Shambo, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. I know he had some health issues and you were cooking low salt and healthy meals for him. I'm sending hugs and strong thoughts and prayers to your and your family. Jack, we are kindred spirits, I swear. When I make twice baked potatoes I'll make a whole sheet pan full of them, mine usually just has cheese, butter and sour cream, occasionally I'll add bacon. I freeze them and then package them usually two per package, Mother loves them and they're easy to heat up. Of course someone is always digging through my freezer to see if I have any, all of the grandkids and the kids love them and they make a fast and easy supper. Jasdip, as you know, I love potatoes in just about any form, so being able to grab a package quickly is a luxury. They are quite durable too, LOL. Neely, I have a pile of butternut squash in storage, if only I had a pile of prawns too! sleevendog, that looks pretty to me! Delicious too. No pictures here, today we had hamburgers! Tomorrow we're making sandwiches and having cake and ice cream for Madison's 9th birthday. No party this year, of course, but we bought her a hoverboard, so she'll be happy, even with just her folks and Elery and I. I baked a strawberry cake too, with sea turtles on top, her choice. I'll try to remember to take pictures, and hopefully she won't break an arm or a leg, riding the thing around the kitchen island or something... Annie

Neely, I'd be a little sad about selling your vacation home too, those are usually just associated with vacations and family events and mostly good things. Life changes, though, so I hope whatever happens works out well for you and your family. I don't know what is happening there with you but here real estate is selling like crazy in spite of the interest rate increases and the big price hikes, I'm not sure why. I'd need some rice for that nice saucy korma, though! Sleevendog, I need to stock up on flours and things too, I"ve been diligently working to use up or discard old/outdated items or those that have just deteriorated in quality enough that they need replacement. But it's gardening time, and I'm busy babying my little plants, fertilizing asparagus, pruning grapevines and spraying fruit trees for fungus with our weird weather. Anyway, Elery likes Mexican food a lot and we are surrounded by farms and orchards, so a lot of Hispanic workers come seasonally and many more stay year round. Authentic (and cheap) grocery stores are plentiful, although there are just as many that are neither cheap nor authentic, so those have to be weeded out, usually by a bad experience! Lobster rolls sound good, but I'm driving our neighbor to a nearby town as her car is out of service. She says she'll take me to dinner, there's a local pizza joint that is known for their breadsticks and she loves them. So, it'll probably be soup and breadsticks. Annie

Dasha, 'Anouk' does well in its first year I find, but by the 3rd season I think it starts to deteriorate and in a pot can suffer winter wet. Here's mine just now, those lower shoots are developing flowering buds, but most is on top. This lavender is cheap to buy, so I don't mind if they don't last long.. I think this plant will look much better in another 3 weeks or so. I am now taken by this Lavender 'Victory', which has larger flowers and a more open habit. Remains to be seen how it survives winters.

Thank you, Hoang Ton, for the quite fabulous spring rose tour of your beautiful garden. I surprised myself by being most impressed by the stunning Lady in Red climber, which I know nothing about. What a gorgeous way to welcome visitors to your house. Also impressive were the Iceberg hedge, Raold Dahl, Jubilee Celebration, the great color of Lady of Shalott, and the many rose companions you grow so well. I loved the vignettes you captured in your video. You've got a lot of lovely views to just stare at. Thanks. Diane