The big box stores in general are pretty bad in keeping things appropriate to the location. Every year, they get those god-awful little sad sticks in boxes brought in during February, when we have 2 1/2 months before it would be safe to plant them out here in Michigan. And invariably, they have cultivars like Thompson Seedless grapes that can't possibly survive here. I've also seen other gems like rabbiteye blueberries, fuzzy kiwi, etc. Mind you, as someone willing to try via "extraordinary techniques" to overwinter out of zone plants, I find it interesting, but its bad and deceptive for the novice who doesn't know the difference. As far as the enormous operations that supply plants for the big-box stores, I find it fascinating that they have such complex systems set up, yet can't manage to find enough people to unload, unpack, water, and properly care for these plants once they arrive at your local Wal-mart, Home Depot, Lowe's,, etc. I always wondered how they made ANY profit at all, given the high cost of inputs such as energy, when they are all paid essentially on commission under these pay-by-scanned-sales programs, and so much of the plant material dies in the retail outlet due to abuse, neglect, and just plain market saturation beyond all reasonable ability to sell it all. But, they must, or it wouldn't happen. I guess the good side -- some of these places, particularly Lowe's, are pretty good about marking things down dramatically to move them -- I get good bargains on things all the time. Best was a few years back at the end of season at my local Home Depot, when they got down to the "everything in small pots is $0.50, everything in medium pots is $1, and everything larger is $2" by Halloween -- I ended up getting several cartloads of nice nursery stock for next to nothing -- Buddleia, crabapples, maples, all kinds of things. Best was a grafted dwarf mounding blue spruce, original price $80, for $2.

Excessive popups from reputable sites is an indication you have malware on your computer. Do you have a firewall? Run an anti-malware program like Spybot Search & Destroy occasionally along with an antivirus program both with updated definitions and it'll go a long way to help stop that stuff. I use Opera and don't have issues with popup because they were the first to have an effective blocker built in and it's still the best browser IMO. Joyful, yes it was a real learning experience. Interesting to see the different parents too. Some admitted they didn't know what to do, others beligerant (how DARE you tell me how to raise my kids!!!) some got a kick out of it and more. And it really varied from area to area. *That* was a big surprise to me. Some small towns had a real snob attitude, surprisingly. Areas I thought I'd enjoy working were awful. Areas that I was nervous about were a joy. Even worked International Falls, where a lot of Canadians would sneak across the border to get my services! ;)

Donna, so here's my take on the ending of The Anomaly, understanding that I'm a literal sort of person and always go for the obvious answers. :) SPOILER FOR THE ANOMALY SPOILER FOR THE ANOMALY SPOILER FOR THE ANOMALY SPOILER FOR THE ANOMALY I concluded that the decision to shoot down the second emergence of the plane precipitated the end of the simulation. I didn't honestly take the speculation that our world is purely a simulation/test run seriously when it came up earlier in the book, and I didn't consider it an essential part of the novel, so I was shocked at the ending. (I also thought the calligram was a great artifice, and that the translator did just a great job with it.) I thought the themes of the novel were really more about responding to adversity, the unknown, and second chances. I remember my first reaction to the second emergence was pity for the pilot's wife, who would have to watch her husband die for the third time, and wondering if she would in fact stay with him or walk away to save herself. In other words, I focused on the passengers and how they handled their situations, rather than why/how the situation occurred. Your thoughts???

I order my miso from GreatEasternSun twice a year. My local market has it and WholeFoods but not the full line. First week of Jan every year and June. Just got my summer stash last week. 6 pounds. Long fridge life being a fermentation. Most are good into 2027. (as long as you do not contaminate with a dirty spoon) Instead of reaching for the salt shaker and fats like butter, i use miso. Really good for you and not at all as salty as some think. I use about 3 tSps, a scant tBsp. Just remember that heat over about 120º will likely kill off the good fermentation but not room temp in dressings, sauces. Great EasternSun is off-line this week for site repairs. They are in NorthCarolina. Did not know SAN-J is made in Virginia. A couple videos on y-tube about the making of GES MisoMaster. Beautiful process and fermentation tanks. NYTimes has close to 200 miso recipes. SeriousEats quite a few. I told a couple chef friends that SandorKats says do not heat over 120º or freeze as it will kill the health benfits of fermintation. They said, "get over it", lol, the flavor punch is worth it instead of reaching for salt. Just use miso in, as well as on, as a drizzle garnish to-the-table and in dressings room temp/fridge.