Ninamarie, who I assume is Canadian, has broken the ice by venturing into a discussion that up to now has been confined to Americans. Her intervention reminds us that the Hosta Forum is read worldwide, and we have contributors from several countries. That said, I want to congratulate Rob for starting what has been a fascinating discussion and for daring to "speak up." Rob, you have what I call a civic conscience, and I for one would applaud your willingness to express your opinion in town meetings, school board, or wherever. The world needs more people like you. Your list of things to do in order to take more direct control over our lives could apply anywhere, and I endorse it enthusiastically. What hasn't been said here is that we are all in this together, and the globalization of the economy is something we all are struggling with. In 1988, when Ronald Reagan and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts put North American Freed Trade on the table, I was opposed. We got it anyway. Americans may feel that they got the short end of the deal, but, as a Canadian, I think we did (ask our softwood lumber producers). A good many companies that made products in Canada simply folded, and the jobs moved to the USA (and maybe they kept on moving after that). But that was then. Free trade is now a fact of life, with all its flaws, and nobody is going to put the genie back in the bottle. What we can do is what Rob suggests. Buy local for whatever you can, especially farm produce and plants like hostas. Support farmers' markets. While the latter have increased greatly in number, the New York Times tells us that some are not doing well - the supply exceeds the demand. But we should buy local for all kinds of reasons, not just the economic ones. The environment benefits when food comes to us from nearby sources, rather than being hauled thousands of miles. The food is fresher and nutritionally better. And the original producer gets rewarded, which is what Rob was promoting in his first post. Thanks Rob for educating us about the process of producing hostas. The lesson has wide application, and I hope all your readers will remember that we're all in this together. Steve

ATTENTION: Anyone that has won a prize at the Buffalo-Niagara 2007 Tomato Tastefest and HAS NOT CLAIMED YOUR FREE SEEDS, please contact me at matermark@gmail.com or call me. If you would prefer plants instead of seeds, the selection won't be as large (250-300 varieties of seeds vs 50-75 varieties of tomato plants, 2008 choices still to be determined on plants.) Thanks and congratulations to all winners! Mark

I'm late to join the party here, but I'm glad y'all had a great visit. I see the resemblance, but I wouldn't have thought of it if Dedtired hadn't brought it up. Neither picture of Fergie is good. The first one looks like she hadn't slept in days, and the second one is too photo shopped or airbrushed to look like her. The pic of Robin is great, though. I don't know if I'll ever make it to the Chicago or midwest area, but it looks like a great city to visit, and Annie was a wonderful tour guide. Sally

Marshmallows bought in bags as individual bits are made with gelatin so that they keep their shape; marshmallow fluff does not contain gelatin. If one were to attempt to make a marshmallow cream-type substance from scratch, one would use sugar, egg whites, corn syrup and vanilla--just like the commercially available product of the same name. Marshmallow fluff is not made from marshmallows, just similar ingredients. I checked on ask.com. You would be able to melt them but it wouldn't be the same consistence. Linda