The best part is you can calm down and not have to worry about all the things that can go wrong. I am in the nervous stage now wondering what terrible weather condition is going to come next and mess everything up.

We pretty much grow all the veggies we consume, and fruits too. We still buy avocados (plan to buy a baby tree), bananas, and artichokes, since mine are only starting to produce. I do not think I can grow bananas here, but might still try. Our situation is a little different since we grow 365 days a year. It is just two of us, but we produce a lot of excess that goes into canned/pickled/dried/smoked/fermented gifts. I stretch the season by planting in shade, or using amaranth and New Zealand spinach as summer greens, this way we always have fresh garden greens. We always have some type of legume growing (peas, favas, runner beans, limas, southern beans, regular beans) so we only preserve the excess. I recently gave several gallon bags away to friends, but we also pickled 10 pints. I do very little canning per se, since we simply eat what is growing. In a couple of months, different things are growing, so we eat that. I can and preserve when I have an excess that might go bad. However, in some cases, i like some preserved products so much that we grow extra, so we have the excess. Examples are smoked peppers, dried and smoked tomatoes, picked relish, pickled peppers, pickled green beans, stuff like that. It allows you to make your own gourmet food, that you would pay $$$$$ at a place like Bristol farms, except what you can produce from your own garden veggies and seasoning will be even better. You have to find out what works for your family, but I will offer some alternatives to canning the food on your list. - Tomatoes can be dried, and also smoked and then dried. Dried tomatoes can be ground up and made into an 'instant' tomato paste/sauce. No canning, jar costs, water costs, electricity, freezer space. You can use a solar dehydrator in many areas too. -Potatoes can also be dried, but they will keep in the cellar a long time. You can extend the growing season by staggering plantings, then you store them in the earth ;-) -same thing with winter squash, it keeps in the cellar. -peppers dry and smoke very well. I grow extra just for smoking. I have dehydrated zuchs, onions, carrots, green beans, kale, garlic, fruit.....I do it mostly for backpacking trips, but the dehydrated veggie flakes also make a nice addition to soups. I have not found any good way to preserve eggplant, except to make a dish with it and freeze it, like eggplant parmesan or moussaka.

what exactly did he replace? The lines from the transformer on the pole to the top of the mast is power company owned. There, the wires splice together and from the top of the mast, down the pole into the meter and so on is customer owned.

Have you already received your Welcome Packet from the Bianco Antico Club? I can't remember...if not....WELCOME!!! Finding the right backsplash for this granite is NOT easy. You would think it would be the easiest thing since everything does go with it. From the whitest whites, to the creamiest, from the brightest/hottest greens to the hunter greens, and so on. As you probably know (if not, I'll post a picture) I have a Beveled Arabesque tile. I won it in a contest. It is white and the shape is what makes it so special. We were on the endless hunt for our backsplash. I found a tile that we loved, it was by Mandala, The Sinu Collection, in Stingray. If you have the opportunity to see it, I suggest you do so. It goes so nicely with this granite. It is a taupe with variations. I believe srg215 (do a search, and you should find her) took my suggestion, went out saw it and fell in love and had it installed in her kitchen. Looks great. The reason we did not go with it was because I painted the backsplash area a color that was similar, just to get an idea how it would look. I decided that in my kitchen the darker tile would just darken things up too much--so my search continued. I had many a beveled Italian subway in there for testing. Then, on a whim, I entered a contest and bam, my kitchen was chosen. Even though I loved the Mandala tiles, I am so happy with my beveled arabesques--they really create the uniqueness I was looking for. BA is a complicated granite because you don't want anything to compete with it. It really is the star in the kitchen. Anything too small, like a 1x1 or even smaller would just add too much busy-ness. If you look at the Mandala tiles (and there are other colors in the Sinu Collection) keep in mind that there are different sizes available. We were leaning to the larger format 4x12s. Trying to minimize the grout lines. If you can't decide on the general "light or dark" backsplash--I suggest you paint back there and see what your eye likes. I was convinced I wanted the darker tile, but once I painted it that color, I knew--it had to be light. Here is the link to Mandala, I can't get you right to the tile, so open the link, and click on the following: Products Sinu And then there are things under this, "collection", "field tile", etc. but you have to see them in person to really understand. Let me know if you want to see a photo of my backsplash. I feel bad posting it again and again-- Here is a link that might be useful: mandala tile