Mantis - Last year my Symphony of Praise had very little splotchiness. This year it was splotchy about 30 percent of the time. (It definitely has a better track record than Born To Run and Wonder of It All.) But you must remember we have very heavy dew here nearly EVERY morning. Also, a lot of the times I don't take the mushies off because of hybridizing, so I either don't see new blooms (and don't know if they are splotchy) or the mushies add to the splotching. Overall, SOP is a wonderful pink - not my favorite, but in the top five. As a garden plant, I would recommend it 75%. As a hybridizing plant, I would recommend it 100% because it sets seed in extremely high temps and produces a high percentage of keeper seedlings. It just depends on what you're looking for in a pink. Debra

Lizzy, I think that's an even better idea than chicken on the bone, and here chicken is removed from the bone, added to the gravy and spooned over the waffles, much like your version I'd guess, except the chicken is fried. Many times chicken "strips" or "fingers" are used. Renee, you're right about regional dishes even within a state. Elery moved to Michigan when he was 11, but he spent his childhood in Tennessee and had never heard of chicken and waffles, although I thought it was a "southern thing". He was astounded when I dragged out the sorghum molasses to put on my cornbread, and said that was a southern thing but I've been doing it all my life and I was born here in Michigan. Of course, he claims that Grandma had to be from the south because of the way she cooked, but she grew up in Ohio. A little searching revealed that Grandma's stepmother, who raised her from a very young age and taught her to cook, was from Kentucky. So some of her cooking "migrated" to Michigan with Grandma and my kids grew up eating what is considered by some to be "traditional southern cooking". I guess after a couple of generations, the way people move around, anything can become a regional specialty! As for the chicken and waffles with syrup, I know a lot of people who will cover their sausage with syrup when they have breakfast, so chicken with syrup is no stranger than that, I've just always seen it served with gravy and never for breakfast. Annie

I made fish and chips on Sunday, and I used a recipe similar to Ann's, except that it has egg in it, and I dredged the fish in seasoned flour before dipping it into the batter. It probably came out too thick for Ann's taste, but Kevin and I liked it. When making the chips, I cut the potatoes into 1/2" (or slightly smaller) strips and stored them in ice water for a couple of hours. Then I deep fried them at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes, drained them on paper towels, and left them to cool while I prepared the fish. After I was finished cooking the fish, I refried the potatoes at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes, and they came out better than any other fried potatoes I had ever made before. I had been aware of the twice cooked method for years but had never gotten around to frying any myself because I feel like I get enough fried potatoes when I go out. However, these were so much better than what I get in restaurants that I will make them again fairly soon. Also, I was suprised at how much cheaper russet potatoes were than the potatoes I usually buy. I ate the potatoes with a fork, as I did the fish, which was some kind of "rock" fish from Canada. I also made tartar sauce and a soy/mirin dipping sauce for tempura turnips that I did not get around to cooking. I plan to cook the turnips tonight and also make some crab hush puppies, which will be a new experiment for me. Lars

Divorced Beheaded Died - Kevin Flude ( refers to Henry VIII's unfortunate wives) Here is a link that might be useful: Hear it Here from 'Horrible Histories'