I had occasion to go to the same LoweÂs I stopped at late last week (the one I was so annoyed at because they had nothing on sale). When I was there before I had run out of time and hadnÂt had a chance to see if they had bulbs. So I went back today with some renovation returns. Hardly any bulbs, and nothing special at all: just tulip mixtures by color, etc. Less than a quarter of what the one I used to go to would have. Phooey. This time though they had reduced small tropical hibiscus to $1. Pots are about a gallon. When I was there last week they were $4 each and still had flowers. None were blooming now but most still had buds: very healthy looking too. So I bought 3. No idea what color they are, but hey, they were a $1. I tried to pick ones that I thought might be 3 different colors. Of course this makes 3 MORE hibiscus I will have to winter inside, in addition to the 4 I have already, but hey. You canÂt buy a houseplant of that size for a $1. They had a few perennials that I know werenÂt there last week since I had gone over everything very carefully then. Not really clearance priced yet, but not expensive, so I decided to get them anyway. A Red Dragon Fleeceflower, a Black Adder agastache, and a Crème Brulee coreopsis. I have wanted one of those for a long time, as people here have said itÂs a better coreopsis than Moonbeam, which I have not had much luck with thus far. The Black Adder looks like a much brighter blue than the agastache I have now which I think is Blue Fortune. Plus I used to like the TV show of the same name with Rowan Atkinson. So IÂm feeling a little less deprived; though not actually feeling lucky yet.

whiterosesinbloom I purchased my Whirlpool dishwasher thru Costco, (which I have bought a lot of our appliances through Costco over the years) and never needed their concierge service. I called the Costco concierge hotline to give that a go, they did basically just work as a liason between me and Whirlpool so if it were under the warranty you are correct in that it may have been easier to just call Whirlpool directly but I also wanted to test out Costco's support as I have heard rave reviews. It was a good experience but hold times are super long waiting for a call I tried 3-4 different times before finally leaving a callback number and they called me back in 20 minutes or so and I am indeed getting replacement racks for free. I have not received them yet but did get a shipping confirmation that they are en route. We have tried re-rack multiple times and was not flawless it's sort of a better than nothing approach but if we can we'd rather just replace the racks even if we had to pay as long as the part is still available. Our prior dishwasher that was the issue we replaced them a few times but eventually the model was obsolete and the few parts left went way up in price where it was cheaper to just buy an affordable newer dishwasher.

i had only heard of this once or twice before and spotted a recipe from lars that i wanted to try. couldn't find any of it here so i wrote and asked if it was important to the recipe? he assured me it wouldn't be right without it and both he and ellen sent me some--wasn't that sweet? lots of time around here if you ask, you will receive... anyway, his original method is good but i've also simplified his recipe and marinate chicken pieces and then grill them. either way will work just fine! but do try it--always nice to have another chicken recipe. Algerian Roasted Chicken  -- Lars--based on recipe by Chef Farid Zadi 1 whole chicken 4 cloves of garlic 1-1/2 tbsp Kosher salt 1 teaspoon of sumac 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds 1/2 tsp coriander seeds 1/2 tsp fenugreek 3/4 tsp cumin 3 tablespoons of butter, room temperature 1 tbsp minced Thai basil (or 1/2 tsp fennel) 2 lemons 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper extra herbs, 1 tsp each minced fresh oregano and basil, optional 4-5 sprigs of thyme Start charcoal for outdoor barbeque, using large chunks of mesquite wood and charcoal Place the chicken in a roasting pan with a rack. Slide your fingers under the breasts to separate the skin from the meat, turn the chicken over and do the same with the thighs. Mash the garlic with 1-1/2 tablespoons of salt in a mortar and pestle or finely chop the garlic and incorporate the salt into it with the side of your knife or back of a spoon. Add the sumac, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, and cumin and mix to pulverize the seeds. Add butter and basil and combine to mix. Tuck pieces of the butter into the "pockets" under the skin. Squeeze the juice of one lemon all over the chicken, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle freshly ground black pepper. Season the cavity with pepper, tuck in the lemon halves and more herbs into the cavity if desired. Place the chicken on the barbeque and cover, leaving vents fully open to maintain heat. Baste the chicken every 15 minutes alternating water and pan drippings. Midway through cooking turn the chicken 90 degrees. Continue frequent basting. The cooking time for a 3-1/2 pound bird is about 1-1/2 hours, depending on how hot your fire is. Cook to an internal temperature of 160°, measured in the thigh. Let rest covered about 30 minutes before carving. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the roasting juices, and pour into a gravy boat. Add salt, if needed. Serve with roasted potatoes, green salad, and French or Italian bread. Lars

The hair on the back of my neck went up when I read your post. I feel that you may getting yourself into a lot of trouble. You state that you want to go out on the water (by yourself) and at the same time, you profess not have a lot of physical strength, not enough to lift and carry anything very heavy. I did not hear one word about your swimming ability, nor how far you can swim in cold water. Here are several very real situations that I fear for you. 1. You get into a difficult to paddle craft and the wind blows you away from shore toward open water. You find that you can not row back - you are in trouble. 2. Its not going to happen, at least no on purpose, but you dump over or fall out of your craft. What do you do? Are you prepared to handle that situation? 3. You get some distance from shore and spring a leak, or a faster craft comes to close and its wake swamps your boat - fills it with water. 4. You spot a rogue wave headed for the harbor. What action do you take?