Good morning! Yesiree, I'm meeting the gang for lunch today - wish you could all be there! A bit of excitement here yesterday: Lightening struck my neighbor's house and he came running over to ask if he could use the phone - he saw smoke coming from the basement. I called 911 and they called all the stations (we have 3 in town) - thankfully no fire. Just damage. The kids got a kick of having the whole fire department in their front yard, and thankfully it was not a true emergency. They did spend the rest of the afternoon chasing after the same sorts of calls, though, as the weather was wicked here :) My lawn has never looked so good in July. Ivy is growing leaps and bounds, and her big brother looks happy, too! Kenzie's a model in training, I see - Sarah went through the posing phase, too. We'd take one picture for mommy (au natural) and one with your best pose. The dueling bathroom models - much like dueling banjos, I guess? I love the idea of a quiet place to wind down the evening, Denise. And Liz, I'm glad you took the extra step to remove the popcorn - you could've gotten tired and left it :) I can't wait to see what tile you chose. I'm always dreaming of remodeling my bath, but I think I'll wait as long as I can since it's our only one (we have a powder, but that's not the same....). Ei, loved your fish story! Your new koi are cute, can't wait to hear their names :) Kathy, next year I'll add tithonia to the list. I'm really kicking myself for not growing the amaranth! I wanted it so bad and then ran out of spring. Yes, walating must be done several times....funny, now Sarah says, "while I was walating...." but I don't think she's always looking at flowers. I need to get moving - I've got lots to do before I embark on my lunchtime journey. Have a great day..... Saucy

From the research I've read, India has spent more time developing Hyacinth Bean than those of us in the Temperate regions. Here they are mostly grown for their flowers, for decorative purposes. Most varieties are difficult to bring to seed in the higher latitudes, due to daylength sensitivity, a common problem in tropical-adapted vegetables. The climbing varieties mentioned above (in my older post) all flowered close to the equinox, which was just a few weeks before frost. There are a few varieties bred in India that are day neutral, so they can be grown here. The funny thing is, the breeders were seeking bush habit... the day-neutral trait was just a side effect. Seeds of India sells two varieties in the U.S. I've grown one of them, a white-flowered variety with brown seeds; it flowers very quickly, 30 days after planting. "Valor bean Lakshmi" Are the beans eaten mature a particular color when dry, or does that not matter? Someone once told me that white-seeded hyacinth beans were the ones eaten as mature seeds.

Glass half full: My experience reflects some combination of the dishwasher, the design of my cabinets, and its continued mis-installation. Anyone who has their Miele carefully installed in an opening of the appropriate size is almost certainly going to have a better experience than mine. Therefore, my experience should not sway those choosing between dishwasher brands. Glass half empty: I bought the unit from a high-end appliance store that sells lots of Miele dishwashers, used the installer that the store recommended, had the unit reinstalled by a Miele technician, and it still noisy. Had I not started this post, it's unclear that anyone would have ever told me about the need for a 60 cm opening. It didn't come up when I bought the unit, when the installer arrived to install the unit, or when talking to either technician. If other folks naively assume that the sales person or installer will advise them on how best to prepare for the installation, and this advice is not forthcoming, they may end up being disappointed, too. Given how things have played out, it would be silly to pay a carpenter to modify the cabinets before the Miele is gone. But, the part of me that cares more about figuring out what's been going on than about money may do so anyway. At a minimum, I may try raising the height of the dishwasher myself. With my luck, I'll either find that the Miele is quieter than the Bosch or break the Miele :) Measurements: Width: 24" across at the top and bottom. Height to the bottom of the counter: 34+11/16" left side and 34+10/16" right side. Placing a magnetic level on the bottom or right side of the dishwasher door suggests that it is leaning a tiny bit to the right. However, the level also suggests that the cabinet on the right leans a tiny bit to the left. The dishwasher is running right now. Will post a picture with the door open in an hour or two.

Wow! I had been ignoring this post because as beautiful as the sconce was (and it would be PERFECT in our house), I have all our light fixtures sitting patiently in our dining room and am out of money, but I missed out on so much fun! That's what I get for trying to stay on task! I must say, you are lucky to be able to barter sex for something so beautiful. Lately, I've had to be 'nice' in the bedroom so that I don't get kicked out of the house over the cabinet fiasco! I'm sure they will be worth it though. I'll have fond memories every time I retrieve a piece of china from the corner curio, brush my teeth at the bathroom vanity, pull the broom from the broom closet... Huh. This isn't actually working out for me. It would be more worth it if I could stare at those beautiful sconces. Maybe over our nightstands? ;-) j.