What impressed me was no list of things wanted...my son used to have almost half the things in the toy catalogs from Sears and JCPenneys marked with big red checkmarks. I remember one year when he made out the order form...complete with his name in the "ship to" box...he explained he thought it would be easier for Santa since Sears was in a nearby shopping center. Be sure and save LF's note...it's priceless. josh

Hey, Toni...we're the opposite black sheep here. My dad had 11 brothers & sisters, mom had 6...so everyone one of THEM decided to have no more than 3 each. I only have 2 brothers. But hubby and I have 6, with #7 on the way. LOL Everyone thinks we're nuts. The first in our family since the grandparents to have more than 3 kids. Even grandma thinks we're kinda insane. But, we don't plan on stopping any time soon, so who knows? I'm only 31, hubby's 29. Lots of child-bearing years left for us. :D

I just got home from a VERY stressful day at school. That is saying it mildly. Several issues with students and I am wrung out. Yes, it is 10:00 PM. I announce the basketball games and both games went into overtime. The kids played hard and the visiting team was a bit unruly. Well.... I get home and waiting on my table, my kids left me a pile of mail: junk, bills and sitting on top were the following cards! Kiddo sent me apple gourds and wants to trade! Cool and yes! misskimmie sent me pepper: corno di toro. msmacgyver sent me Hawaiian chili peppers! poisondartfrog sent me rhubarb (never grew it from seed!), lemon drop pepper and Pimente Cambuci edible and ornamental peppers in these really cool hand made envelopes! I really, really needed something like this today. Thank you so much.

Oh, October. I've hit it so hard this summer that I just sort of put it in fourth gear and have been coasting gently for a month. I kept track of what I have grown and canned, and the just veggie garden alone over six hundred pounds of produce. I'm laughing because although it was a good year, I have cut back on it from what I used to grow. The fruit production has been the best I've ever had and I'm thankful and have given and given away apples so they'd not be wasted. Quilting has been a few minutes/hours here and there for months. I've a quilt on the dining room table now doing the hand finish work on it as the mood strikes me. Decided when this one's done I'm going to start gathering up all the smaller pieces in my stash and just start making four inch HSTs and toss 'em in a box until I get bored with it. You KNOW how many patterns you can throw together with HSTs. There are none dancing around in my head right now and when one pops in, alls I'll have to do is put it together.