I've grown various Charentais melons over the years and they are hands down the best flavored canteloupe of them all. I really suggest the F1 hybrids, the open pollinated varieties are great for gardeners but are unreliable for selling. "Savor" is my standby, it's a true Charentais with thin, smooth blue/grey rind, and no netting. It produces a little later than most muskmelons and needs plenty of heat in Sept. to finish up well. It doesn't slip, so it needs to be cut from the stem and the only way to know the right time is by experience. Too early and it's firm and not as sweet as can be, too late and it's cracked, soft inside and overly sweet (the kind you get drunk on). The other Charentais I find reliable is called "French Orange". It's an F1 that's got a parent with some netting to help it store a little better, but it doesn't have the classic, smooth, blue appearance (the french would pou-pou it). While not quite as flavorful as "Savor", it matures earlier and still has fantastic sugar levels and that classic Charentais taste. It does slip from the vine, making it a lot easier to harvest at the pefect time. Once customers catch on, I sell both of these melons as fast as they hit the table and due to their size, I get a higher price than the large musks. Hope this helps. -Mark

Good workout music is so important! I have to have music on my mp3 player that matches my pace on the treadmill or elliptical. DH is the opposite; it drives him crazy to think he has to match the beat! I have pretty eclectic mix right now, but it's all good: Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love, Bad Case of Loving You, Simply Irresistible Bon Jovi - Any Way You Want It, In These Arms, Livin' on a Prayer, The Boys Are Back in Town, You Give Love a Bad Name, You Want to Make a Memory Blink82 - All the Small Things Dave Mathews Band - American Baby Green Day - American Idiot, Boulevard of Broken Dreams One Republic - Apologize Bruce Springsteen - lots, but especially Born in the USA, Born to Run Sting - Brand New Day Gloria Estefan - Conga Van Halen - Jump, Dance the Night Away, Runnin' With the Devil No Doubt - Don't Speak Journey - Don't Stop Believin', Faithfully, Open Arms, Wheel in the Sky The Cranberries - Zombie Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter, Honky Tonk Women, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Let's Spend the Night Together Outkast - Hey Ya! Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl Crazy Frog - I Like to Move It Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me, Surrender Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day Lady Gaga - Just Dance, Poker Face Seal - Kiss from a Rose Pink - Please Don't Leave Me, Sober Natash Bedingfield - Pocketful of Sunshine Aretha Franklin - Respect Michael Jackson - Beat It O.A.R. - Shattered Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow Kings of Leon - Use Somebody Coldplay - Viva la Vida, Yellow Parachutes Sister Sledge - We Are Family Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It Black Eyes Peas - I Gotta Feeling

No great words of wisdom for you, but a couple of thoughts. For my older boys we bought the older one a subaru wrx and middle one a used saab 9-3. While they both have been amazingly trouble free, when they do need work the things that are wrong need to go the dealer and it's been expensive. In particular with the Saab - they don't sell them anymore so parts are pricey and hard to come by - some impossible. That said, son #3 now has his temps and I've decided he can only buy American or Honda or Toyota. Looking at a several year old Ford Escape with AWD - not real sexy, but safe and functional. I personally love a new car, and have leased my last two vehicles. I drive them three years and take them back! My DH is a drive to the ground guy, actually takes pride in how many miles he can get out of a car. I believe BMW includes all the maintenance on their cars so you have to factor in those fees you'll also have to pay on a different car that probably will need some work. I'd keep the BMW, cancel the collision insurance on the Jeep since it's so old, and buy the girls a decent enough car that it will last at least 6 years. I think the 2010+ Fords are all good quality, and reasonably priced. I like the Ford Fusion. I also am a huge fan of Honda Accords and Civics. You should be able to find a fairly decent one for under $10,000. Goodluck, teen drivers are not for the faint of heart.

Ahhh communication! We wrote letters, or if we knew the person we waited until Sunday when the rates were cheaper and called by phone. But couldn't talk long because of toll charges. Yes the AVSA was an important way to find out what was being hybridized and registered. There were no NOIDS then. I don't think there was much trading leaves thru the mail. Mostly you bought your violets in the stores. They all had tags in them. I even remember that some of the tags were hand written with big black marker. (didn't have sharpies then!) Trading thru the mail was not something anyone did. If a violet came in the mail it came from a greenhouse that you ordered it from. Also there were a lot of florists in my area that also had their own greenhouses (for raising bedding plants, glox, cactus etc) and they also raised violets from leaves. They would order leaves from Lyon, Tinari etc., put them down and raise them for sale. A wide variety of plants would end up for sale. The same violets that were registered (AVSA) were the ones in the stores for sale. Imagine that! Optimara was just coming into it's own. There were some of them also for sale. One of their early ones was Opt. Elfriede. Would love to have her again. Guess you call her Vintage! Yes there were tons of color catalogs you could send for cheap or free. I would dream about the violets in them and would be sooooo excited when I would be at the store and be able to actually buy that violet!!!! As I have said before,,,I still have some of my favorite catalogs and I look at them for reference. AND memories. AND information. Just this morning I was looking thru an old AVSA mag and saw the color pix of mini Pip Squeek sitting in the top of the head of a ceramic Snoopy dog. How cute. That is what we did. That was my world in SE Michigan! Rosie