Thank you all for your warm welcome. I would have answered sooner, but I decided to find out why the GW hates my ellipses. So I grabbed up my trusty axe to chop my way through the dense jungle of complex computerese to find out. (Do the Nerds really have to talk like they do on the web? I wonder if they're just showing off.) Anyway, it turns out that Linux does not shake hands with Microsoft when they process ellipses. I don't know what Linux did to annoy you Mr. Gates, but I wish that you two would makeup and get this straightened out. I have decided that there are ways to get around this - short of switching to Microsoft. Maybe if I just complete my sentences without using an ellipise, but I rather like the dangling, airiness of them. I could type out the word ellipis or perhaps typing period comma space, period comma space, period may trick the computer. But maybe it would be easier just to get used to �. If this were audio, I imagine its what the bleep used to cover up a naughty word would look like. Again, thank you

purplemoon, thank you, well, since this treatment is going to last at least until Aug, I have to deal with good days (few) and not so good days, but I try to not have the bad days totally run my life...they just slow it down LOL Paintingfool, you just gave me a good belly laugh (Godiva) ha, only in my dreams, especially lately LOL I am glad that the tablesetting bug has gone to your family, there is nothing more pleasing than people actually using their "treasures" rather than making a shrine to them. To be lovinging touched and sharing a food event whether simple or elaborate is what makes the dishes special, because they were used with love. And each time the dishes are used they acquire a new patina of love every time they are used, now that is "priceless". And wow, 6 sisters, that means 6 opporutunites of beautiful tables and fun! dining delight, thank you too for your sweet words. I do hope what thoughts that come streaming out of this head (especially lately) are of some help to everyone, I defineatly do not have a claim to "engaging prose", I do the best I can, but of course if anyone has any questions I am always glad to take a poke at it. I do not consider myself an expert in any way. As I had said in the main forum under another thread, I do follow certain rules, but I do put up alot of others for grabs LOL, at this stage of my life I try to please me and others, the whole idea is to have fun, bring in color, excitement to what is a normal routine in most of our lives. My ears are burning in a good way, thankyou :) luvs, the Party Planner seems to be way behind on posting the photos, but if you go to her most recent comment about being busy...I think, you will see people that participated with comments, click on there blog sign and their blog will come up and you will see their teaparties.

Hello again. Thank you very sincerely for all of your good wishes. My brother and wife came down a few days ago and stayed with a retired telephone man who worked as their summer farm helper for several years and has had a trailer in Mesa, then moved to a motel when our brother's daughters arrived yesterday. They all gave me cards this morning as we gathered, plus one from nephew in Edmonton, who'd loved to have been here, for he loves family gatherings, and sister-in-law in Edmonton, as well. I worked in a bar 50 miles west of Edmonton for a few years in the early 80s and enjoyed visiting them ... brother had been killed in a vehicle smash a few years before that, when their young ones were teens. We went out to spend several hours at the Desert Botanical Garden, on the eastern edge of Phoenix ... and saw more varieties of cactus than anyone could conceive of being in existence, I think! Then went to a lovely restaurant in Mesa for dinner, to be joined by (step)sister and her companion, (and I brought home I think the biggest box of food that they had - wasn't sure which was the biggest - the box, or the pot above my belt. Then to sis and companion's trailer for birthday cake with 2 candles, an "8" and an "0" ... which I turned around to read "08", but they turned the cake back half way round. Actually, as most of them were on one end of the table, taking pictures, and I at the other, it did read "08" in my eyes, as I worked on the blowing out. Did someone suggest that a taste of second childhood might be blowing in the wind? dAUGHTER STOOD BESIDE ME, TO HELP WITH THE BLOWING, SHOULD i BE SHORT OF HOT AIR. So .. this smart-ass quickly raised his hands, clapped them over the candles ... and blew only one out - so I had to blow the other out by mouth! After some discussion, and calling some family members who were not present (brother's son in Toronto, recently married) ... we all went back to our lodgings for a well-deserved sleep. So - I guess that I'd better work on my beauty sleep, right? See you all tomorrow - we're going to Sedona, possibly Jerome (again). Will see whether I get re-inflated by an energy-vortex in Sedona. As for relaxing... I'll have 4 hours or so on the plane on Monday ... ... God willing ... and the creek don't rise. Oh, I forgot - they don't have many creeks around here ... well, there are some, but they are dry, most of the time. Actually, some of the cactuses can store over half a ton of water, they say - enough to last them for year or so. Even if I had a bath-tub full ... it wouldn't last me nearly that long. And I'm frugal! [Sorry - wrong forum]. ole joyful P.S. Have yourselves a happy, wonderful weekend, everyone. o j

Thank you, Rusty! The first kind of pie filling I thought of using for this recipe was strawberry. I don't really care for pineapple, and people usually like angel food cake with strawberries on it, so I made a connection. I agree about using any kind of fruit pie filling in this recipe. I thought about using blueberry pie filling sometime, too. However, Wal-Mart was all sold out of it when I was there yesterday. I wonder how peach pie filling would go with this recipe? I'm always happy to hear that my gram's lemonade is so popular with friends. I have it memorized now, so I can tell people or write it for them on the spot if they want the recipe. Brad AKA Moonwolf