Good morning to you all out there. Still under the weather with this bronchitis. At least it seems to be breaking. Mom is much better and I am about 4 days behind her in the recovery process. She felt well enough to make up the last batch of tomatoes as sauce for freezing. I trimmed the tomatoes again and pulled the melons. Neither of us really liked the flavor so I won't be putting them in again. They sounded perfect for a small container garden since the fruit was only 1 to 2 lbs a maturity. That part was right on the money as was the description of the very strong aromatic smell. Unfortunately, the flavor was the deal breaker. I found a whole bunch of small beans developing so we may get a nice batch for the freezer. And with a couple more cucumbers almost ready to pick I need to think about pickling. One of my books has an interesting recipe for freezer pickling small batches. That may be interesting. Anyone out there done anything like that? Another of my books say that freezing reduces the potency of spices used in pickling. Anyone have any experience or information on that?

Thanks, Lois and Kay, for the good wishes and energy. You lift my spirits. And I love the roses, Lois. Thanks again.

Russ' Filtered News has a very good editorial cartoon on Rick Perry's "Texas Miracle."