Shirley, what month is that Garden Gate magazine? I see all the Hostas on the front of it, gotta get me that issue:) Laura, WS is fairly simple, but I usually start in Febuary, be careful with Parks though, I have ordered from them and I am still waiting on my Lisianthus from them that I ordered a season ago, they sent the seeds right out, had to push on them before they would send any of the bulbs they was suppose to send, every time I called on the Lisianthus they told me it was still on back order, I finally gave up, I just got their newest catalouge and I see they are still selling that item, hmmm... giverny4me, birds are not hard at all the main thing to remember is you have to have a nesting box for them or they usually won't even lay eggs and if they do they won't sit on em, now mom had some finches and try as she could she could got them to hatch the eggs, she raised cockatiels, lovebirds, doves and parakeets, the cockatiels were her pride and joy though she had all different kinds of them, I had a blonde one from her and I thought that one was just georgeous thats funny on the empty box thing cause while I was wrapping everything I talked with DH about getting into my supply of boxes and wrapping them to make it look like we had a gigantic amount around the tree, plus I thought if someone broke into the house maybe we would get lucky and they would just make off with the empty boxes, lol!!! Kody already feels very bad about what he did, he told me if he was me he would probuably take everything back, he said he would be okay with just clothes, he feels everything very deeply and tries to spare everyones feelings, he sticks up for the younger kids as well, if a little tyke is getting picked on on the bus he usually puts a stop to it very quickly, he just has a way about him, that's why this really threw me for a loop, Coleton on the other hand... I should of thought about it before I put them out there, but with everything going on haven't been getting much sleep and my mind just isn't where it needs to be lol!! DH told me that he was pretty sure I never put the gifts out before Christmas eve since Coleton has been two, thinking he may be right. Going to put all the clothing gifts out and hide the goodies (most of Kodys are Game Cube games and acessories, Coletons are Vtec games and acessories and cars stuff) they can open the clothing stuff Christmas morning and we are going to act like that is everything, then after Christmas dinner I will pull the rest out, and I am going to leave the wrapping paper as is, so they can think about it as they finish unwrapping them. My mom bought my oldest a futon bunkbed for his room, so when he has his friends stay over they won't have to sleep on the floor, it is so neat! One thing about it they don't have a clue what the grandparents are getting them, and as they are the only grandchildren they really get spoiled, I have had to put my foot down, they don't get gifts except for birthdays and christmas (clothes and little stuff sometimes, but they were getting way out of hand) I was lucky to get a birthday gift when I was a kid and Christmas I could count on getting at least two gifts, didn't hurt me none, think I turned out okay (well I might be a little wacked, but it just enhances my personality) I think I will get a basket of goodies though, and I will take the kids with me to my Uncles nursing home and let them hand them out, what a excellent idea, I will have my mom call the nursing home and find out what is acceptable and how many residents they have, love that idea more and more!!! this is getting hard to load, took me 5 minutes this time, I was blaming it on my computer! michelle

Jumping in late to this conversation and went back into past posts to find out about the books. Like you, Trailrunner, I would be very upset. I have all the books that belonged to my children. And there is a memory with each one. DS #1 loved The Poky Puppy, an inexpensive Golden Book. We read that book multiple times a day for 2-3 years as it got smaller and smaller because a little boy liked to sleep with parts of it. When he was expecting his first child, I bought my son the book. He read the book to his unborn child and today it is one of our grandson's favorite books. I wish you the best of luck in retrieving this memory-filled box. As a poster said in the original message, start the collection again through resale shops, garage sales, etc. On a happy note, grandbabies are the best! Our third grandson was born October 28 and our 4th grandchild will arrive in May. Perhaps I should change my moniker to 'Mimiof4'!

I think there's a big difference between a "cooking" show and a food entertainment show. The problem is, the networks don't seem to think we need both of them, and the entertainment shows are edging out everything else. I love the names Sandra Lee's food creations have been called, including "edible hate crime." Nigella Lawson is really magnetic, and I love her "Feasts" cookbook. I also agree about Jamie Oliver's passion for food; I loved that series where he toured around Italy. I used to love ATK but Chris Kimball just started to annoy me too much. The formula is always, look what an apocalyptic disaster every apple pie/beef stroganoff/ham sandwich you've ever eaten is! Dry! Soggy! Heavy! Tasteless! Overcooked! Raw! Radioactive! Asbestos-laden! Yeah, if every classic were always so wretched before Cooks Illustrated came along, why would we want to learn how to make them? I also agree that the recipes are generally too complicated for what you get, but I have not had the same fantastic results. Just not worth it to me.

I'm hoping for another book by Julia R. Fleming about the helicopter pilot turned Episcopal minister, with 'feelings' for her small town's chief of police. Dramatic, very human characters, *funny*, unpredictable. I liked Anne Perry's books set in England between the wars, but she began to repeat herself -- writing too much, too fast? DH and I ejoyed Silva's books featuring Gabriel Allon, but...eventually the character is running out of steam. Great plots! Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko is another great character. ("Gorky Park", etc.) Love Sandford, Robert Crais, the late Donald Westlake. (So sad there will be no more from him.) S. J. Rozan! Her Chinese-American detective Lydia Chin and her 'friend'. ("The Coldest Place") Who is the author who writes about books and book sellers? Lives Minneapolis, I think. May I mention my modern favorite book, "City of Thieves"? A 'fairy tale', a mystery, reads like Dostoevski might have written it if he'd lived through WWII. Alan Furst -- "The Polish Officer", etc. Philip Kerr's character Bernie Gunther in the "Berlin Noir Trilogy" and more. (Another character who must eventually wind down...so sad.) Oh-oh, I've really stayed from the OP's request. Sorry, Susan.