Good morning, everyone. I started a couple of posts but just didn't get around to doing much with them. I have done a couple of other things. The gardens are officially shut down. I pulled all of the remaining plants earlier this week and capped the containers. I also got the shed cleaned out so I can find things again. I also repotted all of the cuttings I started. Lost the lavender I tried to root--I had them in a two part pot, inner one with drain holes and outer shell without, and the soil stayed much too wet for them. Next year I will put some holes in the shell before I put anything in it. Results to date--no lavender from cuttings, two sage, three basil, one stevia, and the lavender I started from seed last spring. Not too bad considering I am learning (and relearning) this.

Well, the Deficit Commission has put out the 'draft' report and the knives are being sharpened all round. I have read it once and downloaded it for future reference. First take--it contains a lot of good ideas that should be considered carefully and, maybe, tweaked a bit. It contains a lot of other ideas that may be good but, as the saying goes, the devil will be in the details. But this is a draft and nowhere near ready to be voted on. How it morphs over the next three or four weeks will bear watching. The reaction has been predictable--the left hates the changes to Social Security and related programs while the right hate the tax code changes. If the debate follows one I saw last night on PBS is any indication I don't think either side cares to compromise. This New York Times article (by way of MSNBC) indicates the depth of the problem. Too bad--for all of us.