Guess I should tell you I made his hat out of piece of plastic canvas that I fitted around the paver with couple of extra holes & stitched it together to form a circle overlap so will stay in shape & then glued the felt on.Cut out piece to set on top of hat in oval & attach to sides in 4 places, cover with red felt. Hair was pieces left from mop doll making. JUst glued them on & made up face. Arms are that wire stuff with stars on it, hands are flag stickers I got from some veterans organization silvery with flag & I put 2 back to back for each hand with blue painted toothpick on pole side of flag.Glue to wire stuff. Couple of mop pieces for mustache. That"s it! I use it for a door stop!! Have fun!! Jan

Diane, I'm not sure about the quality of pickle you'd get from Armenian Cucumbers since they're actually from the melon family and not the cucumber family, but I know people who use them for pickles. Robert, I'm sorry you didn't get more plums. I have had years like that where a seemingly potential bumper crop just disappeared before it ripened. This year we have had an amazing crop and I still have a lot of harvesting left to do, but so far I have harvested almost 300 lbs. of plums and peaches from a total of three trees. I did thin appropriately, removing approximately 92% of the young fruit, and even after that thinning, the crop has been heavy enough to break many limbs on the peach tree and a few on the plum trees. The birds and insects have had their share of the fruit, but with such a plentiful harvest, we haven't missed the ones they've gotten. That's why I am awake....a marathon canning session during the coolest part of the day, which of course, means canning at night. I have the last batch in the canner now and then will go to sleep and get whatever sleep I can. Paula and everyone else, You can make your own garlic spray by combining 1 to 2 cloves of garlic in a blender or food processor with 1 quart of water. Strain out the solids. Add a few drops (not too much) of a true soap, like Murphy's Oil Soap or any of the vegetable-based Dr. Bronner's soaps or an insecticidal soap, but NOT a dish detergent, which is detergent not soap and can burn foliage. To make it more potent add a hot pepper or two when you mix the garlic and water together. The use of dish detergents, like Dawn, is recommended all over the web but is not a good idea. Detergents are not the same as soap and can burn foliage quite easily. I believe the recommendation to use dish detergents is an unfortunate carryover from the days when it was recommended to use dish soap because back then it really was SOAP, but nowadays it is detergent. I use Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap in my concoctions, although once the weather is hot, I avoid soap sprays as much as possible because they can burn foliage when used here at temps over 85 degrees. I've seen the commercial Garlic Barrier spray at some local farm stores (TSCs) in southern OK and north central Texas and at organic supply nurseries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I've linked an image of one of those products. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: This Is The One Sold In Our Stores

>> Yep, DITTO on what OA said! Candy, you find the most incredible bargains, on the neatest stuff, but this has to be in the Top Ten! I have two Mark Roberts Xmas Fairies, and would have more if not for the costs. I'd bought myself a small one, then my DDIL got me one a bit larger, different design. I've got a wish list of a few more I really 'need'. LOL. Congratulations on a great score. Bet you grinned all the way home!! hugs, Karen

Greetings, Clare, in your time of sorrow ... and dealing with a dilemma, I'm sending sincere condolences on this loss of a close loved one, and for others in your family who are grieving now, plus a prayer that God's grace may see you through with as little stress as possible. Can you call your Mom and talk of various things? Maybe hint around the issue, as she'll almost certainly want to know if you have any news of her brother. You'll know from what she says how much news she's heard. Are there any KT people near her? Especially sensitive, perceptive, empathetic ones? Would it be possible for one of them to tell her, or would that be just an absolute no-no? God give all of you wisdom, strength, courage and peace of heart sufficient for each day. Especially your Mom, that she may not have increased personal problems, especially health-wise, from these difficult events. ole joyful