I love hemming things. Frayed hems on jeans were de rigueur when I was in Jr. High. Then (probably because we grew quickly) came the era of adding 2" wide decorative trims to the hems of jeans. And then your's truly mutinied and began rolling her jeans up to expose her collection of argyle socks while proudly sporting her blue and white saddle shoes (which I kept polished). What a tool! My favorite alterations to perform are: 1.) shortening sleeves (love tailoring!) 2.) replacing zippers (esp. in trousers) 3.) hemming (coats! that tailoring thing again) 4.) pocket replacements As for the criticism thing, when you work in a trade that requires it you get used to it or you find another line of work. Criticism works best when it's delivered concisely and is restricted to the WORK. When it becomes nit-picky or personal it ceases to be effective. I have a mental switch that I flip "off" when the criticism over how I trim threads or fold the corners on things is brought up. Mostly because after 30+ yrs. I'm confident in my ability to perform those things efficiently and neatly. Some of my earlier employers were rightly withering in their criticism of my work... sloppy doesn't cut it in my trade. Attention to detail is the name of the game. No 70s here yesterday, Kathy. Another 6-8" of snow with a brief interlude of rain and then back to snow. Everything is looking clean and fresh now. And the Huge One had lots of fun snuffling through the powder. Litter pan use is on high and I've been mining at least 3 times/day, no sooner do I finish than another cat comes running to make a deposit in the fresh litter. :) We had a roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable medley for "comfort food" yesterday afternoon. I emerged from the Lab. only a few times, once to make the stuffing, and a few others to brush the top of the bird, and lastly to eat. The helpmeet was problem solving: a critical seatbelt buckle malfunction in his car, a careful scrutiny of a bookshelf that had developed the sags over time (now lives in his work area as it's beyond easy and attractive repair), and his first long look at the looming window casing project. I fear my keyboard is giving up the ghost slowly but surely. It will be time to go next door and see if the BIL has one he can spare. The shift keys are increasingly stubborn and the enter key is now on strike. V., I love calligraphy. I've never tried it before but it really looks as though it could be exhasperatingly fun. ;) How many envelopes did you have to address? I have to get rolling, busy day ahead for me full of not-so-meaningful work, including a dreadful seat recover for a customer who has been a complete PIA for nearly a year now. We can't finish the work if he doesn't call back with the final word on the how he plans to reattach the completely rebuilt seat frame for his stupid boat, since attaching the foam and stapling the cover in place means we have to know which set of bolts he plans to use...

Good morning all, Happy Autumn to everyone! Can you even believe it? Seems like yesterday it was spring and we were all planning all the summer festivities and here it is another summer gone. As Im looking out at the September gardens here I have to thank all my Idyll and Garden friends whove given me so much information and inspiration over the last four years. There never used to be this much interest in the fall gardens. Ive learned so much here not to mention making friends for life. One of my lifes many blessings. So speaking of friends, I so wish you all could have been here for the afternoon yesterday. We started in a bit of a rush because Dougs cars battery died at the grocery store and he was stuck there for the longest time and got home barely in time to mow the lawn. I was running late because he was running late and anyway I was just finishing getting my hair put up when Chelone arrived. Normally Id be in a froth to be running that late but, no worries, these friends just are so laid back and mellow, no problems. Everyone arrived within twenty minutes of each other and Les and Monique brought up my bargain urn which took several of us to decant from Les minivan. Here is a pic I love the egg and dart detailing around the rim. What a buy, $50. for this because the corner is broken off. Detailing on the sides Anyway, originally I was going to put this in the way back on a rock I have back there but Im thinking I want to keep this in the front of the house as its such a beautiful piece. After we got the urn out of the car we had a lovely, leisurely tour of the gardens. As Ive said before and Ill say again, there is nothing as enjoyable as sharing the gardens with other gardeners. The high points were the Charles Grimaldi and all the lovely fuchsias are putting on quite a show at the moment. I was able to get some ideas for the new shrub border and show everyone the new pieced, rock mowing strip I put in a month ago. While we were doing the garden touring Doug was making salad and opened some wine then caught up with us outside and brought us a beverage of choice. What a peach! After the tour we settled in on the patio for our al fresco dining event. We started with Dougs famous smoked salmon served with the diners choice of pickled ginger, sour cream with dill, capers or hot pepper jelly as a garnish. I dont know how he does it but it is seriously the best salmon Ive ever eaten. Saucy brought a lovely home made bean dip, and a brillian bruschetta, Yum, yum! Wendy made her splendid spinach/feta/lemon dip. (Recipes please ladies) and Les made his gustatory delight guacamole. So who needed dinner after those appetizers? Well, we persevered, took a short breather and did justice to the main course of a crisp, tossed salad, Chelone brought fresh tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, Doug prepared grilled, marinated zucchini and the piece de resistance supplied by Sue/Tom/Monique and Les, gigantic prawns, marinated in garlic, cilantro grilled to perfection. Monique took some pics of these brilliant edibles from the sea and I hope she shares them with you all today. They looked like little lobster tails on the platter. What a superb meal! Whoops, almost forgot the corn on the cob but maybe I was trying to because Im now the laughing stock of the group because I eat my corn one row at a time. So maybe Im a bit OCD. LOL After another breather to make room (yes indeed there were home made desserts as well) we had Moniques magnificent apple cake with warmed caramel/pecan sauce and Wendys wonderful chocolate org - sm. (She assures us that really is the name of this decadent dessert.) Ahhhhh.. I dont think I need to eat for at least two days now. LOL As I said hopefully Monique will post pics of the food selections. (However, she really could avoid posting that unfortunate photograph of me and Doug with our faces pressed into the screen door. ) OK Ill post this then read the Idylls as there are lots of comments I want to make. Deanne

Jim, a September cutting can still be rooted successfully - I did this two years ago with a boxful of branches sent to me from Virginia by my aunt, when she pruned her fig bushes for me. I ended up with over a dozen plants that "took", though some are still small (but that's just me still learning how to grow them in pots). You'll want to select enough nodes to get decent rooting, while having room left for it to push some leaf buds - how many cuttings did you rescue from the branch, and what size are they? Presently I'm rooting pencil-diameter-size cuttings just started within the past four weeks, from a branch pruned off a friend's tree, and had at least two of four send out roots while wrapped in damp paper toweling, inside a plastic bag. Three have pushed leaves/stems already (actually, the fourth did also, but it was low on the cutting where I wanted roots to grow, so I nipped off the growth and am waiting for something at the terminal end instead). If you do a search on propagating or cuttings, you'll find a wealth of information within this forum on how to start them, but I'd recommend using either clear plastic bottles or cups (drainage holes punched plentifully in the bottoms) filled with damp perlite/vermiculite mixture (or something else exceedingly well-draining), *not* potting soil and not dirt. You can try rooting horizontally in a plastic container, using the same mixture, except partly burying the cutting. Roots can be coaxed out sometimes by using the damp paper towels around the cuttings, placing in plastic, then in a dark place, but check often for mold and for signs that the leaves are pushing first. I rinsed mine frequently and kept them upstairs where the temperatures were the warmest, and had very fast progress that way. Keys to good rooting will be: - avoiding excessive moisture (otherwise it will rot the wood), but keeping humidity up by tenting or partially covering the cutting - providing decent warmth in the root zone (a heating pad or mat is good if you can set the cuttings in their containers on top of one). - *avoid direct sunlight*, or the cuttings will fry. Keep them in bright light but without UV radiation hitting them. If you're starting them now, I'd keep them indoors and give them extra lighting (fluorescent is ideal) if you can. That's how my four are going now, along with another rooted plant that I'm trying to coax into leafing out - I do tend to keep the youngest cuttings going over the winter, since there's no time for them to truly harden off before cold sets in. BTW, most here would probably recommend NOT using a rooting powder or hormone. There've been rotting problems associated with them, and figs are typically so easy to start, they don't need it, and it may actually interfere with the rooting. I have better results without the stuff. Please ask if there's something else that would help you turn the Canine Caper's carve-job into new plants! Sherry (still learning how it's done even after several years now)

Those old botanists were not exactly politically correct. The first Greek noun referenced in that epithet ("cyn-") has an even more unsavory aspect: it flowed into English many, many years ago in a form I will NOT wirte ANYwhere that is the most derogatory appellation for a female (human) that I know of ....