I think most mums that they sell around here are hardy. They have been forced to bloom early to be in the store. When I've planted them, the blooms turn brown and I shear them off. If they are hardy, they will stay green all summer and come back next year and bloom.

I think you need another salad...Seems I always return to that broccoli, bacon salad... Or just a marinated veggie salad...I just cut up veggies, onions, green red and yellow peppers, zucchini, cukes, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, snow peas Jicama, shredded red cabbage....just pick out 5 or so veggies that you love....then top with a vinaigrette, let it sit an hour or over night ands erve. I also think you could forget the pinwheel sandwiches and the chips.... And I hate that chocolate fountain thing! I know it's been served at some very nice parties and fancy buffets....but I think it's run it's course but for 10 year old's birthday parties. I don't know how big a Costco sheet pan is.....but what they call a "full sheet pan" which is 19 by 26 will serve 64 nicely....if you cut smaller pieces you can get 100 pieces. But lots of places sell a 3/4 sheet pan.....and others sell a half sheet pan.\ Also....after shrimp you list "meat"...is that different from the meat for sandwiches? I am trying to picture people's plates as they go through the buffet....there will be some cheese ball and a few crackers....2 or 3 shrimp, a blob of pasta salad and some fruit, a devilled egg tucked in at the side, and a pinwheel sandwich... a sandwich ( you having bread or buns?) of ham and cheese ( you planning on having mayo, pickles mustard catsup etc to put on the sandwiches?) and then piling chips on top of it all... Will the dessert table be separate? Are you thinking of an hors d'ouvre table....if so I would put the shrimp, cheese ball chips and pinwheels on that table...and then have the main table with sandwich stuff and 2 salads....then a dessert table with cake, fruit and the chiocolate fountain, if you must. Linda C

I was just reading what Consumers Reports has to say about how long to keep these things--check out the latest issue on the newsstand. But I've checked into several sources on the web, including Suzie Orman's site--there's no "right" list--they all seem to vary a bit. One thing that Consumers said: Keep your pay stubs until your W2 form comes, then "reconcile" it. I have no idea how or why--maybe to total up state and income taxes paid already? I've never done that. Utility bills, I keep for a year. Some sources say you can ditch them after you pay the bill, and also, if you do any online bill paying with the utilities, they have your payments on file for a while. One useful thing about having a year's worth of utility bills somewhere, paper or online, is that they can come in handy when you want to sell your home and need to provide an average utility cost for heat, water, electricity on the real estate property listing ad. Also, they can give you a quick visual if you're thinking of paying the budget route--where your personal costs are averaged out and you pay the same amount each month. Home Depot receipts? Are you talking about new windows or a new power drill? Staple them to the warranty booklets. Anything less, reconcile with your credit card bill if you charged them, shove them in a Ziploc bag and store them a secondary storage place for 6 months or so in case somethng breaks and then toss them afterward. Also, the Consumers magazine also had an item about what you should store in your safety deposit box, if you have one at the bank. Social Security card, passport, car title, original insurance documents were among them, and many others. Worth looking at! I tend to keep my credit-card statements a few years longer than most people. I find that I'm occasionally wondering where I bought something from, framing supplies, for example, and a quick look at the statements reminds me which website had what I was looking for. For all my papers, I have a closet that stretches far back, and in it I have, in the front, a set of 2 stacked rolling filing bins, for the current year. Stuff that I know I want to keep longer goes in a cardboard file box that gets pushed to the back of the closet. (Also in that closet is a metal shelving piece holding all my stationery supplies, some fabric, craft supplies, my computer warranty and related documents and extra cords [in a large Ziploc]). So documents are all in the same space, but divided between what I really need more frequently and stuff I want to hold onto just in case!

The walls are definitely drywall, Allie. The walls are not lath & plaster. Since this is a curtain rod that you are trying to hang, I suspect that the anchors hit solid wood, the studs or a header. Take an ice pick or something similarly long & pointy and tap it into the hole w/ a hammer. If it 'sticks' then you know that you have hit solid wood (hopefully not metal framing or a large framing nail!) and all you need to do is patch the holes, drill new pilot holes and use longer screws, long enough to go thru the drywall and a half inch or so into the wood. If you have a cordless screwdriver or drill, dial the torque setting down & skip the pilot holes. (Use a little bar soap to lube the threads on the screws.)