Welcome to the world, Ellie, and congrats to Stephanie and Mr. Stephanie.

Also, I am quite amused by the idea of monkey prostitutes.

ANGRY WIFE: Potassium deficiency, my ass!(throws out bananas)

When I lived in DC, there lined my street and pretty much my entire walk to school.

When they were fruiting (which, thankfully, they're not anymore), I couldn't walk down that street at all -- it was like walking past an open sewer.

Durian is almost as bad, but easier to avoid, since I don't think they're grown in this country. At least, they're not grown right outside my apartment. Fans of durian will tell you that it tastes good in spite of the smell. SANE people, on the other hand, will tell you that durian tastes EXACTLY LIKE IT SMELLS and is therefore nasty and should be avoided.

We planted out scented geraniums, chervil, three mints, star jasmine, lemon verbena, and orange balsam thyme.

Oooh. I bet it smells lovely.

Welcome Ellie! And congrats to Stephanie & Joe. May your family be under the same roof soon.

Looks like the announcement went up the minute I went offline.

Haven't stopped going yet. Still have to clean. But my car is the cleanest I think it has ever been. Sure, cost me $30, but they even washed the mats! Might actually pay them to do a real wax job someday.

Now to mix up some marinades.

TAl is alternating between horrifying me and making me snort unattractively.

I have a gardening question.

There's a hydrenga in the yard, and it's got one full bloom that's doing well. However all the others look like they have broken necks. They sag down and I can't figure out why. I looked and the stems aren't broken, they're just really bent.

Any idea of what it might be/what to do?

Incidentally, NYCers who have never tasted durian can try it in ice cream form at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Fans of durian will tell you that it tastes good in spite of the smell. SANE people, on the other hand, will tell you that durian tastes EXACTLY LIKE IT SMELLS and is therefore nasty and should be avoided.

I've always wondered about that, as I've run across very few things that taste significantly different than they smell. (Chili cheese flavor Fritos are one such, as they taste pretty good while smelling like feet to me...)

They sag down and I can't figure out why. I looked and the stems aren't broken, they're just really bent.

You may need to stake them (no, not in the Buffy way), or rig up a trellis for them.

Coffee smells much better than it tastes, IMO. I love the smell, and even love the way it lingers on my hair and clothes after I've been in a coffee shop. But I can't drink the stuff--way too bitter for this semi-supertaster. Same with beer.

But I've yet to encounter anything that smells bad yet tastes good. Of course, that may be because I've always assumed my nose is meant to be an early warning system for my more sensitive mouth.