Lol Donna. Unfortunately I don't have the time and dedication to feed the blues mealworms. However, one year the male lost his mate and had 4 nestlings to take care of, and I fed waxworms that were in a small cup on top of the box. Mr. Blue would grab one or two, then immediately go in to feed. When they ran out, he was chit chit chitting, as if to say "more worms, please!" I would think, however, that one or two days old would be too young for them to eat mealworms/waxworms. I'd think they'd only need a little food. I think I'm more concerned for the parents being able to feed themselves, but I've seen them dive for insects in 30-40 degree weather! Thanks for the feedback!

I add 1 tsp cornstarch plus 1 tbsp of sugar to 1-1/4 cups of cream when I whip cream, and that stabilizes it. Powdered sugar contains cornstarch, and so you can add that instead - approximately 1 tbsp of powdered sugar per cup of cream. Make sure your bowl and beaters have been chilled in the freezer before whipping the cream, and you should be able to get stable whipped cream. Lars

Egg-white foams are made by beating air into the whites, usually with a large balloon whisk or an electric mixer and a glass or stainless steel bowl. Avoid using a plastic bowl for making an egg-white foam because fat, from use with other recipes you've mixed in the bowl, bonds to the plastic, or fat/oil can harbor in the porous material (closed when cooled and opened when warm/hot) and can wreck all your hard work. Your double-bladed hand-powered mixer is just another option. I can foam 3 egg whites faster with a whisk and a stainless steel bowl than using an electric mixer; and it's easier to control the different consistencies needed for different dishes - foamy, soft peeks, stiff peaks, dry peaks when beating it by-hand. Some of the little things that can cause different results: -Fresh eggs have a thick egg white and work much better for the task than older eggs, which have thinner whites and are less stable and they also tend to collapse during heating. -The formation and stability of the foam also depends on the beating technique, the temperature, type of bowl, and how carefully you separated the yolks and whites, and whether or not sugar, fluid, salt, or acid have been added. -When done correctly, whipping alone forms the protein support network. Too much whipping, however, causes protein clumping and curdling. -Egg-white foams often benefit from an acidic ingredient and this will help prevent curdling by limiting protein bonding. Add 1/8-teaspoon of cream of tartar or 1/2 t. of lemon juice per white. For many years a copper bowl was the bowl-of-choice because of a unique reaction between the copper and the egg whites when trace amounts of copper from the bowl combine with the egg-white protein. Copper bowls are no longer recommended because of toxicity risks associated with excess copper. -Make sure the whites are free of any yolk because the tiny bit of yolk will interfere with foaming. -Make sure the bowl is thoroughly clean AND thoroughly rinsed. Any remaining oil residue and even detergent residue can interfere with foaming. -The bowl, beaters, and eggs should be at room temperature (which is considered 70°F). This allows them to whip more easily and to a larger volume than if you use cold eggs. BUT, the stability of the foam deteriorates the longer it is kept at room temperature. -Choose a deep bowl with a rounded bottom and sloping up to the side. -Grainlady

I made a beaded mobile today, my second attempt for our backyard. It isn’t my normal style … I like a more organic, earthy style with painted wood beads, warm metals, and such, but they didn’t survive the brutal Texas sun last summer. Hopefully this one will. I like the colors with the Vitex. I made this one for my SIL, it’s not in the sun at their house: