Dear Dave, When I say 'everything else' I mean I have found other vegetables that are open-pollinated - such as cucumbers, beans, lettuce, etc. that produce (and taste) good in my climate (often better than their hybrid counterparts). I just have not found any open-pollinated tomatoes that produce a decent amount of slicing tomatoes. You are right in saying that climate is my biggest handicap. Some hot climates that do not experience freezes over the winter can grow tomatoes over the winter but those of us that have very hot summers (105F + day and 80+ at night) yet still experience freezing temps in the winter are often stuck with tomato plants that produce very little - if anything or with growing a few hybrid varieties. What I do to adjust for the climate is the following: 1. I plant my tomatoes in a lowered garden (lower does equate to slightly cooler) 2. I grow tall shading plants on the West side (the sun is hottest and causes the most problems for tomatoes in the later afternoon). 3. I plant my tomatoes far from walls or other sources of radiant heat. 4. I water every 2-3 days with a soaker hose for 2 hours to encourage deep root growth (When I used to water every day I would have lots of disease and very few tomatoes). 5. I provide my plants with non-water soluble nutrients early in the season (near the plant) so that fertilizing does not occur during the greatest period of heat. 6. I provide a 2 foot deep bed that is full of rich organic material. I am sure I could do something else, but this is all I can think of for now. I believe the kind of tomato cultivar I am looking for most can be called vigorous determinate (something small with a lot of dense foliage) that can produce tomatoes in the heat. Though my Siletz plants seemed to fit everything I am looking for (including production), the fruit exhibited a lot of BER - just like some of dwarf varieties I have trialed. As there is plenty of calcium in my soil I attribute the BER to some factor related to the root system of particular cultivars. A friend of mine that grew Siletz in a much cooler climate also had problems with BER only on the Siletz.

Yay! Glad to hear that you made an honest man out of Jammer! LOL Hate to hear that you're feeling so zapped. ((MaryAnn))

Many thanks for all your nice compliments. Hhireno: I know what you mean. DD has inherited my love of decorating and cooking. It will be interesting how she does in a small, shared dorm room at college. She's already telling us that she needs to skip the dorms and go right to an apartment instead. That's not going to happen(LOL!). KSWL: Tarpon Springs? Do you live there? My parent's winter home is right outside there! In fact, I'll be heading down there again sometime in the next couple months. I love Tarpon Springs! As for my silver colored nativity set, I love the detail, which is embossed n both sides f every figure. Not expensive, though. I bought them at Hobby Lobby for $10 on sale a few years ago. I usually keep them on my dining room window ledge during the holidays, as they're quite narrow. Here's a pic from my last year's Twelfth Night table. You can see them in the background there. Lynn

I think you are on the right track, Lynn.. and with much great guidance! College graduation was much less about a big party for me and more about my personal achievements. My parents did much what you're planning-- a nice dinner with a few of my closest college friends (a few days before graduation in my case.. we had a week between the end of finals and graduation) None of my nieces or nephews had big college graduation parties either-- nothing like their HS graduations. However, the two who moved away had "launch parties" which ended up being more send offs to their grown up lives. I was the only one to go on to grad school right after college.. and honestly, I'd have LOVED a trip! The only college graduation party was my parents' party.. the "no more college tuition party!!" which was marked by my youngest sister's graduation.