Hi all, It's nice to be missed. :o) That was a doozy, I tell ya. I finally started to feel half way human on Saturday, and then we were into reno mode again for 2 days. Yesterday was catch up day for laundry, housework etc, so finally today I have some time to come and say hey. :o) I did get to see some of the end of the olympics - how exciting was that hockey game!!! I watched some of the closing ceremonies, but not all unfortunately. I'll have to do some Youtubeing along with Steff. I watched Tom Brokaw's special on Canada - pretty ambitious project for 6 minutes, but very interesting. It's amazing when you think that Canada's population is pretty much the same as California, eh? Forgive me if someone posted the link here already. I managed to get the baby quilts done, but haven't delivered them yet. I will try to post some pics here later today. ttyl :o) Here is a link that might be useful: Tom Brokaw explains Canada

I've eaten horse, during the PBB scandal when all the cattle were poisoned and dropping over from PBBs in the cattle feed. LindaC, I bought Pocky at my local Meijer's and sent it to dishesdone, they had a chocolate and a strawberry version. Ashley says she's gotten it at WalMart right next to the college, it's a cookie shaped long and thin, not as big around as a pencil and dipped in chocolate or strawberry fudge. I have eaten crocodile AND alligator, and black pudding which Grandma used to call blood sausage. Nettle tea tastes icky and "green" but is supposed to be a diuretic and make your hair shiny, I can't figure out what the heck those two things have to do with each other, but I've tasted it because it's also supposed to be helpful for anemia. I didn't see that it helped. I had chicken tiki masala at a restaurant in Ann Arbor with Elery. It was basically a chicken dish with a curry kind of sauce over rice. Eh. I'm not a huge fan of curry. Paneer? Elery likes cheese. A lot. So we tried this, it kind of reminded me of the homemade yogurt cheese I make by putting yogurt in a strainer and letting it drain for several hours. Criollo chocolate is just a variety of cocoa bean. It's expensive and I found it to be very mild, I wasn't all that impressed with THAT either. I think I bought it at Fresh Market, and everything there is expensive so maybe that's just why it cost more. Tom Yum is just soup. I think it had coconut milk in it and it kind of reminded me of Chinese hot and sour. Annie

Florida is a state as varied as it's residents. In the southern part, The Keys, you'll find the southernmost point in the U.S. It was also the home of Ernest Hemingway. You can tour his home and see the 5-toed cats (plenty of them), that have run of the place. The Keys are very laid back and relaxed. Maybe a little too much for some. Moving north are the Everglades, where I saw the biggest grasshopper I'd ever seen in my life. It was huge! Miami used to be "the" place for winter visitors, but it got too big, I think. Fort Myers, on the Gulf side is home to tons of winter visitors, including my DSis. Also on that coast is Sanibel Island, Long Boat Key, Anna Maria Island (my favorite) and Sarasota, winter home of Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus. The east coast from Miami north the Cape Kennedy is pretty posh and called the Gold Coast, I believe. Haven't been there for years. Of course, there's NASA and the space shuttles launch. We can see them from our yard once they are in the air. It always gives me chills and I have to say a quick prayer to keep them safe. Of course, there's Disney World, too--and Epcot--and a lot of other stuff they've added. The middle of the state is mainly agriculture--strawberries, tomatoes, sweet corn and lots of citrus. It's not the prettiest area of the state, but it is our breadbasket and we're pretty darned proud of it. We also grow cane and make a good amount of sugar here. North of that is my area, and we're known as horse country. We have many huge horse farms surrounding our town and I like looking at the little foals, wondering if they'll be the next Triple Crown winner. Lots of the horses in the Kentucky Derby this year were either born/broken/trained here or just broken/trained. It's beautiful country with rolling hills and green, green grass. North and east of here is St. Augustine where DeSoto thought he found the fountain of youth. Been there, drank the water and I can tell you he was sooooo wrong! Interesting city with lots to see and do. Daytona Beach is home of NASCAR, but mostly known for "Bike Week", when thousands of motorcycles descend on the city and have a great time. The panhandle is a joy all in it's own. Pristine beaches and the whitest, silkiest sand you could ever walk on. It's just beautiful to drive across the top part of the state on US 98. It must be what "old" Florida was like. Tallahassee, also in the panhandle, is our capital and is a pretty town with a breath-taking view as you go down Monroe St. (I think) and see the Capitol straight ahead. There is so much more to Florida than I've written here. I moved here 29 years ago and never looked back. I don't know anyone famous from here except KC and the Sunshine Band and Credence Clearwater Revival--Oh and Sister Hazel. But in all probability, there weren't born here!! :-)

I love to entertain, the more the merrier! Do I get stressed out? Yup. I find I enjoy entertaining outdoors better; it keeps people out of my kitchen! LOL Our pool house/shed has a tiny kitchen area (and bathroom) and the grills are on the deck off the pool house/shed. The entire set up is 100+ feet from the main house. Nothing fancy but it works great! I prep everything in the main kitchen then load it in the car and drive it out to the pool house. The mess stays out there and I don't have to deal with folks in my kitchen. LOL Whether I entertain in the house or outdoors, my main stress is my immediate family. They are a huge help and without them I could not do as much entertaining. However, we all work a ton of hours at our regular jobs and this leads to DH, DD & DS procrastinating on tasks. I end up stressed because they are trying to complete tasks at the last minute when I would prefer to be relaxing a bit. I have learned to just accept this is going to happen but it doesn’t always make it easy. LOL I have a schedule of 6 or so events I host each year varying in size from 14 to 75-ish guests so I plan ahead and purchase ahead. Of course that does not preclude any impromptu events that may crop up which tend to feature whatever I have on hand. stir_fryi - You have gotten great advice from the folks in this discussion on how to manage entertaining. The only suggestion I can add is keep notes. Every time I entertain a planned event, I keep notes as I go along. Info includes when invitations went out and by what means, cost of items purchased and when and where, details of the ramp up time i.e. when I started and finishing cleaning and decorating, what tasks I did, recipes used and popularity, serving pieces used, etc. I do de-brief after and take stock of leftover food, alcohol, make notes on what went well and what did not. I know it sounds like a lot of work and sometimes it is but many times it is just a few notes. From those notes, I build a game plan, shopping list and timeline for the next years’ events. It also helps me track my entertaining budget for each event and for the year.