Is the 24 hour recommended time a safety issue or a taste issue? I ended up with too many tomatoes and couldn't finish in one day..or two...or three. After 75 jars of finished product I had to take today off to rest. I still have tomato puree in tupperware in my refrigerator. It's now Wednesday and I was going to finish up in the morning (Thursday). The tomatoes were pureed Monday. I'm using Mrs. Wages mixes. I'm not so concerned with any taste issue, but rather safety. Use or discard?

1. If you can stand it and have some patience, repot your clematis in a next size pot for this year. Clematis need to establish really good root systems and it sometimes takes anywhere from 2-3 years. Growing it in a pot the first year encourages the roots to grow. 2. Clematis likes cool roots, so much it very well. 3. Fertilizer: I've used tomatoe fertilizer (most popular a few years ago), chicken manure (contains more phosphorous than steer manure, and feeds your soil), and the new thing is alfalfa fertilizer. 4. Know your clematis group - there are 3 groups, and you can check them out by googling "clematis groups". I checked and yours is a Group II - repeat bloomers; prune immediately after flowering to the next good node. 5. Support: I have planting mine against my chain link fence; by my deck to which I stapled some fencing for climbing; and by use of trellising. They climb by "twining" so you may have to give them a little help with "stray" stems. I saw some humongous pots of this clematis (with humongous flowers) at Horn's this week. I don't know how much they were - they probably wanted my first born child for them. But they really are gorgeous! Congratulations. It's easy to get hooked on them. I have a few - 'Nelly Moser', 'Dr. Ruppel', Jackmanii (a very good grower even in partial shade), 'Polish Spirit'. I used to have C. tangutica because I wanted a yellow flowering clemmie. It was just too rampant and I pulled it out. However, there are some cultivars of tangutica that aren't probably as rampant as the species. I love some of the "bell-shaped" flowering clems, like Rogoochi. And there are also some beautiful "shrub" clematis as well. The possibilities are endless if you fall in love with these guys. Susan

Same thing every day...go over to my Mom's and do for her. I live perhaps 20 minutes or so away. She will not move in with me yet. I'll spend most of the day over there. Then go to the grocery store, maybe have enough time to hit the library for some books. I'll pop over to see my little old lady friend and make sure she is okay. She is the mother of a childhood friend that I help out also. It will be a busy day for sure! Deb

Restaurants prep all manner of vegetables ahead of time for cooking, salads, sautes, just about everything. The trick is simply to make sure everything is clean and dry before slicing and sealed tightly before refrigerating. Lettuces should be cut or torn, soaked for 15 to 29 minutes in cold water and then spun vigorously so that they are quite dry when put into the fridge. It helps also to put a paper towel in the bottom of the container to absorb any liquid you missed. If you haven't a salad spinner...use my emergency method. Put the lettuces in a clean, lint free pillowcase, and then go outside and spin the bag in circles as fast as you can. The centrifugal force will dry the lettuces and your neighbors will think you are quite odd. Onions don't collect bacteria any more than any other vegetable, though I have heard that old wive's tale before. In fact, onions have been used for generations as a poultice because of their anti-microbial properties.