I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

bluedahlia

I tried that when we got Lilah, but she fell off the bed the very first night.  She was an escape artist too until I found a crate she couldn't get out of.  She may be small but she's very resourceful.  We'd come down every morning and there she would be, out of her crate.  LOL!

It's not a very good pic but it will give you an idea of what keeps her put.  Now Virg sleeps there with her and they both love it.  They don't feel confined, because it's so airy.

bluedahlia

As far as insurance, we got it through our vet.  It's about $30 a month each, but still waiting for actual details.

kira1234

Oh my, that is just too cute. It sort of reminds me of a bird cage. Her being an escape artist reminds me of the lab we had when the kids were small. She got out of everything including the house. She some how figured out how to open her cage and then the sliding glass door we had in that house. It near drove us nuts. She somehow always found her way back, but my goodness it was a trial for us.

bluedahlia

Animals are smarter than we give them credit for. 

kira1234

blue I have to say all the garbage that has been going on the last few day has really gotten me out of my rut, and I am very glad to have gotten a chance to meet you.

Anonymous

Dinner? What's dinner?!

bluedahlia

I'm so glad Kira.  I love to meet new people as well!

Yan, so glad you joined us.  Stick around.  You'll be roasting brussel sprouts before you know it!

kira1234

Brussel sprouts, now doesn't that sound delicious, I love them anyway I can get them. Yan, I'm glad to see you on as well.

Anonymous

I love brussel sprouts. They are also healthy.

Thanks for the welcome. 

AnnNYC

Yan and Kira, glad to see you!

Dinner was boiled potato pierogi with sauteed onions.  Still need something green!

crazy4carrots

Yan, do your boys like brussels sprouts?  I found that they were an acquired taste, and my DH unfortunately still hasn't acquired the taste!  However, he did plant them in the garden again this year for me.  They take forever to grow -- last year I harvested them in November, and they were still only slightly bigger than peas!  But really good.

Anonymous

My boys and brussel sprouts are two things you never see together, sadly. They do like broccoli though.

Anonymous

I planted cherry tomatoes, parsley and dill this year. Also I have a cherry tree and red currant. 

kira1234

Oh I so love gardens, but here in Florida our dirt is just sand. When I lived in Illinois I had a great garden as well as cherry  trees and apple trees. I really miss the seasons. What is a red currant?

bluedahlia

I'm still waiting for my fence.  They were supposed to start last week but no sign of them yet.  I have perennials my daughter got from Casa Loma (They divide and sell them every year) and 2 rose bushes ready to be planted, but can't do anything without the fence.  My dad has a veggie garden and I get all my goodies from him.

Anonymous

Kira,

It's a berry bush. Full of Vitamin C, btw.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redcurrant

covertanjou

Yan, welcome!  I am so glad you joined blue's thread.

 I notice there are a few new posters...welcome everyone!

I went to my SIL's house for my niece's b-day.  There was so much food!  The best of course was dessert: a chocolate cake...YUMMY! 

revkat

When my nephew was 3 he had two imaginary friends. They played together for hours happily, giving his mother a break from a very verbal and social child. Sometimes it is good to play alone and give others the break they need.

My cucumbers have powery mildew, my tomatoes have leaf roll, my squash has blossom end rot, my chard has aphids. But the beans are doing well. 

AnnNYC

I'm not sure Revkat was speaking in metaphor about the garden pests!  To paraphrase Freud, "sometimes a sick chard is just a sick chard!"

suzieq60

Just spent a lovely hour in the winter sun weeding my front garden - getting your hands dirty has to be the best therapy ever!!!

NHC - totally agree

Roast chicken for dinner tonight with pumpkin, red sweet potato and beans followed rhubarb and apple crumble with thick cream - sorry girls - hope I haven't upset you with my dinner menu

Sue

suzieq60

Forgot to mention I toss the pumpkin and sweet potato in mixed herbs, salt and pepper and oil and roast them separately from the chicken - top it all off with gravy.

Anonymous

nothinghaschanged   

still laughing at your description "public masturbation" - hysterical!  I visited that scene, and while the metaphor you used didn't come to mind then, thank you for using it, cuz it does now!  And to Anne, for making Freud funny!

Now eating salad greens from my own ( first, I used to be a city girl!) garden - and getting ready for sugar snap peas.  Blueberries almost ready - think it's all the rain, feel sorry for the real farmers, and there are many of them, in western ma.

rosemary-b

The pumpkin and sweet potatoes sound delicious.

suzieq60

It was - I'm full. Do you guys get the red sweet potatoes over there? I love roast vegetables.

Time for bed - work tomorrow

BarbaraA

Red sweet potoatoes? Sounds great. I will look for them.

bluedahlia

I'm going to visit with my grandson.  My DD has a pool.  Might even have a dip if it gets hot enough.  NHC, I know to what you refer and even though I am pretty liberal about sex, I didn't really know what to make of what I saw.  I think it was the shoes.  You did hit the mark though!

Too early to talk about food, just want my coffee.

otter

I'm trying to visualize red sweet potatoes.  Are there other kinds in Australia?  We have sweet potatoes here in the U.S., but I don't think they would be considered "red".

[time out, while otter does some investigating...]

Ahah!  Yes, apparently the most common type of sweet potato here in the southern U.S. is sometimes called a "red sweet potato."  The skin is dark orange to red, and the flesh is light orange to dark orange:  http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/img/mg_swpotred01e.jpg

There are also "white" varieties of sweet potatoes, which supposedly aren't as sweet as the red ones.  (I hope I have all that straight.  It's kind of confusing.)  Otherwise, the plants are the same. I've never seen a white sweet potato, but here's a pic:  http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/img/mg_swpotwht01e.jpg

Then, of course, there's that whole confusing deal about "yams". 

Turns out, we really don't have true "yams" here in the U.S.  (Do you have them in Australia?)  Yams are a completely different variety of plant, taxonomically speaking.  They aren't related to sweet potatoes even a little bit.  What happens is that people in the U.S. sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as "yams".  That reference can be traced to African slaves, who thought the sweet potatoes they saw here in the U.S. looked like the yams they remembered from Africa.  A yam is a tropical plant that does not grow in the U.S., except possibly in parts of Florida.  If there are real yams in a grocery store here, they almost certainly were imported.

Here's a yam.  They don't even look like sweet potatoes, really.  The skin is dark and rough, and they are (apparently) much sweeter than sweet potatoes:  http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/img/ym_yam01e.jpg

Something else I did not know is that a sweet potato will be sweeter if it's "cured" after harvest and before cooking.  To "cure" sweet potatoes, store them at approx. 85 degrees F for 4 to 7 days.  (Mine are usually in the pantry longer than that.)  That allows some of the starch to turn to sugar.  Don't refrigerate them, though -- the cold temperature messes up the chemistry.

A good synopsis of all this is here.  It's the illustrated Cliff Notes version:  http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/mg_mglory.html

otter

Bren-2007

Working on my third cup of coffee.  I had nightmares last night and can't seem to come awake.  arghh.

SusieQ .. sounds like a great dinner. 

Blue .. so glad you get to see our little boy today.  Should be a fun day!

NHC .. that was funny.  I took a peek at  the thread you're talking about.  Different strokes for different folks.

Yan .. and all the new gals .. WELCOME!  We love having you here!

Hope everyone has a good day .. and Happy Father's Day to Yan!

Bren

Bren-2007

Otter .. we were writing at the same time ... great tutorial on sweet potatoes.  I only like them with marshmallows and brown sugar!

Bren

BarbaraA

I love them baked. Don't even need butter on them.