Being in NYC, I'm privileged to have lots of clubs to join. It's actually a battle not to belong to ALL of them! I was in my local C&S Society, for 10 yrs. 'til I had to leave due to bad politics of new leadership. I'm in my Indoor Gardening Society more than 10 yrs. now & on the Board of Directors for a few yrs. at least. Other than interesting speakers, we often have plant sale tables which rock. I've gotten most of my Sans. collections, 12 diff kinds & not a yellow stripe in the bunch ;>) from friends here & the plant sale table. I ended up giving a Sans talk to the whole Group (abt 40 people) in Feb. 06, w/ great help from our friend here Norma (Dufflebag, who I haven't seen around since end Dec?). I was assisted in demonstrating their potting by my now deceased Hoya mentor. Indoor Gardening overlaps w/ other Societies, like Begonia, Bromeliads, Gesneriads, etc. so they bring their extras or propagation results to share w/ us. It's where I got my first ZZ, of which I've grown 4 plants from either single leaves or bare stems. Also Euph milii moratii (which I've never seen available commercially). A friend & mentor who died in Sept. used to propagate both these plants for the group; I hope to take over that task for the Group in his memory. Recently we had a great talk by Hydro people from whom, I bought a large variegated Hoya kerrii which grows in leca stones & gets watered every 3 wks. Since Oct. it's doing great (notwithstanding the fact that I accidentally knocked it over last month, spilling Leca stones (little porous fired balls of clay, all over the floor & of course, breaking off the vine that had 3 peduncles on it ARGGGGGGG))! Last month I just came home w/ a rare Pelargonium dasyphyllum w/ fern like leaves, very nice! No fees have been paid for this endorsement ;>) Need any more reasons??

Laura, (snicker), thanks so much. I would absolutely love the you-tube link you mentioned...send it to msmmetz@aol, or... post it on this thread. (I'm sure others would enjoy it too.) And yes, please do post a picture of the butterfly hatchery. I've had these random thoughts of adding bat and bee houses lately! A butterfly hatchery sounds much more appealing, and undoubtedly much safer. You noticed my "thing" for hoyas, a new addiction started last summer, right around the time I joined the forum. I went a wee bit crazy, but I'm clamping down now, I swear. Lisa, I do indeed need to share a picture of the gargoyle, and photos of Coconut Art from the resident artiste'. (Assuming you noted "Oh No! Mr. Bill" coconut art at the top of the shade house.) That's just the tip of the iceberg. The shadehouse isn't hurricane worthy (yet). (Ever?) Ah, we'll get around to it, we always have time, right? Cheerios, M

Grammy, those are so cute. I've been thinking about things I can make people for christmas -- Just a "little something" for close friends and relatives. I used to always make a bunch of fudge and caramel, which people like but there's so much "food" around the holidays and so many of us are watching our weight. So far I'm thinking of Potholders, coasers, those potato bags and now the lunch bags! Thanks for posting. Very exciting.

People love pie. I just put the pie on the table on a decorative hot pad or something, but I bake in glass (Pyrex) which isn't ugly. Since you're buying the pie, it may not be in a decorative dish. In that case, you can often put it pan and all into a slightly larger pie plate or casserole that's prettier. The edges and inside of the pan still show, but it's nicer. I know people who will pop the pie out of the pan and into their dish, but I'd be terrified. I'm guessing they can do it after much practice on deception. I would love to have a beautiful pie safe. The one I have is red plastic with a translucent white plastic top from Pyrex. It keeps the pie nice and fresh, but for looks it's picnic at best. :( I always take the pie out to serve at the table. A cake stand would be precarious for cutting a pie, I'd think, but you can put the pie on a paper doily on a platter. Or you could put little cookies, strawberries (or other fruit) or even flowers or other decorations around it to hid the tin.