I am pretty bad a both chess and market gardening, Cole! Getting some enjoyment out of it though. Marla, sometimes I take a barstool to sit/lean on which doesn't seem as bad a chair. A book would go well with that....maybe a crossword puzzle. Thanks, Dirt digging, the low supply and small flow of people will make it easier to raise prices when things pick up...I am usually the lowest of the real growers so there is room to go up easily.

Monique...so happy you got your little cukes. You can not believe how good Chase's pickles are. I know I've heard it over and over but my first bite was really good....I mean REALLY good! K..here it is and make sure to follow her directions exactly how they are written. Sharon's Dill Pickles Here is more information about Dills than you ever wanted! I have no idea what exactly makes these pickles so good so I am religious about following the steps to the tee! I make these a bushel at a time, each bushel yields about 50 jars. If using less than a bushel you can usually count on between 6-8 dills(cukes) per 1 quart jar, depending on size. Use 3" to 4" cukes that have just been picked. I get mine at the market and always insist on cukes that have been picked that morning or the day before at the earliest. Place the cukes in ice cold water (I use my bath tub!!) and add a bag or two of ice to the water. The cukes should stay in the ice water for a minimum of 2 hours but no more than 8. Refresh the ice as required. I make the brine in great big batches using this ratio: 2 cups white vinegar (I use pickling vinegar) 6 cups water 1/3 cup coarse pickling salt For each jar of dills you will need 2 nice size garlic cloves peeled and cut in half (4 pieces) and two dill florets. Use the dill heads not that fluffy stuff! So if you are doing a bushel....that is 50 jars so you need 100 dill florets and 100 garlic cloves. Leave the cukes whole. Now here is where the canning police and I part ways. This is how I do it and have for 30 years but it is not according to the guidelines . You'll need to make your own choice but I am convinced this is why they are so crisp. I sterilize my jars using the sani cycle of the dishwasher (you could boil the jars instead) When they are really hot, almost at the end of the cycle I place them in a oven at 150 degree to keep them good and hot. Make the brine and bring the brine to a full and rolling boil. Place the rings and lids in a large saucepan with water and bring them almost to the boil. Then turn down but keep them hot. Place the cukes, garlic and dill in the hot jars. I do garlic, dill, cukes, garlic, dill. Pour brine over the cukes. Only do 2 jars at a time, leave the rest in the oven to keep them hot. Wipe the rim really well, this is critical to sealing, and place lid and ring on and screw to finger tight. Let sit 6-8 weeks before eating! Here is what I think is most critical: Fresh cukes Ice bath Boiling hot brine Very hot jars Clean rim So as a recap of ingredients 1) Make the brine in the quantity you need , just keep making it 2) Count on 6-8 medium size cukes to a jar 3) 2 large florets of dill to a jar 4) 2 large size garlic cloves, cut in half, ( 4 pieces) per jar Well that's all I can think of for now! Let me know if you have questions and let me know how they turn out! Good luck !

Glad you ladies are getting started on Valentines! You may think the link below (a children's site) is a little 'childish' but many of the ideas can be "gussied up" and used for adult cards... it's all in the materials and skill level used. Anyway, it has great ideas, including pop-ups, one of my favorites! Here is a link that might be useful: Valentines at Enchanted Learning

Good point, JNM... it never hurts to have these periodic reminders of that fact... every so often one of us should remember to reiterate it. Because it's true: situations can be so different, and some are a lot more extreme than others, and therefore harder to deal with. (And some are a lot more blurry, and in some ways harder to deal with because of it.) The extreme circumstances of Ima's childhood pretty much establish that her mother was a bitter woman (or, to better phrase it, behaved in a bitter unhealthy manner). So yes, bitter BM's exist. KKNY's exH's GF really does sound like a shallow goldigger, and gold-diggers do exist. Whereas Ceph (to take one example), who also happens to be a young woman, sounds like a very giving, nurturing caring stepmother. So that exists too. Finedreams may very well be dealing with an adult SD who truly does have attachment issues with her dad beyond the normal... and that exists. I am an adult SD, and consider my experiences with my stepmother to be indicative of her possessiveness... so the wedge-driving step-parent exists too. Some stepkids really are spoiled rotten little brats (or, to better phrase it, behave in a spoiled, bratty manner), some are Cinderellas. These are just a few examples, and if I'm leaving out anyone it's only to keep this brief... EOW or a-few-weeks-a-year visitation is a very different experience than full custody or even 50/50. There are specific struggles in each, and there are ways each scenario is easier than the others. A step-parent with no kids of their own has a different experience than one with kids. A new baby in the marriage adds its own dimensions and is a big deal. Only children in stepfamilies have a different experience than the Brady Bunch. Significant age differences in the new spouses has an effect. Socio-economic factors play into everything. Cultural, religious and personality differences, too. In some ways, I guess, we are all comparing apples to oranges to pecans to bread...