Thanks for the responses so far. Donn - I guess the issue for me is that I have ankle injuries *and* carpal tunnel so that it makes digging virtually impossible--esp true in the areas where there's gravel. I guess I am thinking of trying to make some raised bed. I am willing to forgo that for a while and just plant some annuals (babies I hope to start from seed) *if* I do it again late summer and let it decompose. The grass is dead/dying and some of the leaves look decomposed. Kimmsr- Thanks. I have actually read this and Lanza's two books, but apparently you can mess it up. I don't know if I didn't have enough time or what. I had posted in the fall about the black plastic Lanza says to use and lots of folks urged me to get rid of it so I did half time on (2 months), half time off (the next 2). The question is...what do I do now since there's not much decomp, there's no *magic* soil. Could I layer *really high* and dig holes deep enough for small shrubs (eg., small laurel or boxwood) that would eventually root their way into the ground? Or, will those root balls still be too high once the latest batch of stuff decomposes? I've read about everyone's successes and am willing to wait--esp if I can't dig. But if I can do this with shrubs, maybe that's the way to go? Thanks! Maybe it is just not enough time.

Not to worry Mari. As others have said tilling is not necessarily needed. My tiller was never effective in this rocky, hard clay and usually just bounced all over creation so I stopped trying. I've been doing exactly what you did for the last two years with great results. I'm slowly reclaiming what I thought were impossible areas just by putting down a couple of layers of cardboard right overtop of thriving weeds and making sure it overlaps properly to prevent sunlight from penetrating. Then I cover that with a thick layer of mulch/dirt, etc... (heck, sometimes I don't even mulch if it's an area that isn't easily visible and won't be an eyesore. If there are already established plants in the area I just cardboard around them and pull whatever weeds may reach out around their bases. Otherwise I just wait until the weeds are dead before planting new things. Even if a few stray weeds or runners find a way through it's much easier to eliminate those few once all the rest are dead. I had an area that was completely taken over by wild blackberry vines taller than me. They spread 15 feet closer to the house in just one season! So I whacked everything to the ground and then blanketed with the cardboard in the summer and everything underneath is dead now(yay!) I have yet to find a chemical brush or weed killer that actually does what it's supposed to and kill the root of the annoying weed grasses, thorny vines, etc... This takes a little longer but will not waste your money or time like spraying. I also just borrowed a large rubber liner from a relative and I'm going to use that to try and retake my gravel driveway and parking area one section at a time. I have heard this "solarization" is not always recommended for areas where you intend to plant though because the heat will also kill the beneficial microbes & organisms that are in that soil. Weeds in gravel are an awful pain. I look forward to a day when we can afford to blacktop it. Sincerely, Danielle

I've re-heated a small medium rare beef roast that I'd frozen in a vacuum sealed bag using the sous-vide method. I let the roast thaw, brought a pan of water to a gentle simmer, set the vacuum bag into the water, turned the heat to low and let the roast warm up for about 30 minutes. It tasted as good as the day I'd roasted it! It was still a nice medium rare. If you could find some food safe bags I'd give that a try.

Either way.....keep it covered while it bakes. It will take longer from frozen than from thawed....like 1 1/4 hours for frozen to 45 minutes for thawed. Linda C