I'm with Moroseaz ! I live in Bullhead City Arizona, where the bumper stickers say "Bullhead City - wind chill factor: 105F" ! I use shade cloth for my "babies", as well as planting them in half-barrels (to be able to move them around); they currently "live" in light shade...temps are now 100 plus...dry, dry heat(single digit humidity)until late summer monsoon season:temps will still be around 100, but with NASTY humidity ! but very little actual rain drops ! When and if it DOES "rain", I run out to the street and play "connect the dots" and do a happy dance ! In winter (which lasts about 2-4 weeks, like Moroseaz said)they are moved to full sun areas... I have chosen to switch, not fight the climate ! It's taken me nearly twenty years to reach this stage, but I'm finally crying "uncle" ! Much less stressful in my old age ! My ammunition is now limited to shade cloths, light shade, lots of mulch, epsom salts, society garlic, water, water, water, and then MORE water ! oh yeah, and a wide brimmed straw hat (for me) ! One more thing, I water all my plants in early evening (still light out)which is much more comfortable for us all ! I don't worry about wet leaves, they're dry before I can turn off the water spigot ! Overnight lows around 70F (sweater weather like Moroseaz said !)

Pineapple is a first cousin to the plant from which meat tenderizer is made. It has the same enzyme qualities--if you eat fresh pineapple in a large enough quantity, it WILL 'tenderize' your mouth and digestive track. But like with meat tenderizer, that action is stopped by adequate cooking. That's why several of you said you can eat canned (which is heat-treated, of course) but not fresh pineapple. The enzyme action that breaks down protein is also the reason why you cannot use fresh pineapple in Jello--gelatine being an animal protein, it will never set up if you stir in some fresh pineapple. I love fresh pineapple, but eat it sparingling, because I really don't want the damage it can do in large quantities. I'm surprised that that article recommends such large daily amounts, especially for seniors. Pineapple is a delicious fruit, but it IS possible to get too much of a good thing with it. Also, growing a pineapple from a pineapple top is a bit more involved--you have to dry the top, then trim it a certain way, etc. Not just pop it in a pot of dirt.

carmen, you are right, my dozen fat red hens cost more to feed than I can ever get out of the eggs, so I just have enough for the family and don't try to sell any. Here in Michigan they could free range all winter and they'd both starve AND freeze. I put them inside for the winter, they still get the table scraps and scratch grains, there are no bugs or seeds to find anyway. They have constant access to an outdoor pen, wire on both top and bottom to keep the neighbor's dogs, the local coyotes, skunks, raccoons and whatever else out. I give them fresh water every day but they seem to prefer to just peck the snow. I did raise a couple dozen ducks, but by the time I bought the ducks, fed them for 10 weeks, bought fencing for their pen, tubs for their water so they could submerge their heads, etc., and a couple of bucks each to slaughter and clean, they cost about $9 a duck. They cost more than that at the local Evil Empire, but not much. And that's before you factor in my time.... People want cheap food and many (maybe even most) are not willing to pay extra for better food. Plus, in my area, a lot of people already raise their own, so they aren't going to buy it from me. Some things, like turkeys, are cheaper to buy from the Amish than they are to raise myself! Annie

Ingrid VC, it's funny that you should mention English country house style, because it's the ultimate when it comes to being inclusive, rather than excusive in nature. The style was only christened with the name in the mid-20th century, but it's a look that's been around for few hundred years, and for ease & livability, it can't be beat, because rather than being about things--certain pieces or motifs (wire-fronted wooden cubboards="French Country"; pastel-painted coyote silhouettes="Southwestern")--it's about an approach, one based on comfort & practicality & hanging onto things, rather than tossing them just because their moment happens to be past. If the damask sofa's upholstery gets a little shabby, a chintz slipcover will take care of that. If the elegant curtains form the old family place are too long for the windows, we'll just call them 'puddled' and let it go at that. There are bigger things to think about. If there are rings on the mahogany finish where somebody put down a wet drink, oh well. That's patina. And threadbare rugs are welcome too, because they not only take less upkeep than pale carpeting, they're also cheaper. The ceaseless quest after perfection is a killer, and nobody does take-it-as-it-comes decorating like the English. But English Country Style it's not only inherited antiques & old stuff. The Victorian bamboo what-not over in the corner next to the Sheraton style desk was itself a brand new piece at one time, as were 192Os floor lamps, and if there was room for them in the overall scheme then, then there's also room for the 196Os brass drum table & the scratchy-looking 197Os wall hanging somebody made in the ashram, & those 198Os engravings of temples & that wire-fronted cupboard, too. It doesn't matter that it's supposedly "French Country" in inspiration. So, in the 18th Century, were Thomas Chippendale's ribbon-back carved mahogany chairs, and they fit into the mix just fine. And in the Victorian era, people began with the same room, with the same inherited family pieces both good & bad, then filled up the bare spots with Chinese vases & Japanese fans & Persian rugs & tooled leather stools from Egypt & native American baskets from Arizona & brass lanterns from Morocco & plaster casts of famous sculptures & tooled silver vases from India filled with peacock feathers or pampas grass. The eclectic look that's featured in Pier One ads or in vignettes at Cost Plus World Market is nothing more--or less--than a look that was common in millions of homes in say, 1880. So much for progress. But besides all that imported souvenir stuff in the typical English country house, there was the homey stuff, too. On one side of the elegant carved marble chimneypiece was Great-grandmother's rush-seated baby chair & on the other side was the dog's chewewd-up wicker bed & a pile of slimy doggy toys. Dogs were just as important to the overall style as were the family heirlooms. And of course there, in a prominent place, were the twin entertainment centers of the day, the upright piano & the stereopticon. As for the TV that's replaced those items today, Victorians were the ultimate believers in technology, so the last thing they would have done with an amazing gizmo like a 54" screen is hide it away in an old-timey cabinet, or othewrwise try to make it disappear. No, that's the great thing about the relaxed English Country house style, and more specifically, the ultra-forgiving, unpretentious Victorian version of it: there was room in it for everything, old & new, plain & fancy. That's why the style is still a good, practical model on which to base a room for the 21st century. Magnaverde Rule No. 16: Decorate for the life you really have, not the life you wish you had.