[image: 1778999907928-20260517_072542.jpg] A lovely book containing amusing and thoughtful poems that will delight any gardener. If you can find it! I've failed to find another copy to buy worldwide... My 50p thrift shop copy looked near mint in its dust jacket, but on opening the book the 1994 spine binding is terrible quality. Cracked, repaired, come away from the hard cover again, a page loose. Close it and it looks fine again [image: 1779000478699-20260517_071655-resized.jpg] [image: 1779000486725-20260517_071819-resized.jpg] [image: 1779000496220-20260517_071904-resized.jpg] [image: 1779000871286-20260517_075347-resized.jpg]

Interesting article, shows how we are still learning so much about our history.

Happy Birthday Day, Steve!

What a high price for a small diamond the cut of which is not particularly noteworthy. I think that this might say more about the market than about the diamond however rare the color.

I need an application to professional school about as much as I need a hole in my head. Respect for anyone who can get out of bed at that age. But for most of us who are old and getting older, windows of opportunities have closed or are closing because of exigent and heath factors. Maybe we should celebrate the normal as well as the extraordinary. Too many random factors enter into such outcomes as this to look at them as an ideal, in my opinion.

It it the second gutting. Who needs diplomacy when none of your former allies nor your enemies takes you seriously anymore? Who needs diplomacy when you have ineffective foreign policy that makes no sense anyway?

They look very nice! RM took a hacksaw to both our hoses and put them in the dumpster. It wasn't his finest hour. I can't replace them. Now I use buckets and scrub brushes or mops. I aways enjoyed spraying down the carport. It's something I watched my grandfather do in Tampa until he died. We also used to wash the cars. I won't be needing a hose in an apartment building but I like them a lot. Good for you!

@Axtremus said: @Daniel Oh, good, tell me where (you think or believe) your intelligence and consciousness lie. In my humanity. Is this rocket science?

@Big_Al said: I wonder if he was working at the Erdemir plant. I worked with an engineer who was involved with a sinter plant for that company. Here is a snippet from my neighbor Joe Faloon's obit. He died in 2006 at the age of 87, so he was much older than you. Joseph and his wife Virginia both graduated from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1939. Joseph was an industrial engineer who worked in the steel industry throughout his career, first for U.S. Steel, then Ford Motor Steel, then Kaiser Engineers, managing the creation and expansion of major steel plants, living in Turkey and consulting in Indonesia, Australia, Venezuela and Mexico.

On another gardening note...I really like a variety of tomato called 'Little Sicily'. Tasty tomatoes, great yields. I have purchased them at Home Depot and at a local garden center but neither had them in stock this year. I don't have a lot of opportunities to get out to do plant shopping these days, so I took a flyer and ordered them from Home Depot online; I was surprised to see them listed. I thought I would probably get a couple of spindly, broken, yellow plants that I'd be schlepping to the store for a refund. Imagine my surprise when this very sturdy box arrived with two tomato plants in it: [image: 20260516-125435.jpg] Each plant was in a small hinged "greenhouse": [image: 20260516-125343.jpg] Some of the healthiest specimens I've seen. I unpacked the plants when they came a few days ago, so they've already grown. I set up this photo so you could see how cozily they were packaged: [image: 20260516-125409.jpg] Hopefully the universe will forgive me for all that packaging. But I'll be eating the tastiest tomatoes in the 'hood later this summer!

Ax- Still, articles like this makes me question of the American car industry is still alive only because of protectionism. What politician wants to be known for putting thousands out of work?

DougG My bad

wtg, sorry for your loss. I enjoyed your post.

This is crazy. It’s not that complicated. I bake with my starter every week or two or three. I rarely if ever use fed starter, it’s usually totally flat, and I feed it after I’ve mixed up the dough and stick it back in the fridge. So it gets fed every week or two ( I almost never feed it if I’m not baking something). I never discard. I make mostly pizza dough and sandwich loaves in a loaf pan, and bagels and sweet rolls.. The bagels and sweet rolls go overnight, but the pizza and bread get baked the same day. I don’t weigh, and I loosely measure, sometimes I add a lot of starter to the mixture if I need to use some up. I add water, then flour until the dough feels right. I used a stand mixture and don’t do stretch and folds. It always works.

Bernard, I've just been through the wringer you're describing: trust, trustee, secondary trustee, power of attorney, and medical power of attorney. It's a long, intensive, and expensive process. My advice is to take it step by step, be patient with yourself, take the time you need, and be encouraged that you will accomplish your goals. It can be confusing at times. It can be frustrating. It can seem endless. You'll get there, just don't rush anything. I'll be holding a good thought for you.

Lol!