I know this is going to break all of your hearts. But yes, I plead before this bar, that I, MarkyMark of California, hereafter known as "markymark-ca", did, does, and do continues to function in this world as a lawyer. While many a client might wished to seen said markymark-ca dis-barred as much to the level to which such an act must rise has never been met, sadly, that prong was never met. As much as this pains me, and my poor mother who slaved over the stove in Kansas--feeding chickens in the morning, baking bread for noontime dinner, and my poor father slaving over the John Deere---plowing that 340 acres for corn and wheat--- this poor soul did finish law school. And, as noted above, even passed the bar on the first try. (And two other siblings) The one who did NOT go to college worked the oil fields. Lo and behold. They found oil on his land....and the folks now live down the road with a view of Carmel to die for. The farm remains under contract farmers. As for the beforementioned civil action, WTF???????????????? $75 clams for a rider and $35 for a pusher? Do you realize the gold mine in my back yard in Pebble? Hell, there is no limit. I ought to hit the repair shops collecting model and engine numbers. Think of this as a challenge. Hell, I have almost a $1000 worth of claims myself in the backyard. And in defense of lawyer, I do know a poor soul who collected almost $5500 from Walmart in a discrimination suit. Said person was alleged to have been discriminated in hiring against black folk and/or African Americans. This poor soul happens to be from South Africa with Dutch decent....and yes, he did apply and collected. (Footnote) Attorney's got $11,000,000 from a total of 18.5 settlement. And for what it is worth, the beforementioned markymark-ca did crim law.....prosecutorial at federal level... kind of tried to put the bad guys away at times.

Always fun to list faves, though I think the best is the one that's blooming now! My current summer faves: brunfelsia Isola (lactea x americana, I believe, though no one seems to know for sure)is a blooming machine: I should have taken a picture a week ago, over 30 blooms in a 12" pot! It does get mealy bugs in winter, but it can handle a bit of abuse. Aglaia odorata, aka rice flower: mine's now 3 ft. tall, and seems to bloom after putting out new stems. Interestingly, the fragrance was almost the same as a cymbidium sinense orchid that bloomed at the same time -- heaven to your nose! Trachelospermum 'Mandianum', aka asiaticum, aka whatever they're calling it these days: has stayed in the same pot for years, almost a natural bonsai at this point, keeps popping out small yellow flowers with a marvelous, soft fragrance. And you gotta love the way old leaves turn red before dropping, for that two tone effect! And last but not least, now that I've figure out I wasn't watering my MOO enough, it's blooming all summer long! Yellowthumb, brunfelsia in Ontario? Have you checked flora exotica? Enjoy the scents!

Thank you Linda Lou, I knew minced was small, diced was cubes but didn't know size (I think I've seen "1/4" dice" but wouldn't know if that was on the large or the small side), and "roughly chopped" would be really big, but I don't know what "chopped" meant. I will cut onions and peppers to app. 1/4", Annie said she quarters tomatoes to make it chunkier so still want to know her consistency. Lisa, yes I do know 16 oz = 1 C fluid. I just assumed that paste should not exceed sauce, and it's easier to pour 4 oz out of a sauce can (to get 12 oz of sauce to equal the paste) than to spoon paste out (unless I measure it in Tbsp, then thoroughly scrape the spoon out). I'm not even sure how much I scraped out of the 12 oz can. But that brings up something I never thought of - the 12oz can is sold by weight, not volume, and I assume the recipe is referring to volume? So who knows how much I *really* got out of the 12 oz weight can? Of course, I could measure it next time, but if 12 (or 16) oz volume comes out to weigh more b/c paste is so dense, then I assume that wouldn't be safe either, the salsa would be too thick. Now I'm *really* confused. I did find on the Canadian Fight Bac website "cooked type (salsa) and not processed, it can be refrigerated for one month." - now, I did process these, opened 2 jars (1 hot, 1 medium) yesterday to taste and will use today at a BBQ. If I open the others and stir to oxygenate, will they last 2 weeks to a month? Or should I freeze them? http://www.canfightbac.org/cpcfse/en/cookwell/ask/where_how/#1684

Dear dodgerdudette, I love the contrasting colors on Our Lady as well. Our Lady can have so many shades of pink at one time. It's got a dark pink reverse, medium pink as it opens and finishes light, silvery pink. When it is in full bloom, it's one of the most charming roses. Children always think it looks like cotton candy.