So many questions; and, so much snow on our hands here in the Great Lakes Region. We have pretty much had enough of the snow and the single digit temperatures. Thank you very much. Seriously though, we have a long way to go before spring. But, this is what I missed so much when I had "chemo-brain." I really missed the Cutting Garden. Dee, the vases are from a floral supply house. There are so many around here. These vases are actually plastic. The vases are 8 1/2" in height, and 6" in diameter. I think we paid $1.50 for them. They don't need to be purchased in bulk. They come 24 to a case. And, keeping with the "yellow" theme, there are yellow dahlias in the bouquets! The upside to the vases is they are lightweight. We put 11 vases in a bulb crate, and transport to market. We try to have 100 bouquets made for market. The emphasis being on "try." (And, still featuring "yellow.") The downside is that customers pick up the vases sometimes and hand them to us. The rim around the top cracks. Another problem we had this last season is the help we had at market for reasons beyond my control would not trim the bottoms evenly on the bouquets. Thus, we had very tall bouquets toppling over and crashing to the ground. More times than I want to think about. However, yes, the vases are very pretty. Our granddaughters came early in the season to help. They have been making bouquets since they were tots; therefore, they are able to make beautiful bouquets. They, however, had to go back home in late July :( Dee, I do have a fetish for vases. I love all vases. And, those little glass bottle types featured on John Henry Online are calling my name. We have used little blue glass bottles for tiny bouquets. And, sell these complete with the bottle. We also like to use European enamel buckets for blooms sold as single stem. Wendy, speaking of yellows, peaches, oranges..... Oh, and pinks and yellows...... This is an autumn bouquet... Thank you for mentioning the bunting, Prairiegirl. I found it on eBay. It's tea-dyed cotton; and, I was going to tea-dye sheets to match. Evidently, as you can see, that did not happen last season. Kirk, The Aster Solidago is dyed with a product called Absorbit Dye from Design Master. It is available in holiday red, deep blue, ice blue, teal blue, burgundy, larkspur blue, lavender, yellow, perfect pink, purple, holiday green, and orange!! Fun stuff to work with. Helpful hint: Wear rubber gloves or your hands will also be permanently dyed as well! One final photo -- just because I loved Canterbury Bells... Hope that answers all the questions. Regarding my ongoing battle with cancer, I keep telling myself that lots of things in life are uncertain, but they usually work out fine. I tell myself to trust that things will always get better because they usually do! Trish

Can't help with the original post, other than to say if you use spice cake you may not need any additional spices, or maybe just 1/2 to 1 t. of pumpkin pie spice mix for a true "pumpkin spice" flavor. I will also contribute a really great recipe. If you can't decide between pecan pie or pumpkin pie, this bar recipe is the best of both worlds. -Grainlady PUMPKIN PIE SQUARES Base: 1 c. all-purpose or whole wheat flour (your choice) 1/2 c. brown sugar (can reduce it to 1/4 c. if you'd like) 1/2 c. butter (softened) Mix until crumbly and press into a 13x9x2" baking pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350°F. In a large bowl (or blender) combine: 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin (puree) 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 can (13.5 oz.) evaporated milk 2 eggs 1 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. ginger 1/4 t. cloves Beat well and pour mixture over baked crust. Bake 20 minutes at 350°F. Topping: In a small bowl combine 3/4 to 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 c. brown sugar 2 T. butter Sprinkle over pumpkin filling and bake 15-20 minutes more. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into 2" squares. Yield: 2 dozen. Grainlady notes: You can use 2 t. pumpkin pie spice mix for the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. I use coconut palm sugar instead of brown sugar (which lowers the glycemic impact). For a gluten-free version, replace the all-purpose flour with an all-purpose gluten-free flour mixture.

2many, I kind of thought it wouldn't travel because members here once sent me a piece of key lime cake from Florida. It arrived in a plastic container in a crumbs and icing pile, and it still tasted good but it sure wasn't pretty, LOL. The pie, though, with the eggs and milk, I'm just not so sure about. Or rather, I AM pretty sure about. (grin) Cute idea, though. I'm not crafty at all, everything I try to make like that turns out like those Pinterest fails you see all over the internet. Every single time. I can decorate cakes, I can sew, I can build a training pen for the horses and field dress a deer, but I just cannot do those crafty little cute things, especially with a paint brush involved! Annie

I've not made pumpkin pie in a few years. I found an organic can in the pantry so may put that on the menu. My recipe, here somewhere, though I bet it is in my vintage issues of Thanksgiving FoodandWine,....is a bit more like a custard. My dad prefers the original. My recipe has heavy cream, less sugar, (brown), and extra egg yolks... Keep in mind Libby's changed the recipe last year after 75years. Reviews are mixed but most like it. 25% want the original. The new recipe on the can calls for a can of sweetened condensed milk. Adds more sugar and a bit more volume, doubles the cloves.. Close to 1500 more calories in the can vs 3/4 cup. And some comments say it is more like a custard. Creamier. Makes sense that adding another canned good increases their holiday sales.