A banning today - Breezymeadows

I'm fine kids. :) I'm always fine.

I'll take gross and rude over downright mean any day. I don't have to like any of them and I do have the ability to walk away. It was always the school bully that turned me off worse than anything.

I come to DG for a break, for an education, to talk to adults, to learn stuff I didn't know I was interested in, etc. There are tons of different personalities here. If there weren't, it wouldn't be any fun.

Smile. Tomorrow is a new day.

Badseed - I agree with you and mean has no place in life let alone on a gardening site that "should" be the ideal respite for all of us.

I'm sure some people confuse "mean" with abiding by the law - I hope not. Dave encourages people to always obey the law, whether it's International Trading, Invasives, Pets, Recipes or Wildlife. Just a few people can't be convinced that what they're doing is against the law. So I know, from local farmers, that I can't shoot a crow (not that I have a gun or that I could even carry it out) as they attack my DH's tomatoes, but farmers are allowed to do it.

better cover those tomatoes or put some moth balls around...that will take care of the crows and anything else...(bit early for that i suspect)...lol

Tried it, to no avail. Same with the scarecrow (female), but mesh netting did work but caught a few small birds and that was a heartbreaker, too. We've tried those disks that you get in the mail for free, aluminum foil, aluminum pie plates, etc. The garden looked horrible and it didn't stop them from taking the biggest and ripest tomatoes but they just stick their beak into them and go to the next one. We still harvest a few hundred pounds and give 90% away to friends and neighbors.

pirl..well i always plant for me and everyone else and birds etc....and take to the homeless shelters if i have enough...

Our shelter in town will not accept food produce, just packaged. Even the soup kitchen kindly refused. I can see the problems associated with fresh food but they don't/can't provide people with our address so they could even come here and get tomatoes, beans, asparagus, peas, etc.

Pirl, if you sign up for your local Freecycle List at http://freecycle.org , you will have a great outlet for your bumper crops. Our local list is active in the late summer with lots of people giving fresh produce to others. :)

I am always amazed at how different areas have totally different programs. Here is Georgia we are encouraged to give of our frest produce. The program is even called "Plant a Row for the Hungry."

http://www.acfb.org/projects/community_garden/donate_to_plant_a_row.html

I joined Freecycle quite some time ago and would have to drive 100 miles round trip to give food away. Between the time and travel I'd really prefer to give locally.

Pirl - have you thought about offering to the local priest? They often know families that can really use it right there localy if the local priest does not know one of the churches in town will have a youth group who does give food to charity (Baptist tend to be really good at this) around here they will even come and help pick the vegies.

Reading these posts are like watching a conversation flow and ebb.
Very interesting and thought provoking. I guess this is why I don't bother with any other websites. DG is enough to keep me busy.

Dear sweet Mitch: our local priest is every ounce of 400 pounds and I get that uncomfortable feeling the needy would never see the tomatoes.

We have several neighbors who used to grow vegetables and they're all in their mid to late 80's. I think they really appreciate them.

Right on Wandasflowers!

Just remember the thought is in the gift.. what he does after that welll you did your part! Although I am very sure that the neighbors would love to be able to have fresh veggies again I am sure it would brighten the socks off that one who loves your scarecrow - lol.

Ho Ho Ho! We'd never waste our tomatoes on her!

Don't worry Pirl - I'll come and visit!!! :) Grocery bag in hand!

You must be kidding. We save those plastic bags all year long to be supplied when the crops come in. Just give a call at the end of August and come on out for daylilies and tomatoes.

Holy Tomato!!! Someone around the threads has a great salsa recipe....I wish I could find that thread for you. Pirl, you're on...tomatoes, iced tea, drift wood and daylillies!! A girl's got it made when she's got those four!

Iced tea without sugar? Down here, that's heresy. You have to specify "UNsweet-tea" if that's what you really want - and most servers will look at you funny and quiety sigh as they dutifully jot it on their order pad ;o)

Mitch has the best recipe for salsa! He gave it to me during tomato season last year and when I made it (not the whole gallon) it was gone in one night and there were only four of us!

Let's see Anita: If I counted my problems on one hand and my blessings on the other (it would take MANY other hands to do so) I'd still have five fingers free of problems and need more hands for the blessings.

(P.S. You forgot the cookies!)

Joan - while I was sitting, thinking and typing a few posts were made. I'm mad about driftwood and there is a driftwood thread of mine under Garden Art. Tomorrow (or if it's ever nice again) I'm going to new hunting grounds for more: I only want animal-like pieces.

I do like sweetened iced tea. Heck if I like heavy cream in my coffee why miss out on another calorie!

Now I'm off to get the salsa recipe!

oopss...I did..and I definitely don't want to forget those!!!

Joan - Pirl was going driftwood hunting this weekend [hopefully Saturday since it rained today].

Terry - I agree with you!!! It's funny, but Iced tea always tastes better south of the Mason/Dixie line...

Here is Mitch's own (wife's) family salsa recipe:

1 Gallon chopped Tomatoes4 medium Onions chopped4 medium Bell Peppers chopped4 medium Hot Peppers chopped8 cloves garlic chopped2 cups vinegar4 tablespoons sugar4 tea salt1 teaspoon each - cumin, ceyenne pepper and oreganoMix all and bring to a boil, cook at a boil for 15 mins, open kettle no lid. Fill jars and seal. Process pints or quarts 10 minutes in a hot water bath.

I didn't do any of the cooking: we just ate it and loved it!

LOL about the sweet or unsweet tea. I've tried to drink sweet tea several times, but this northern girl just can't get it down. Up here when you order iced tea, that's what you get, cold tea on ice. If you want to add sugar, then it's up to you to do it. You even have to ask for the lemon most times, and I like lots of lemon in mine.

Okay, I got it about the driftwood now. Thanks!

Now that salsa recipe sounds mighty good too.

Terry,
Talk about servers "giving you a funny look", try ordering an iced coffee south of the Mason-Dixon/Dunkin Doughnuts line. They look at you like you've got two heads! Iced coffee is very popular in the northeast and is sold at Dunkin Doughnuts summer and winter, but is relatively unheard of here.

Ahhhh! Iced coffee! My absolute favorite treat. Especially in the summer when I need a caffeine fix, but don't want something hot. Now this I will add sugar to, in the form of Heath Mocha or French Vanilla syrup. Oh, and cream too. Sometimes I will put it in a blender/smothie maker and add ice to make it thick and slushy.

Here's a recipe in case inquiring minds want to know. http://www.supermarketguru.com/page.cfm/13883 I make mine similar, but don't us as much coffee as they say to.

Oh no! I'm in trouble again. I received a Dmail telling me how hurtful I was to mention the priest, his weight and my concern that the tomatoes wouldn't end up where they were NEEDED. With that in mind:

I truly apologize to anyone who was offended by my words.

Perhaps if this priest were a better example to his parish it never would have been on my mind. He is the notorious over eater and is guilty of gluttony. I'm sure many others have problems that leave them heavier than what doctors would want in their patients so my apologies go to you.

Are you kidding me? Someone was offended by that? I don't know.... This is disillusioning.

As someone who is fat and has battled weight all my life and not from just plain over eating, I have to say honestly the remark did sting a bit. It wasn't enough to ruin my day but it did make me say ouch. Both, being too heavy and too thin can be painfully hard to deal with and one is just as bad as the other. It's awful when you can't lose and it's awful when you can't gain and both really mess with your self esteem.

I always think about something my husband told me. He and some coworkers were outside eating lunch one day when a nice looking, but very thin girl walked by. The other guys were making remarks about taking her out and doing such and such and they asked my husband wasn't he interested. He said "Yeah, I'd like to take her out....and feed her!". Was it funny? Yeah. But I also know if she would have heard that, her feelings would have been hurt just like mine were when a preschooler once told me I was fat and had fat feet (I was 8 months pregnant and yes overweight) but I bet her mother would have been mortified!

Badseed: My apologies to you as well.

Your photograph does not show any 400 pounds!!!

No need to apologize. You didn't permanently wound me or anything but it is a touchy subject with those of us that fit the bill. I don't weigh quite 400 pounds. LOL I am a glutton for tomatoes though. ROTFLOL

Well gee. The spontaneity and flow would be lost if we had to re-think everything we post. I'm not at my optimum weight (how's that for PC?) especially right now as I have a tooth abcess and one side of my face is twice the size of the other... I look like a lop-sided chipmunk! So relax and try to cut each some slack! If I offend I will apologize, if I'm offended hughly I will Dmail. ;~)

Lopsided chipmunk. ROTFLOL in the nicest way possible! Hope you aren't in too much pain.

I am at my ideal weight!! I'm just too short!

Thanks Katy! Speaking about only myself, I have found the more time I spend on the computer the more I weigh. The more time I spend in the garden the more I lose.

I spend all day everyday in the garden and still don't lose! Before I moved, my doctor lived across the street and he said there is no way medically or otherwise that I could work like I do and NOT lose weight. He told me it is bad genetics. LOL My dad was barell chested with skinny arms and legs and my mother was big from the waist down. I got the worst of both! LOL I can drop 30 pounds in a month if I live on lettuce and water but it comes back and brings friends!

And what pleasure is there in lettuce and water? I too work outside a lot, either in the gardens or on the job painting houses. Since the Big M, the weight has come and decided to stay and I am finally getting a little more comfortable with that. Since I decided to stop spending all my time pleasing others, I have started being just comfortable with myself.
It's been a 52 year long road to travel though.

Molly

LOL Molly, I hear ya on the subject of the Big M!!! When I think about it, I just think it's outrageous that I am still eating the same and my activity output is still the same (probably more) as it was just a couple of years ago when I was weighing in around 120lb. Now.....almost 40 pounds have crept on, and I don't know how it happened! Talk about hormones raging....or not raging! LOL It amazes me how our bodies change over the years.

I was just thinking of my mom and her mom! They were both thin and then gained due to the Big M. Now that my mom is in her 70's she is back at her 'normal' weight, just like her mother was. I'm 47, so I'm not really looking forward to being 70......but the weight issue sure looks promising! LOL

My word! Is no one monitoring this thread? It sure has gone off onto a tangent!

Several times over!