy citrus trees, palms, traditional fruit trees, vegetables and other plants. Stan will bring citrus for the plant sale. Visit McKenzie Farms online at www.mckenzie-farms.com or email at citrusman99@hotmail.com *RahnÂs Plant Connection, Port Royal, South Carolina Ned and Faye Rahn sell a large variety of citrus trees and other rare plants and flowers not found at garden centers. They will bring plants for the plant sale. Email Ned and Faye at plantfolks@yahoo.com *Virginia Greenhouse Association, Hampton Roads Chapter Members are greenhouse owners, who love plants and want to share their knowledge and experiences with other plant lovers. *The Southeastern Palm Society The Southeast Palm Society is a chapter of the International Palm Society, Members are devoted to growing hardy palms and other extraordinary plants, including hardy citrus. Visit the Southeastern Palm Society online at www.sepalms.org. *Southern Fruit Fellowship The Southern Fruit Fellowship is an informal organization of amateur fruit growing enthusiasts throughout the Southern United States. Membership is open to all interested parties. The fellowship has a quarterly newsletter and has meetings at different locations In the Southeast. Membership and dues: contact Retta Davis (318)686-4249 or email: DAVISD_R@Hotmail.com *Flying Dragon Citrus Nursery, Jacksonville, FL. Flying Dragon Citrus Nursery specializes in many varieties of citrus which are grafted on Flying Dragon rootstock. Any questions or requests, call: (904)880-5026 or email: www.flyingdragoncitrusnursery.com *The Artist in the Garden, Virginia Beach, VA. Scott Dilatash is the artist in the garden. He is the purveyor of unusual custom landscapes In the Southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina area. Call (757) 696-7263 *The Virginia Beach Master Gardeners, Virginia Beach, VA. A fellowship of Certified Master Gardeners in the City of Virginia Beach, sponsored by the Virginia Polytechnic Extension Service. *Pungo Palms Nursery, Virginia Beach, VA. Growers of rare and unusual cold hardy palms, desert plants, citrus, bananas, and other sub tropical plants. The nursery is located in the Back Bay area of Virginia Beach , both Ralph and Kathy Denton will participate in the Expo plant sale. Contact us at: Pungo Palmsfreeserver.com\ or call: (757) 426-3677. The Forth Southeastern Citrus Exposition Fruit Competition Rules and Procedures Fruit Preparation All fruit entered must be grown by the entrant, either in a container or in the ground. Before submission, fruit should be washed and prepared for eating. Remove any pesticide residue. Judges may have to taste fruit in case of a tie. A minimum of three fruit of a specific cultivar must be donated per entry: for example, three Satsuma fruit are required to qualify as one entry. One of the fruit must be cut in half "against the grain (as you would cut a grapefruit) to show the inside of the fruit. (See the illustration above for an example.) Fruit can be returned at the request of the entrant. Fruit must contain at least ½" of stem attached. One fruit should have at least leaf attached to the stem. Check the category sheet to determine proper entry. At the Expo Entries must be submitted between 9:00AM and 10:00 AM. After 10:00AM entries will not be accepted. At registration, you will be given an entry number to ensure anonymity. Make sure that you keep this number with you until the award ceremony. An entry card must be filled out for each entry. Be sure that you put your entry number on each card. Viewing of the fruit will take place from 12:00 to 1:00PM Blue, red, and white ribbons will be awarded for each category. In addition, there will be a "Best in Show, "Honorable Mention", and "Most Unusual" award. Citrus Categories for the Contest There will be a grown-in-ground category and a container-grown category. Any cultivar not listed here will be assigned to a category by the judging coordinator. Sweet Orange Ambersweet Cara Cara Hamlin Naval Parson Brown Pineapple Sour Orange Abers Narrowleaf Bergamot Bigaradier Apepu Boquet des Fleurs Chinotto Citrus neoaurantium Gou Tou Nansho Daidai ( Citrus Tiawanica) Sauvage Seville Smooth Flat Seville Willowleaf Zhu Luan Mandarin Changsha Clementine Clem-Yuz 2-2 Clem-Yuz 3-3 Dancy Juanita Keraji Minneola Tangelo Nasnaran Orlando Tangelo Ponkan Satsuma Shekwasha Kumquat & Hybrids Chang Shou Fukushu Hong Kong Lemonquat Limequat ( Eustis, Lakeland, Tavares) Marmaladequat Meiwa Nagami Nippon Orangequat Procimequat Sunquat Marumi Lemon Lisbon Meyer Ponderosa Sanbokan Ujukitsu Lime Bearss Persian Grapefruit Bloomsweet Duncan Golden Marsh Oroblanco Pink Marsh Ruby Red Thompson Ichangensis Hybrids Ichang Papeda Ichang Lemon Sudachi Yuzu Yuzuquat Yuzvange Trifoliate Orange Standard Flying Dragon Rubidoux Trifoliate Hybrids Citrange (Morton, Troyer, Carizzo, Benton, Rusk, and etc.) Citrumello (Dunstan, Swingle, Changsha x English Large, USDA 80-5, and etc. Citradia Citrandarin (CiClem#10, Citsuma, and etc. Dragon Lime Complex Hybrids Citrangequat ( Thomasville, Sinton, etc.) Glen Citrangedin Razzlequat SancitChang US 119 2006 Citrus Exposition organizers and contacts: Ralph or Kathy Denton, Phone (757) 426-3677 e-mail at: palmlady@cox.net G. Ventura: e-mail ggvm30@aol.com

Sounds wonderful! I wish I lived a bit closer so I could attend! I have a friend who is in the Herb Society of America and she told me it is really good to add a little thyme to grocery store tea (when you're making it to drink hot) when you are seeping the teabag in the hot water. Either regular thyme or lemon thyme will work. Also lemon balm or lemon verbena add a nice flavor too. Just strain it before drinking.

HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY, DONNA!!!!! We love you! Check in and tell us how your BIG day was!!!! :-) NHSuzanne: Hilarious video! Thanks for the laugh! If we had TV like THAT, maybe I would consider cable again! LOL! Bummer about your fence. This is the first year that we haven't lost a tree or two on our property. We've had some REAL windy days, but nothing took out our trees, thank goodness. Your garden beds look ready to go! I have to haul dirt and turn it into my hay/worm bin castings and spread it. Then I, too, shall be ready! Easter...I am getting the 2-three year olds again (they are becoming very special to me!) this weekend, Saturday at 11am and overnight for Easter! I LOVE HAVING KIDS ON HOLIDAYS! And, my DD got laid off, so she is here for a week. She's looking for jobs online, and she can do that anywhere. So, it's a perfect weekend! MIL arrives in 6 days for a week-long stay, but without FIL, so that should go easy. Remember, FIL has Asperger Sydrome, so it takes a lot of energy to have fun with him. DeeMarie: CPAP! It's a lifesaver! So glad you're doing this for you, your loved ones, and US!, my love! Peg: Good attitude! As far as caustic family members go, I think many of us have one or two of those. We deal, but it is painful to have family members that we can't just "be" with. :-) Since you asked, projects OUT of the kitchen are many and they are getting accomplished! It feels so good! I feel like I am FINALLY getting things under control. I need to tackle my yard and garage and just get it STARTED! Okay, back to scanning and filing paperwork for me!