Here's our new Seed Swap, Fall Frenzy Chat #20
We came from here.... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/925478/
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #20
I'm here!
Meredith -- totally OT... but obviously it's all over the news about NH and the power outage.
you must feel quite lucky to be one of the 'lucky ones' who has power.
I could not imagine being without, in this type of weather... we were at -8° this morning with howling winds.
Thanks for doing this Terese - I'm on DSL and keep forgetting!! Anyone else staying in today? It's all of 15 degrees out there, and I'm not convinced there's anything I need THAT bad to go out amongst the holiday shoppers in this weather. We missed that last storm by about 40 miles, and believe me - I AM thankful for things like that! Heard from a former co-worker of mine who took early retirement and moved out to Portland to be close to the kids - three bad storms in a row plus she had to have a root canal. She was looking on the positive side though, as we used to live in Chicago and the friends I have there say they're staying in as much as possible too.
This message was edited Dec 21, 2008 12:51 PM
I made it!
bringign this post from other thread, just incase soem of ya don't see it.
ATTENTION EVERYBODY
If you haven't mailed yoru packages yet. Wait til the day or couple days after Christmas. They not gonna get here any sooner cuz mail is backed up with the bad weather. And with this new artic blast and peopel last minute Christmas shopping woudl rather know ya tucked home safe and sound and not on the streets where some fool can slip and slide into ya.
be safe and warm everybody I knwo some of ya have sub artic temps.
tsc. Thanks for making the new thread. : ) Now we can gab til the piggies come home. LOL
I always wonder if it makes the news other places when stuff like that happens here. I am definitely lucky this time. In my town it seems most people still without power - were the ones that had lines come down at their houses. My neighbor diagonal from me and a couple houses a little down the road were like that. The woman diagonal from me got hers fixed on Fri. Now I know we are supposed to be supportive of the power company workers that are out trying hard to get everyones power back on, but there were 7 or 8 guys out there and when I was driving off for work, only 2 of them were actually doing something. I'm sure they had to be there for something that they couldn't do yet but it just seems like maybe the company could use an advisor on time management. THat would never fly with my husband, if he had guys standing around on a job - he'd find them something to get them working very quickly!!
Glad to hear you're doing OK Meredith. You're right - it is surprising to see crews with only a couple guys working and the rest "supervising". Just like road work - you gotta wonder sometimes how many guys it really takes...I'm thinking with the electrical guys they all may have different specialties related to wiring and such. Kind of along the line of "who knows" what they'll run into. That, or it's a good chance for them to make some OT - LOL!
Welcome back Tuink :-) Sorry to hear you weren't feeling good - hope that's the last one that catches you this season. My sis keeps telling me to get my flu shot, and yesterday I read that the flu that's going around isn't one of the ones covered by the shot - just like last year!
This message was edited Dec 21, 2008 2:46 PM
Lots going on this week, so I can mail tomorrow or next week Monday (the 29th). It might be safer to send the seeds along when the holiday rush is mostly past. I'll wait. Thanks Starlight!
Lebug, my Knockout rose is probably a little over 2 feet tall & across, but I think it would be larger if it got a little more water and TLC that it gets in that location.
I made the jump and am felling better-have all my labels made and my seed packs glues together-just have to fill them, so I guess I will take my time and mail them on Friday...
I am learning to have a new appreciation for snow - as insulation for plants over the winter. We received 8 inches on Friday and will probably get another 8 inches today. Luckily, no power outages here.
DD and boyfriend are helping DH do the xmas tree. I made the third batch of gingerbread; we make a gingerbread house each year. We like the gingerbread to be soft and covered with icing - except the roof, which (in Canada) used to be covered in chocolate rosebuds. Alas, we can't find those in the states, so we have to settle for hershey kisses.
Anyway, for anyone making gingerbread houses, the effect is terrific - looks just like totally cool shingles and chocolate and gingerbread is delectable!
I will take pictures as soon as it is assembled (I to buy lots more icing sugar tomorrow!)
Tuink, gosh, I hope you are feeling better. ^_^
Could you post the recipe too please? I've tried making a gingerbread house before, but the recipe I had didn't work at all.
Gingerbread houses are such fun! You can also find nonpariels, chocolate discs with tiny white dot sprinkles on them... Trader Joe's used to carry some great dark chocolate ones from Ghiradeli (sp?)... fabulous shingles! If you like white chocolate, get a mixed color bag of those little discs people use for melt 'n pour decorative chocolates. Last year, I found some miniature candy-coated kisses for decorations (so cute lined up on the ridge of the roof!), and I've also used ropes of "Nerds" (little chunky mult-colored candy from Willy Wonka, I think) around the edge of the roofline like Xmas lights.
I"m also curious about a soft gingerbread recipe... I have only every used crisp gingerbread and can't imagine anything else being structurally sound.
How did we start talking gingerbread here rather than over in the recipe forum? LOL
LOL - Critter, I realized when I posted that I was doing a major hijack - but we always tend to drift a bit and then come back to seeds and seelings :-) I'm off to the recipe section to see if Michaela's recipe is there....hint, hint, hint ;->
I've been in off and on, visiting neigbors that are home from work, I'm in the house all the time and going nuts lol When people are home from work here they aren't safe lol
Robin it sure looked like you were getting that good snow where you are on the weather last night, glad you missed it!
8" of snow on top of 8" of snow Seandor? My gosh! I never did care for the taste of gingerbread but always thought those houses were so cool! I'd love to see a picture when you're done :)
Pamsue, you hang in there and all of you that your power is going out it has to be agravating and all you can do is wait :( Glad you are back up and running again! I just couldn't imagine having to deal with that in the winter, it was bad enough here just for two days in the summer.
Critter it sounded like you had those knock out roses for a while, looks like they should be bigger than that, mine won't get much water either lol I'll probably plant mine if I get any in the middle bed and it kind of tends to take a back seat to the beds out front a lot of times, does that make me a bad mommy lol More soaker hoses, I need more soaker hoses!
I was trying to make a path down in the basement to the plant stands this morning and gave up it was too cold down there lol That will be my New Years chores, I always clean the plant stands and get them ready for two days then :)
Okay, here is the recipe:
step 1: melt together 1 cup of shortening and 1 cup of molasses.
step 2: in a LARGE mixing bowl mix together with a wisk until well blended:
1cup of sugar
5 cups of flour
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of ground ginger
2 teaspoons of ground cloves
3 teaspoons of cinnamon.
step 3 make a well in the middle of the flour mix, add the melted shortening/molasses and mix well (yep, use your hands!)
step 4 beat two eggs well; add to the dough, and kneed into the dough
step 5 add 1 more cup of flour to the dough - and mix very well, until it has the consistency of butter or shortbread. This will take a while and is much easier if you have a young man with huge warm hands to help out.
step 6: chill the dough for an hour or so, then roll out rather thickly - about 1/4 inch thick. If you are rolling out large pieces, like roofs, roll onto a piece of aluminum foil, cut your piece, remove the scraps of gingerbread, and gently slide the foil unto your cookie sheet.
bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
Let cool. If you are building a house, you need to make icing "concrete" to hold pieces together.
This is known as Ornamental or Royal Icing:
1 pound of icing sugar (aka confectioners' sugar)
3 egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar.
In a large bowl, blend the ingredients with a mixer until blended, then mix at high speed for 7 to 10 minutes, or until a knife drawn through the icing leaves a path. Makes 2 cups.
This icing dries very fast, so you must make each batch just before you use it, and keep the bowl covered with a damp cloth. If you save some overnight, you must cover tightly with plastic wrap. This will dry like concrete! We use it inside the gingerbread house to reinforce walls, corners, etc.
We make a softer icing for decorating by simply beating for less time.
The pattern for the gingerbread house is from Good Housekeeping, Dec. 1981. It requires 3 batches of gingerbread (with lots left over for cookies) and 5 batches of icing.
The key for soft gingerbread is simply roll it thicker, and don't cook for as long a time. So far, no gingerbread house has collapsed, and we have made them since 1977.
Enjoy!
Yay!!! Thank you!
Ok, you guys, I am going to really go OT right now, but I cannot keep a secret very well, and I am bursting to tell someone. You guys are my only "friends", and I cannot tell my kids until Christmas. Yesterday, while at Fred Meyer's, Joey asked me to marry him. I almost fainted. I lovingly refer to him as DH, but it has never been official. We have been together almost 10 years, and last year I my cat moved in with us, and I put my house up for sale. So I guess it is about time! We are going to go look at rings later today, and TRY to do some Christmas shopping. Now I know why he has been trying to get me to go shopping with him, and why he went WAY out of his way to decorate here for Christmas, and why he was so upset when his sister insisted that we come to her house for Christmas on the SUnday after (mainly because she does not want to spend Christmas holiday with my grandkids here.) She has never had kids, and all she wants to do is drink, and we think the holidays should be spent with family, and not be a big drunkfest. Oh well, her loss. I am so rambling, nervous I suppose.
Star, THANK you so much for giving us a few extra days to get everything mailed to you. I have a surprise in your box, too, so I am absolutely bursting to get it mailed to you. I am trying really hard to keep the secret!
Now you know why I cannot do a lot of shopping ahead of time. Instead of trying to get hints about what they are getting for presents, my kids have always tried to make me keep quiet!
Lynn --- Huge CONGRATULATIONS to you and Joey!!
what a special holiday season it will be... and wishing you a fantastic 2009!!
That's wonderful! Congratulations Lynn & Joey! ^_^
This message was edited Dec 21, 2008 5:48 PM
Woo Hoooo!!!! Congratulations!!
What wonderful, joyful news! You'll have an extra-celebratory Christmas this year, for sure.
(And that's not at all O/T... after all, this is also an official "chat" thread... but good news like that is welcome anywhere, any time!)
Congrats Lynn and Joey! Many blessings...
Congratulations Lynn! : ) What wonderful news : )
Awwwwwwwwwwww. That so sweet Lynn with you and Joey. Singning away the song Love is in the air. Lalallaaa. Congrats to you both. May youi both have ten times the ten years ya already had together. : )
Clap!, Clap! How very exciting! Congratulations! That is a wonderful gift for the both of you.
On the Rooter Pot topic:
Toofew, I'm not sure on if It would work with the roses or japanese maples. It's supposed to work on anything that you can airlayer. I've only tried it once and had really good results on my butterfly bush. I know that weilgeas (cant spell it right now)are pretty easy to root, like Spirea and forsythia. So I'm expecting them to root just fine. I have an awesome shrub called deutzia. Spelling again.... let me look it up. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/79535/ Hey I spelled it right! It's Godsall pink. That's what my tag said anyways. It's really beautiful and it grew 8 feet in 3 years. It's my favorite shrub so far. I wan't to propagate this one next spring with these pots. My last rooting took about 2 months when I opened it up and planted it. I know I could have done it sooner. I forgot about it. I would imagine that harder to root plants would take longer and easier to root... shorter. I just used the spagh. moss inside with some water. wounded the plant. stuck some rooting gel on. closed it up and that was it. Rain water got into it. and hose water too.
Lebug. I was planning on ordering some more this year anyways. 5 isn't enough now that I've found out how they work. Did you want to order the basic pack? The one without the rooting hormone? I'll place that soon. I would imagin that they wouldn't cost alot to ship. they are light. :-)
Does anyone else want any to defray some shipping costs?
Here's the link again so you don't have to try to find it http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&cat=2,47236&p=46938
Andrea
Congratulations Lyn!
Lynn, best wishes and congratulations to you both!
Congratulations Lynn! So happy for you :-) Isn't it great, here you can have an engagement party and still keep it a secret at home!
I'm on the hunt for plants in oranges and yellows for a shady/semi-shady spot that is fairly dry, particularly annuals that bloom well in the late summer. I've started a thread here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/933723/
A member suggested Mimulus (Monkey Flower), and I'm curious if any of you have experience with them, particularly in various degrees of shade.
...ok, now lets have cake and celebrate the happy couple!
Woohoo! I've mostly been stopping by to "read and learn" and haven't found much to say yet, but with news like that, Lynn, I had to "speak up!!" Even though we've just "met," my most sincere congratulations to you and your soon-to-be-official-DH Lynn!! [GB does a little happy dance now...]
I grew it from seed last year-had it in about 75% shade and it was one of my top performers once it got it's roots established!!
CONGRATS LYNN!!!
Fairy, are your summers hot and/or humid?
My Gypsyrose. Don't know your cultivar but I have about of the Slender Deutzia here and have them with The Double Pink Flowering Almond bushes. Beautiful in early sprign when they bloom have a combination of pink and white.
Greener Beener, fell free to join in at anytime and ask questions or if go t any kind of experience with anything, jump in and offer advice. All of us are from different areas, so what may work in one may not work in another and evrybody advice is welcome.
Gemini.... Did you oink for any of them mimulus seeds? If not wil throw some in your trough.
I think I did Oink for Mimulus (I hope). Thanks for lookin' out for me :-)
Neal-I live in MI about 10 mins from Lake Erie-does that answer your ??;)LOL
Congratulations to Joey (apparently you congratulate the groom-to-be since he "won" the lady's heart!) and the very BEST wishes to Lynn! What a wonderful Christmas for you.
Let us know when you set the date . . . then we will have an on-line bridal shower for you!
Gosh . . . what an exciting thing to happen!
Fairy, well....not really, LOL. I was thinking you may get humidity from the lake, but not sure how hot your summers are. A member in Florida said Mimulus does well there till it gets really hot, but that won't be as bad here. May not be a concern as far north as you are at all though.
It gets hot here-but the highest is low to mid 90's and not too many days of that-a lot of high 80's days with like 90% humidity..