Barbara, Why does a carrot have to be orange? The white, purple, red and yellow ones taste great too! Sometimes people harvest too early and get yellowish-orange carrots that have not developed their full color yet. I have no idea if that is what has happened to you in the past. That said, some carrot are naturally a deeper, darker orange and others are a more pale orange or even a yellowish orange. If you want to grow the deeper, darker orange types, try Danvers Half Long which is about the most deeply orange carrot I've ever grown. Kuroda is also a deeper orange than most and so is Tonda di Parigi. Any of the modern hybrid carrots that have been bred for extra betacarotene, like Sugarsnax, should be a more deep orange, but I haven't tried any of the high beta types. Dawn

Hey Tim! I hope your tests are continuing to show positive results. I would have no problem sending you the formula... there's only one problem The device I use to make part of the formula is expensive and without it, you can't make it. I bought a high-end lab quality machine that costs $2000.00. The cheapest one I've ever seen and you can't trust the quality, was $600.00 and it only allows the processing of small amounts at a time-hardly worth the risk of investment. You can sort of buy this part of my formula, already made but the base product is different and would need to be added later. This would change the process and that is not the true way I make it so the results may not be the same. It is that one process that makes my formula totally unique and unlike anything out there. I'm sorry if I sound confusing or cryptic but I'm trying to not give away the ship-and with it, 3 years of work. The good news is that if it really winds up to be a success, on a mass scale of production, it's inexpensive to produce. I will say that no matter what, any formula will most likely need to work in conjunction with mulch and an anti-desiccant spray (like WiltPruf). Even though my tests on grass say otherwise, I feel that a grass benefits from being closer to the ground and benefiting from ground heat...an educated guess which will be proven true or false in time.

Clkw- "Oro" is "Gold" in a couple of other languages - Spanish and I think Italiano... as far as if it all marbles or just certain kinds - as I am NOT a geologist, but merely a Fabricator - I'll tell you my opinion based on 32 years of experience - I'd say it's NOT ALL Marbles - but many of them.... prolly all of the ones that you'd actually WANT to use... HA! Many Marbles have a quality that we Fabricators call "Sugaring" - and I'm sure the actual "technical" term is something else - BUT... "Sugar" in Marble is what I know as weak spots where the stone crystal structure is at it's weakest and will flake off if it is impacted the right way - hence SOME of the cause of chipping. Remember too that Marble has a lower hardness rating on the MOHS hardness scale - (NOT created by Mohs Schrute - Dwight Schrute's wierd Brother) Seriously - Marble is softer than Granite - Marble is around a "6" - where Granite is harder and comes in around an "8"..... This is a big difference in hardness and is the main reason why Marble will chip easier than Granite or Quartz..... Depending on the source of the mechanical abrasion - dragging heavy pots and pans, dishes, serving platters and chaffing dishes (had to toss that one in there) your Marble tops will chip (IMHO) just as easily - regardless of the edge detail that you apply to it. Of chipping indeed "sends you off the deep end" you may want to look for a Marble that has a higher rating of hardness on the Mohs Hardness Scale.... and there aren't a lot of them out there - the only one I know that would hold up the best as far as chipping would be Danby Marble..... hth kevin

My Oxford Essential has several definitions for 'care.' I would choose 'serious attention...protection, charge.' Also, 'caregiver' is defined as 'person who provides care for children, the sick, the elderly, etc.' So. I don't have any thing erudite to add to the discussion other than to say I was very pleased to see The Kitchen Madonna pop up for discussion. I read it many, many years ago, I believe within a year or two of its publication. I could not have been more than 8 or 9 years old, but it has always stayed with me. I remember details of the story to a rather extraordinary degree. Perhaps it was the first 'feel-good' book I ever read. This is also unusual because it is not normally the kind of book I would enjoy - i.e. rich kids who don't get enough attention, sob sob. I felt great empathy for Gregory, in fact I identified with him. I think Godden did a wonderful job of creating Marta's character; she was truly alive for me, and the fact that the children loved her despite her unattractive appearance and somewhat morose character only made her more real and interesting. I was lucky enough to find a beautiful illustrated copy at my local library and re-read it for our discussion. I am happy to say I still love the story and it still resonates with me. The subtley, humor and essential truth to the story make it as appealing to me now as it was 40(!) years ago. Also, I mentioned it to my mother and was surprised to find that she loves the story also, and had read it back in the 1960's when I did (obviously the same copy - she has belonged to book clubs her whole life and never stopped me from reading anything). I've rambled a bit here, but I did want to share my thoughts even if they don't contribute a great deal.