Just got back from the concert, it's midnight and we're leaving at 6 am. This concert and this experience has been one of the best experiences of our (me/DH) lives. It was incredible. At the concert, there were 9 rows ahead of us, then a passageway, then a level 2 steps up, and we were in the front row in the center. Probably the best seats in the house! I don't think there are words to describe the evening. Interspersed with the artists were snippets of films of Professor Yunus, the nobel recipient, talking about his work. and, at one point he was brought up on stage and talked more about his work which was so inspiring to say the least. THEN, his daughter, a singer at the NYC Metropolitan Opera, came out to sing. They hugged, she sang, they walked backstage arm in arm. I'll never see a concert like this again, I even hesitate to call it a concert, more a celebration. The acts were mostly all very good. Yusuf, the former Cat Stevens, was very good. Lionel Richie, who I NEVER cared for EVER, I am now A BIG fan!!! That guy is one fabulous entertainer. perhaps it comes with age. He was fantastic. Not too much, not too little, just right with a ton of enthusiasm and spirit. Lots of spirit. There was a Bangladesh dance troupe who were so good and at the very end after they said good night, they were up on the stage, in their amazing costumes all taking out their little cameras and they were all surrounded arouond Sharon Stone and one of them were taking pictures of them all with SS, which was so adorable. John Legend was really good and there were more. Here's a link, and mind you, this was over less than an hour ago! Here is a link that might be useful: Nobel concert photos

The sweater is coming along. I think I have passed the halfway mark. I still have time for daylilies. Today after work I dug up a huge clump of Little Wine Cup and moved it next door. That made room for the white seedling. One of the other neighbours dropped off a good sized fan of Amanda's Intrigue X Michael Miller. TTFN

Chocolate Stripes or Green Zebra I've never liked Green Zebra as grown by me in my area and haven't grown Chocolate Stripes, which is a selection from a cross between Schimmeig and a pink. Those who list CS in the SSE Yearbook speak mainly to the unique colors and less so to taste despite the fact that it apparently was a 3rd place winner at Tomatofest in 2007. So your choice. (Should I grow purple brandy if I'm already growing Cherokee Purple?) Purple Brandy is better known as Marizol Bratka and was a selection from a cross that Joe Bratka made between Marizol Purple and Brandywine. I've grown both parents as well as the selection that Joe made. And I've grown Cherokee Purple almost from the day that John Green of TN gave the seeds to Craig LeHoullier, who named it. Many folks now prefer Indian Stripe, a version, if you will, of CP that was found in Arkansas. It's hard to make a choice here, at least it is for me. If it were me I'd grow Indian Stripe this year and maybe Marizol Bratka next year or grow both CP and Indian Stripe in the same year so you can make a direct comparison. (Anyone have good production with Malinowy Olbryzym?) I've grown several Malinowys and there are several b'c what appears to have happened is that geographic place names were attached to the pre-fix Malinowy, which translates as raspberry colored. I haven't grown the specific one you mention. The same thing is true for thge various Costolutos from Italy in terms of a place name being associated with the work Costoluto which means ribbed in Italian; C Fiorentino is from Florence, C GEnovese is from Genoa, etc. (I really appreciate it. Also, how about production on the ones that are in -Amish Oxheart,(I've read good) Grandma Viney's (it looks so cool), Granny Cantrell and Rutgers. Thanks. I think its 7 degrees outside. I'm a dedicated Heart lover but haven't grown Amish Oxheart, a KY heiloom ; only two persons list it in the 2009 SSE YEarbook and they were favorably impressed but not ecstatic. LOL There are two red hearts from KY that I have grown recently that I like a lot and those are Linnie's Oxheart and Indiana Red, both reds. Both of these varieties were from Horace Boynton of Science Hill, KY who bought the plants for Indiana Red at a nursery near Bethelridge, KY and Linnie's Oxheart he got directly from the person in whose family it had been grown for years. And yes, I've grown Rutgers but I think some of the others are more interesting these days. I have seeds for Granny Cantrell but haven't grown it out yet but many folks seem to like it very much. Carolyn

It is tremendously fun, joyful, to read the messages on the board from my professional perspective--and I don't mean in a snickering, "aren't they dumb" way. I learn a lot about what people "hear" and how the language works, etc. it helps me do my job; and it interests me greatly. One lesson is that communication happens even WITH misspellings, using the wrong homonym, mangled metaphors or idioms. Oddly enough, I'm even considering writing a book about it--about what sorts of richness is in the language of misspellings. My favorite is the woman at another organizing board who titled her post "Moving Whoas" I expected to find an account of all the things that were slowing down or interuptting her move--but no, what she meant was that moving was hard, difficult--"moving WOES" But "moving whoas" is MUCH more interesting; much more proactive. What a great attitude--to greet difficulties not by sayin "woe is me," but by saying, "whoa, look at that!" It is fun. I try never to correct anyone (though I've occasionally told someone to trust themselves more bcs they *did* spell a word right; or if they've indicated they'd be willing to know the answer, I might tell it to them) I figure, who wants to have someone "grading their English paper"online!