Thanks for teh kind words, folks! I would like to say that I do not think of myself as a "hotshot", though, nor do I worship any hybridizer. I think as far as reputation is concerned, anybody can read mine at the lily auction and decide for themself. I was simply trying to help show the genetic possibilities in Gaskin's plants -- possibilities expressed in the seedlings she sells as well as the named cultivars. Seems, though, that I have walked into it once again. As far as Mary Gaskins is concerned, I do have nothing but praise. The plants she sold me were terrific, both in the quality and generosity of what she sent, and in terms of their breeding potential. Since I see her in a kindly light, I view her selling various seedlings, not as evidence she is clearing out culls, but as evidence she is wanting to share more of her great plants with folks who appreciate them. As an aside, Nicole Harry purchased much of Mary's breeding program, and although I am completely in the dark as far as details, there may be some obligations involved in regards to registrations.

Ladytexan, you are spot-on, as usual! There is so much that needs fixing I just shudder to think of it all. So many dishonest politicians and officials that think anything's OK as long as they don't get caught. So much out-and-out fraud by those who can afford to hire slick attorneys. So much indulgence by large corporations. And our schools have become little more than 12-year babysitting programs -- I see disillusioned teachers all the time -- can't discipline, some of the kids are practically animals by the time they reach mid-high, disrupting class, making it impossible to teach, bullying the ones who are trying to get an education, in the halls and on the busses and sometimes right there in the classroom. If I had it all to do over again I'd home school. Kids graduate now knowing so little. Then they go off to college if they're lucky and so many of them party for at least the first two years. I blame the real estate problems on the realtors and loan institutions. Sorry, folks, but when you get a commission on a sale you're going to want the highest sale price, it's just basic math. And greed. I bought my first home for $30,000. Lived in it for 20 years, kept the property well cared-for, and made improvements along the way, here and there. Worked by backside off to get it paid off early. Sold it for $75,000. Good for me, right? Not really. Had to pay almost all of that for another house in a near-by town that wasn't probably worth more than $30,000 considering all the work it ended up needing. My real-estate taxes doubled and my insurance company insisted on insuring it for $125,000, which is what they say it would cost to replace it. My situation is on a small scale as compared to other places, where you can't buy even a simple little frame home for less that a couple hundred thousand dollars. What's up with that? Of course the seller wants as much as the market will bear. But really. And the LOAN COMPANIES! Young couples taking on a debt of 100,000 on an ADJUSTABLE loan? That's the biggest rip-off in all history and it ought to be illegal. Then we have these individuals who buy a house on a loan that is structured to start out with low payments, with the payments increasing gradually with time -- the thinking being that the homeowner's income will increase with time. So the homeowner gets this bright idea to live in the house while the payment is low and then when it starts to climb, sell it at an appreciated price, thus actually living there for free and getting out of the loan before the payments get too high. Then the bottom falls out of the economy and they can't sell that house for any price. Not according to plan, huh? That's when they walk off from it, leave the keys in the mailbox. Banks need to go back to the conventional way of loaning money. Now many people can't even pay off their home early without paying some kind of penalty. Paying a PENALTY for paying off your debt ahead of time? Unreal. And folks, for heaven's sake, live within your means. If you don't plan to have 8 kids, do you really need 10 bedrooms? Fifty years ago, we only needed three bedrooms regardless of how many kids we had. All the boys in one bedroom. All the girls in another. If we fought, we were disciplined. I watch that home channel and I see so many couples say, "Well, we NEED a pool. We NEED two living areas. We NEED four bathrooms. We NEED granite counter-tops." (*snort*) And the auto industry! The average car shouldn't cost as much as the average house did. It costs this much to build a car or truck because those auto workers make goooooood money and have great benefits. If we all made what those auto workers make, maybe we could afford to buy one of those vehicles every couple of years to keep them afloat. But we don't. And their company officials are paid outrageous salaries. So they want a bailout without wanting to change their ways. Wouldn't we all. If politicians, corporations (including drug companies), physicians and banks cannot govern themselves with honor and integrity (and obviously they can't) then they need to be forced to do so somehow. I agree, being regulated by the Government is like getting a fox to guard the hen-house. And that's something else that really gets my goat. When a bill is passed in the H of R, it shoudn't have other provisions tacked onto it as a way of getting enough votes. It should stand on it's own merit. If it doesn't get approved, then let those who voted against it be known and be accountable for it. It's just dirty to withhold your vote till they tack on something that will benefit you personally, or the state you come from, or some lobbyist who is paying you under the table. The founders of our country must be literally spinning in their graves.

Snack Mix is a great idea, though carb heavy. If you have a scoop, or even a ladle, that you can put in the bowl to keep hands out, that would be great. You can even use a large party cup as a scoop and smaller paper cups to put the mix in. Or you can prepackage in snack sized bags. Going on a retro theme you could also do Rice Krispy Treats. Just cut them on the small size because they disappear fast. Sandwiches should be okay for up to four hours if they haven't been handled (i.e., make using gloves), and you've avoided cross contamination. Mayonnaise used to be an issue but the jarred kind uses pasteurized eggs. Think about what works on a picnic. Cheese spread and olives. Deli ham or turkey (pinwheels are also retro and go well because they're bite sized). Butter and cucumbers or watercress (tea sandwich). Just avoid fish which degrades really fast, and anything else you think of that spoils easily. Keep plenty of plastic wrap to keep them fresh (not stale) in the a/c, and see if the hotel can provide you with some pans of ice to put the trays on. Still carb heavy, though. BTW, in making finger sandwiches, the easy way to do large quantities is to get the square kind of sandwich bread (pullman pan baked--no dome top) in all varieties from a bakery, uncut. Use your longest bread knife to cut the crust off all sides then to slice the loaf lengthwise. Then you can make a few big long sandwiches and cut them to serving size, rather than having to make more long ones. If you do the math, it looks like it should come out the same, but it's really a lot less work making one big one, than a few small ones that end up cut to the same size and number. Can you have a microwave or crockpot, or two? If so, you could continue the retro idea with cocktail weenies (still popular!), or just do meatballs. You could even do a fondue or chocolate dip.

IMO if you looking to hire someone being a homeowner or a GC look for local contractors who live in the neighborhood or adjoining towns. Stop at local lumber yards who mostly sell to contractors and ask if they could recommend someone, usually they will recommend someone who they been dealing with a very long time and who is a reputable contractor. I have tons of botched up pictures like above not only from botched up tile jobs, but related to many trades and almost every botched up job was done by unlicensed trade or "fly-by-night" contractors who work out of the trunk of their car and who gave prices which are good to be true and people couldn't refuse them. It works pretty much like any scam works, you given an opportunity to make money for a very little investment and you will be rewarded a huge return and this is when everything goes out the window and all the person see is the $$$ signs. "Hook, Line and Sinker" never fails. Same in the construction industry, and in most industries for this matter. Consumer gets 3 estimates let'e say $14-15-18k and here comes a guy and says I can do this for 10k but I will need 5k down and i will do this and that, don't worry bout nothing I will take care of everything... and even if there are some red flags, and the guy doesn't own a car, and you have to buy him a few tools...It don't matter, consumer forgets about everything in the world, he is the happiest guy and he will save 4k and the nightmare begins. This is a very common scenario in my and a few adjoining neighborhoods near me, you have homeowners with 80-100k cars picking up workers from the bus stop. You see them in local Box Stores renting trucks to bring material home so they can do the work. They post ad's on Craig's list something like this " Looking for someone to finish my basement, will pay 2k for labor we provide all the materials". and same for every trade they need. Or they will bring home people who post ad's "Carpentry work, plumbing, electrical work, lots of experience $100 per day." Believe it or not, people who own 1-2m homes hire this people and bring them into their homes, like this bathroom pictures come from a 600k home... work was done buy a bunch of unlicensed guys from out of state because their price was to good to be true. I been in this industry almost 40 years I haven't met anyone yet who needed to be vetted or looked like someone should be checked out, not to mention it takes a 1 min conversation to know where they coming from no matter how nicely they speak or their tongue is notarized or they cannot put 2 words together... the eyes never lie... so if they got their shades on, ask them to take them off please LOL. Most GC,'s I use go back with me almost 40 years, I don't hire others because they $100 cheaper, and if someone retired I will look for a new company that was recommended by reputable people I know. People I deal with get paid good money and I don't haggle the prices they charge but I don't need to worry when they on the job, and after the job is done, customers don't need to worry about anything. Throughout my entire time in business I have unblemished reputation and when people refer me to others "this I heard through the grape wine" some will mention that "I'm not the cheapest guy around" and frankly speaking I'm proud of that and this is the way I like to keep. When people bargain with me, I tell them right off the bat, my prices are not negotiable, and if my price are not in your budget, I'm sure there are plenty of companies out there who will do the job cheaper... Good luck. I was never about volume I was always about quality and 100% customer satisfaction and when you see this botched up jobs it really makes you think WTH these homeowners were thinking when they hired this guys and I'm talking about homeowners who are educated people and who are well-off and that "low price" or "something done for nothing" made them forget about everything. Good luck