I have to shyly admit that I am sorta anal about arranging things. I have a pack of grid paper that I have used to make a layout if you will of my beds with all of the things planted. And I also have to admit that with wintersowing if a plant does not live up to my expectantions or does not do well in a certain place or just plain dies it doesn't "hurt" as much as having bought the plant. If that makes sense. So what I do is I have on my charts what is annual and what is pere. and I plan around these. Since not all pere. will come back as they are surpose to but this way it helps me keep track of where things are surpose to come up at. But when things are starting to germinating I just keep a tally of sorts but just of pere. like coneflowers or gaillardia and that sort of thing. This way I know how many I "may" have to find spots for. Now the annaul list are just so I will know how many pots I need to fill. And these are used as my filer plants. These can be tucked or whatever whenever there is a bare spot. As for planting out I start with the things that are bigger and stronger as well the places that have aspots ready for them. I do know this year we will be expanding on one of the shade beds in front. So I can sow a few more shade loving plants. I like a full garden but yet not too full where you can not see all of the different flowers and plants. Paula

Here is the Lemon Cranberry Icebox Cookie recipe: 1 cup butter, softened at room temp 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar, packed 2 large eggs 1 t grated lemon peel 2 TB fresh lemon juice 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped roughly 3 1/2 cups a-p flour 1 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1.Using an electric mixer at medium speed (or by hand) beat the butter and both sugars until fluffy. 2.Add the eggs to the creamed mixture one at a time, beating well after each. 3.Add the grated lemon rind and lemon juice to the creamed mixture and beat well. 4.Add the dried cranberries to the dough and mix until well blended. 5.Combine the flour, soda and salt in a bowl. Slowly add a portion of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and blend just until well combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat until well blended. Do not over beat. 6.Divide dough into 3 equal portions. 7.Take each portion of dough and shape it into a log about 12-inches long. Form the log into a round by rolling the dough back and forth on lightly floured parchment or was paper. 8.If you plan to bake the cookies right away: double wrap each log in plastic wrap; chill until firm, about 4 hours (or freeze about 2 hours). Preheat oven to 350F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper; unwrap dough log and using a sharp knife, cut each log into 1/4-inch slices. Rotate the dough log 1/4 turn after each cookie is cut - this will help keep the cookies round. 9.Place each slice 2-inches apart on the paper on the sheet. 10.Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. 11.Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 12.Repeat the process for the next batch of cookies to freeze the dough 1.Wrap the plastic wrap dough logs in freezer paper, or put them in a freezer zip bag. Be sure to label and date the logs of dough. Remove as much air as possible from the zip bag. Store up to 4-6 weeks in the freezer. 2.Thaw log of dough in the refrigerator for 4 hours or more before slicing and baking. source: 30 Delicious Icebox Cookie Recipes, Lori Burke, Kindle Edition

blizlady, that would be Sherry (sheshebop), she makes the spinach "brownies" and I love 'em. How many people do you have to serve appetizers to, Dawn? Little pate choux puffs, tiny cream puffs, can be filled with various fillings including chicken salad, egg, tuna or seafood salad, a thick southwestern chicken kind of filling, whatever you like. I make rye puffs and fill with reuben fillings and they can be done ahead of time easily. Reuben Puffs 1 cup water 1/2 cup butter, cubed 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup rye flour 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs Caraway seeds CORNED BEEF FILLING: 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened 2 packages (2 ounces each) thinly sliced deli corned beef, chopped 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons minced chives 2 tablespoons diced onion 1 teaspoon spicy brown or horseradish mustard 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flours, parsley, garlic powder and salt all at once; stir until a smooth balls forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets or make puffs with a pastry bag. Sprinkle with caraway. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each puff to allow steam to escape; cool. In a large bowl, combine the first eight filling ingredients. Split puffs; add filling. Refrigerate. Yield: 4-1/2 dozen. I make these cheese thumbprints filled with hot pepper jelly, they are pretty popular. I make my own habanero jelly to fill them with, but anything you like could be used, including salsa. I got the recipe from Carol (Readinglady) and she's never given me a bad recipe! Savory Cheddar And Jalapeno Jelly Cookies 8 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) finely grated (use smallest holes on grater box) extra-sharp cheddar cheese 6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup all purpose flour 1/3 cup jalapeno jelly, apple butter, or chopped chutney Place cheese ad butter in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add flour and process until mixture forms a soft dough. Gather up dough and divide into two flat disks. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until chilled, about 45 minutes. Position two racks in center and top third of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone pads. Place the jelly in a small plastic bag and force it into one corner. Snip off the corner of the bag to make a small hole. Set bag aside. Using 1 tsp of dough for each, roll the dough into small balls. Place the balls 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Using the end of a wooden spoon or a 1/2-inch wide dowel, poke an indentation in each cookie. Pipe the jelly from bag into the indentation. Return to the oven and bake, switching the position of the sheets from top to bottom, halfway through baking, until the tops are lightly browned, about 10 minutes (the cookies will continue to crisp as they cool). Transfer to a wire cake racks and cool completely. Can be prepared 2 days in advance in stored in air tight containers at room temperature. OK, first I use a spoon, not a bag, for the jelly, I made a big mess with that ziplock bag thing. Second I bake them one pan at a time, I don't do the remove/switch thing, it's easier for me to do one pan at a time. Third, this dough is very similar to another one posted here by Weed, so you could wrap it around an olive or pecan, etc., and make a whole difrferent kind of appetizer. I doubt I'd take the time to wrap the dough, I'd probably plunk an olive in the middle of the "cookie" and call it good, LOL. If you don't do something like the puffed sandwiches, Ann T's Gougiere would be lovely, I think. An antipasta plate could be nice and could be entirely assembled ahead of time and I've had Caprese-on-a-stick, which was basically a cherry tomato, a chunk of marinated mozzarella, an olive and a leaf of basil, all skewered for serving. Meatballs would stay hot in a crockpot or small Nesco roaster without any last minute prep at all, as would chicken wings, although those could be messy unless they are boneless. Do you need something sweet, or just savory stuff? Annie

Tomorrow is my annual holiday Dinner with some of my oldest and dearest friends. There will be 11 of us plus a helper who will make everything go smoothly. Today I am doing the hot artichoke/bacon/spinach dip, veggie prep for crudite, spinach gratin, twice-baked potatoes, and brandied mushrooms. Heres the menu: Appetizers: Sharon's spanikopita Hot artichoke, bacon, and spinach dip Shrimp cocktail Pigs-n-blanket (freshly prepared and a must have) Crudite with lite dip antipasto salad Chopped chicken liver TJ's birdsnests For the main course: Filet of beef with Port wine sauce Lite Spinach gratin Twice-baked potatoes (DH asked for them) Roasted asparagus Brandied mushrooms Hot flaky pastry rolls My firends are bringing desserts. It will be a festive evening that starts with cosmos and eggnog martinis. Sue