09.24 Sat

S A T U R D A Y
September 24, 2011
Gareth Bain

Theme: None, it's Sa…. wait, what? Hey! There's a theme on Saturday! — And it has to do with cookies!

Theme answers:

• 16A: Common closer (TWIST TIE).
• 36A: Superficial, uncaring effort (LICK AND A PROMISE).
• 56A: Carnival game in which a suit is worn (DUNK TANK).
• 50D: Food associated with the starts of 16-, 36- and 56-Across (OREO).

Anybody else freaked out by seeing a theme on a Saturday? I sure wasn't looking for one. Nice surprise when I got down to the reveal answer. The theme answers didn't give it away at all — they're all interesting phrases we might see in a themeless. Lots of good fill in this one as well. We've got some old-timey language with "IT IS SO" and CANST (17A: "Yea, verily" / 26A: Art able to) along with television references for both the old people among us — RAT PATROL (8D: With "The," 1960s series set in the North African desert during WWII) — and the youngsters — GOSSIP GIRL (10D: TV drama narrated by a teen blogger).

Couple things I didn't know. I've probably seen Pulitzer-winning poet Conrad AIKEN's name before, but it sure didn't come to me. And CAUSERIE totally doesn't look like it should mean [60A: Informal essay], does it? Overall, an enjoyable solve. Let's just get into a few details and then call it a day.

Bullets:

• 8A: "Superbad" co-screenwriter Seth (ROGEN). I'm including a video here of the song that immediatley came into my head upon reading this clue. I apologize in advance.



• 39A: "Go ahead" ("FEEL FREE"). Nice colloquial phrase. You know I love those.

• 46A: Name meaning "gift of Isis" (ISADOR). I tried ISABEL first.
• 61A: Gifted one? (DONEE). I think people were talking about this yesterday. No, it's not a word people use every day, but I've seen it quite a bit in legal documents.
• 62A: Spot checker? (VET). As in VETerinarian. As in, what Gareth Bain is studying to be.
• 3D: "See you next fall!" elicitor (TRIP). HAha! I'm going to explain this one, because I'm sure it confused some people. I have no idea how this started, but I've seen it in practice: a person is walking along and trips over something, the person's "friends" then exclaim, "Have a nice trip! See you next fall!"

• 19D: Rembrandt van __ (RYN). There's always a debate about how Rembrandt's name is spelled, but I think we all just need to accept the fact that it varies.
• 31D: Smackeroo (CLAM). Both are slang terms for a dollar.
• 32D: Hall & Oates's first Top 10 hit (SARA SMILE). And now I'll make up for the video I posted earlier. Pretty sure I've used this one in the past, but it's definitely worth repeating.

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 1A: Aleutian island (ATTU).
• 23A: Folkie DiFranco (ANI).
• 52A: Brewery equipment (OASTS).
• 14D: Words indicating betrayal (ET TU).
• 30D: "The Mikado" weapon, briefly (SNEE).
• 53D: South Seas staple (TARO).
• 57D: Country that incl. Sharjah (UAE).

Everything — 1A: Aleutian island (ATTU); 5A: Upheaval (ADO); 8A: "Superbad" co-screenwriter Seth (ROGEN); 13A: In a bind? (CORSETED); 15A: Prison break? (PAROLE); 16A: Common closer (TWIST TIE); 17A: "Yea, verily" ("IT IS SO"); 18A: Rash (SPATE); 19A: Calms (REPOSES); 20A: Nuttiness (LUNACY); 23A: Folkie DiFranco (ANI); 24A: Training gear? (BRA); 26A: Art able to (CANST); 28A: Troopers' gps. (PD'S); 31A: Goalpost component (CROSSBAR); 34A: Its state fish is the chinook salmon (OREGON); 36A: Superficial, uncaring effort (LICK AND A PROMISE); 38A: City known for wool (ANKARA); 39A: "Go ahead" ("FEEL FREE"); 40A: Tiny part of a hard drive (MEG); 41A: Pulitzer-winning poet Conrad __ (AIKEN); 43A: Aged (OLD); 44A: Wee hrs. (AM'S); 46A: Name meaning "gift of Isis" (ISADOR); 49A: Verdict readers (FOREMEN); 52A: Brewery equipment (OASTS); 55A: Give holy orders to (ORDAIN); 56A: Carnival game in which a suit is worn (DUNK TANK); 59A: Tease (NEEDLE); 60A: Informal essay (CAUSERIE); 61A: Gifted one? (DONEE); 62A: Spot checker? (VET); 63A: Forming strands (ROPY); 1D: Spiel, e.g. (ACT); 2D: Helps to water-ski (TOWS); 3D: "See you next fall!" elicitor (TRIP); 4D: WWII battlecruiser in the Pacific (USS ALASKA); 5D: Where unison countdowns usually begin (AT TEN); 6D: Agnus __ (DEI); 7D: Lofty lines (ODE); 8D: With "The," 1960s series set in the North African desert during WWII (RAT PATROL); 9D: Hunter killed by Artemis, in some accounts (ORION); 10D: TV drama narrated by a teen blogger (GOSSIP GIRL); 11D: If not (ELSE); 12D: Revivalists (NEOS); 14D: Words indicating betrayal (ET TU); 15D: Trivial Pursuit symbol (PIE); 19D: Rembrandt van __ (RYN); 21D: Phillips, e.g.: Abbr. (ACAD.); 22D: Wine orders (CARAFES); 24D: Tuna preserver (BRINE); 25D: Common Zen temple feature (ROCK GARDEN); 27D: Nursing a grudge (SORE); 29D: Gave two tablets to, say (DOSED); 30D: "The Mikado" weapon, briefly (SNEE); 31D: Smackeroo (CLAM); 32D: Hall & Oates's first Top 10 hit (SARA SMILE); 33D: __ B'rith (B'NAI); 35D: "Howards End" author (E.M. FORSTER); 37D: Transportation secretary under Clinton (PEÑA); 42D: Cousin, for one (KIN); 45D: Gettysburg general (MEADE); 47D: Sweet ring (DONUT); 48D: Cork sources (OAKS); 49D: Attracted to, with "of" (FOND); 50D: Food associated with the starts of 16-, 36- and 56-Across (OREO); 51D: Hydrocarbon suffix (-ENE); 53D: South Seas staple (TARO); 54D: Tonsorial sound (SNIP); 56D: V x XI x XI (DCV); 57D: Country that incl. Sharjah (UAE); 58D: Map feature (KEY).

09.23 Fri

F R I D A Y
September 23, 2011
Daniel Finan

Theme: Numb3rs — For the theme answers, clue numbers are part of the clue.

Theme answers:

• 20: questions (FUN GUESSING GAME).
• 36: hours (ONE AND A HALF DAYS).
• 49: ers (FOOTBALL PLAYERS).

Super clever theme today. Really enjoyed it. If you're still confused by it, look at the way I posted the theme answers at the top of this write-up. (Usually I include an A (across) or a D (down) after the clue number, but I took the As out today so there would be a better visual presentation of the trick clues.) The answers themselves aren't really stand-alone phrases that are "in the language" (as they say). They are, instead, definitions, not unlike the type of theme we see from time to time where the theme answers all have the same one-word clue and each answer is a different definition of that word. Some people love those themes, some people get really bent out of shape that the theme answers aren't "really" theme answers. I like to see it every once in a while for a change of pace. And in this case, as I said, the theme is really clever so it's okay with me.

I definitely had several WTF moments throughout the solve, though.

• 18A: Blanche __, pseudonymous author of the 1983 best-seller "Truly Tasteless Jokes" (KNOTT). Wait, really?
• 22D: Swindler, in slang (GANEF). Ne-Ever heard this term. Oh, I see it's Yiddish slang. That pretty much explains it.
• 44D: Walk bouncily (LOLLOP). Again with the ????

Clues that were definitely amped up for Friday include:

• 14A: San __ (REMO). Geez Louise! Could be anything!
• 45A: Seat of Colorado's Pitkin County (ASPEN). Very familiar Colorado place name, but difficult to see with that clue.
• 7D: Where kip are spent (LAOS). Same here.
• 53D: Hunted (PREY). The clue here is not a verb. That's what makes it tricky.

My write-overs:

• 5D: Dug, so to speak (LIKED). Tried LOVED first.
• 9D: Party pooper (WET NOODLE). Totally wanted this to be WET BLANKET. I was actually writing it in, and then … ran out of boxes.
• 56D: Urban miasma (SMOG). Apparently, I don't know what "miasma" means because my first guess was SLUM.

Bullets:

• 5A: Dey job? (L.A. LAW). The clue refers to Susan Dey who starred on the TV show "L.A. LAW." I don't know about you, but I have a hard time thinking of Susan Dey as anybody other than Laurie Partridge. ("Hello world, there's a song that we're singin' ….")
• 24A: Annual sign of bad behavior? (COAL). It took me way too long to get that this clue refers to the "lump of coal" some people get in their stockings at Christmastime.

• 35A: High point of an Alaskan trip? (DENALI). I used to call DENALI its other name until I met my husband, who climbs mountains for fun. Now I can't even remember its other name. Is it Mt. McKinley? Wikipedia says … yes.
• 62A: Its state bird is the cardinal (OHIO). I had to think for a minute about Iowa's state bird here. I was pretty sure it wasn't the cardinal (it's the golfinch), but Iowa is always a possibility when you're looking for a four-letter state.
• 6D: Heart lead singer Wilson et al. (ANNS). The PuzzleKids were watching "X Factor" last night and it appears that several people who have no business whatsoever singing "Barracuda" were attempting to sing "Barracuda."

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 16A: Adidas alternative (AVIA).
• 57A: Frankfurt's river (ODER).
• 58A: Phils, e.g. (NL'ERS).
• 60A: '70s pinup name (LONI).
• 11D: Where the iris is (UVEA).
• 51D: Sommelier's prefix (OENO-).
• 54D: Pre-coll. catchall (EL-HI).

Everything — 1A: Dollar bill weight, roughly (GRAM); 5A: Dey job? (L.A. LAW); 10A: __ Stream (GULF); 14A: San __ (REMO); 15A: Silly (INANE); 16A: Adidas alternative (AVIA); 17A: From the top (ANEW); 18A: Blanche __, pseudonymous author of the 1983 best-seller "Truly Tasteless Jokes" (KNOTT); 19A: "No ice, please" (NEAT); 20A: questions (FUN GUESSING GAME); 23A: Terhune collie (LAD); 24A: Annual sign of bad behavior? (COAL); 25A: "Alice" singer Lavigne (AVRIL); 28A: Orator's vocal quality (RESONANCE); 33A: Sacramento daily (BEE); 34A: Sched. B item on a 1040 (INT.); 35A: High point of an Alaskan trip? (DENALI); 36A: hours (ONE AND A HALF DAYS); 40A: Seven-time N.L. batting champ (MUSIAL); 41A: Storm dir. (ENE); 42A: They lead to an F (C-D-E); 43A: Six-pack abs? (BEER BELLY); 45A: Seat of Colorado's Pitkin County (ASPEN); 47A: TriBeCa neighbor (SOHO); 48A: Blueprint subject, perhaps (ELL); 49A: ers (FOOTBALL PLAYERS); 57A: Frankfurt's river (ODER); 58A: Phils, e.g. (NL'ERS); 59A: Deception (FLAM); 60A: '70s pinup name (LONI); 61A: Beneficiary (DONEE); 62A: Its state bird is the cardinal (OHIO); 63A: 2-Down unit (DROP); 64A: Fixes (SPAYS); 65A: Place to cross, on signs (X-ING); 1D: Seles rival (GRAF); 2D: Eye care brand (RENU); 3D: Flock response (AMEN); 4D: "The Jungle Book" boy (MOWGLI); 5D: Dug, so to speak (LIKED); 6D: Heart lead singer Wilson et al. (ANNS); 7D: Where kip are spent (LAOS); 8D: Silliness (ANTICS); 9D: Party pooper (WET NOODLE); 10D: Underworld (GANGLAND); 11D: Where the iris is (UVEA); 12D: Neeson who voiced Aslan in the "Narnia" movies (LIAM); 13D: You may have a brush with it (FATE); 21D: It merged with Continental in 2010: Abbr. (UAL); 22D: Swindler, in slang (GANEF); 25D: Trinity test subject (A-BOMB); 26D: Locale (VENUE); 27D: Maker of pieces? (REESE); 28D: Genetic letters (RNA); 29D: One of the convicted Rosenberg spies (ETHEL); 30D: Image Awards org. (NAACP); 31D: 1930s public enemy (CLYDE); 32D: NFL Network sportscaster Rich (EISEN); 34D: Devil's tools, metaphorically (IDLE HANDS); 37D: Touchdown site (AIRSTRIP); 38D: Big shot (NABOB); 39D: More than zero (ANY); 44D: Walk bouncily (LOLLOP); 45D: Modeled after (À LA); 46D: Sneaky devil (SLY FOX); 48D: "It's nobody __ business" (ELSE'S); 49D: Go out (FOLD); 50D: Nose wrinkler (ODOR); 51D: Sommelier's prefix (OENO-); 52D: Singer Horne (LENA); 53D: Hunted (PREY); 54D: Pre-coll. catchall (EL-HI); 55D: Shower in public? (RAIN); 56D: Urban miasma (SMOG).

Ghost Story Week: The Banshee

To end off the week's stories, I thought I'd include one about what is arguably the most famous of Irish spirits: The banshee.

This text comes from Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, a collection edited by William Butler Yeats. This story is called How Thomas Connolly Met the Banshee, written by J. Todhunter. The text is taken from Sacred Texts and repeated here without permission. If anyone wishes it to be taken down, I will do so
 --------------------------------------------------------------
Aw, the banshee, sir? Well, sir, as I was striving to tell ye I was going home from work one day, from Mr. Cassidy's that I tould ye of, in the dusk o' the evening. I had more nor a mile--aye, it was nearer two mile--to thrack to, where I was lodgin' with a dacent widdy woman I knew, Biddy Maguire be name, so as to be near me work.

It was the first week in November, an' a lonesome road I had to travel, an' dark enough, wid threes above it; an' about half-ways there was a bit of a brudge I had to cross, over one o' them little sthrames that runs into the Doddher. I walked on in the middle iv the road, for there was no toe-path at that time, Misther Harry, nor for many a long day afther that; but, as I was sayin', I walked along till I come nigh upon the brudge, where the road was a bit open, an' there, right enough, I seen the hog's back o' the ould-fashioned brudge that used to be there till it was pulled down, an' a white mist steamin' up out o' the wather all around it.

Well, now, Misther Harry, often as I'd passed by the place before, that night it seemed sthrange to me, an' like a place ye might see in a dhrame; an' as I come up to it I began to feel a cowld wind blowin' through the hollow o' me heart. "Musha Thomas," sez I to meself, "is it yerself that's in it?" sez I; "or, if it is, what's the matter wid ye at all, at all?" sez I; so I put a bould face on it, an' I made a sthruggle to set one leg afore the other, ontil I came to the rise o' the brudge. And there, God be good to us! in a cantle o' the wall I seen an ould woman, as I thought, sittin' on her hunkers, all crouched together, an' her head bowed down, seemin'ly in the greatest affliction.

Well, sir, I pitied the ould craythur, an thought I wasn't worth a thraneen, for the mortial fright I was in, I up an' sez to her, "That's a cowld lodgin' for ye, ma'am." Well, the sorra ha'porth she sez to that, nor tuk no more notice o' me than if I hadn't let a word out o' me, but kep' rockin' herself to an' fro, as if her heart was breakin'; so I sez to her again, "Eh, ma'am, is there anythin' the matther wid ye?" An' I made for to touch her on the shouldher, on'y somethin' stopt me, for as I looked closer at her I saw she was no more an ould woman nor she was an ould cat. The first thing I tuk notice to, Misther Harry, was her hair, that was sthreelin' down over her showldhers, an' a good yard on the ground on aich side of her. O, be the hoky farmer, but that was the hair! The likes of it I never seen on mortial woman, young or ould, before nor sense. It grew as sthrong out of her as out of e'er a young slip of a girl ye could see; but the colour of it was a misthery to describe. The first squint I got of it I thought it was silvery grey, like an ould crone's; but when I got up beside her I saw, be the glance o' the sky, it was a soart iv an Iscariot colour, an' a shine out of it like floss silk. It ran over her showldhers and the two shapely arms she was lanin' her head on, for all the world like Mary Magdalen's in a picther; and then I persaved that the grey cloak and the green gownd undhernaith it was made of no earthly matarial I ever laid eyes on. Now, I needn't tell ye, sir, that I seen all this in the twinkle of a bed-post--long as I take to make the narration of it. So I made a step back from her, an' "The Lord be betune us an' harm!" sez I, out loud, an' wid that I blessed meself. Well, Misther Harry, the word wasn't out o' me mouth afore she turned her face on me. Aw, Misther Harry, but 'twas that was the awfullest apparation ever I seen, the face of her as she looked up at me! God forgive me for sayin' it, but 'twas more like the face of the "Axy Homo" beyand in Marlboro Sthreet Chapel nor like any face I could mintion--as pale as a corpse, an' a most o' freckles on it, like the freckles on a turkey's egg; an' the two eyes sewn in wid thread, from the terrible power o' crying the' had to do; an' such a pair iv eyes as the' wor, Misther Harry, as blue as two forget-me-nots, an' as cowld as the moon in a bog-hole of a frosty night, an' a dead-an'-live look in them that sent a cowld shiver through the marra o' me bones. Be the mortial! ye could ha' rung a tay cupful o' cowld paspiration out o' the hair o' me head that minute, so ye could. Well, I thought the life 'ud lave me intirely when she riz up from her hunkers, till, bedad! she looked mostly as tall as Nelson's Pillar; an' wid the two eyes gazin' back at me, an' her two arms stretched out before hor, an' a keine out of her that riz the hair o' me scalp till it was as stiff as the hog's bristles in a new hearth broom, away she glides--glides round the angle o' the brudge, an' down with her into the sthrame that ran undhernaith it. 'Twas then I began to suspect what she was. "Wisha, Thomas!" says I to meself, sez I; an' I made a great struggle to get me two legs into a throt, in spite o' the spavin o' fright the pair o' them wor in; an' how I brought meself home that same night the Lord in heaven only knows, for I never could tell; but I must ha' tumbled agin the door, and shot in head foremost into the middle o' the flure, where I lay in a dead swoon for mostly an hour; and the first I knew was Mrs. Maguire stannin' over me with a jorum o' punch she was pourin' down me throath (throat), to bring back the life into me, an' me head in a pool of cowld wather she dashed over me in her first fright. "Arrah, Mister Connolly," shashee, "what ails ye?" shashee, "to put the scare on a lone woman like that?" shashee. "Am I in this world or the next?" sez I. "Musha! where else would ye be on'y here in my kitchen?" shashee. "O, glory be to God!" sez I, "but I thought I was in Purgathory at the laste, not to mintion an uglier place," sez I, "only it's too cowld I find meself, an' not too hot," sez I. "Faix, an' maybe ye wor more nor half-ways there, on'y for me, shashee; "but what's come to you at all, at all? Is it your fetch ye seen, Mister Connolly?" "Aw, naboclish!" sez I. "Never mind what I seen," sez I. So be degrees I began to come to a little; an' that's the way I met the banshee, Misther Harry!

"But how did you know it really was the banshee after all, Thomas?"

"Begor, sir, I knew the apparation of her well enough; but 'twas confirmed by a sarcumstance that occurred the same time. There was a Misther O'Nales was come on a visit, ye must know, to a place in the neighbourhood--one o' the ould O'Nales iv the county Tyrone, a rale ould Irish family--an' the banshee was heard keening round the house that same night, be more then one that was in it; an' sure enough, Misther Harry, he was found dead in his bed the next mornin'. So if it wasn't the banshee I seen that time, I'd like to know what else it could a' been."

iPhone Wallpapers for PC

The Best Top Desktop iPhone Wallpapers in all kind of resolutions and sizes such as hd, 1600x1200. For your PC, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS. High resolution iPhone pictures and photos, widescreen, 4:3, 16:9 and HD wallpapers. The iPhone is the number one telephone or mobile phone from Apple, it is a very expensive telephone but yet a very good one with lots of options. The

09.22 Thu

T H U R S D A Y
September 22, 2011
Betty Keller

Theme: For the Birds — Each theme answer consists of a familiar two-word phrase that starts with a type of duck, then the second word of that phrase is used as the first word of another familiar two-word phrase. Put them all together, clue wackily, and voilà!

Theme answers:

• 17A: Daffy trying to hit the piñata? (DUCK BLIND FOLDE).
• 25A: Survey response at the farm? (CHICKEN FEED BACK).
• 43A: Tom fooler? (TURKEY LEG PULLER).
• 57A: Loosey's cake-making aid? (GOOSE EGG BEATERS).

Fun solve today. The theme really helped me on this one (which doesn't always happen). The cluing was definitely amped up a little to make this a late-week puzzle. Let's get right to the details.

Bullets:

• 1A: Clips for trailers (SCENES). When I saw the word "trailers," the first thing I thought of was movies, but then I second-guessed myself and tried to think of the equipment people use to hitch trailers to their cars/trucks/RVs. Have y'all seen the trailer for "Moneyball"? I can't wait for that movie. Loved loved loved the book. Seriously, one of the most entertaining books I've ever read. And I'm not crazy into baseball. I mean, I like it, and I follow it a little, but I'm not sitting at home crunching numbers this time of year. Anyway, looks like it will be good.
  
  
  
• 11A: Triangular sail (JIB). This one was a gimme, and only from solving crossword puzzles regularly. In real life, I don't know my JIB from my SPAR.

• 15A: Dagwood's pesky kid neighbor (ELMO). See what I mean about the clues being toughened up? Today must be Tertiary Comic Strip Characters Day. See also IRMA (23A: "Garfield" waitress).
• 22A: Pops (DADDY). Sometimes the one-word clues are really frustrating. When the answer provokes a chuckle, though, then I think the frustration is worth it. That's what happend for me today on this one.
• 37A: Sends regrets, perhaps (RSVP'S). That's right, folks: RSVP'ing isn't just about saying "yes"! It's also about saying "no"! The point is to let the host know how many people to expect. If you don't respond with regrets then the host really doesn't know if you'll show up or not. Manners, people! Manners!
• 54A: Likely result of failing a Breathalyzer test, briefly (DUI). When I was growing up, it was always a DWI. Then somehow it became DUI. Then when I moved to Iowa they called it OWI, which sounds all kindsa wrong, but whatever.

• 62A: Blanche Dubois's sister (STELLA). [Insert obligatory yell here.]
• 6D: Strauss opera based on a Wilde play (SALOME). No idea. Totally crosses.
• 7D: Flat bread? (RENT). My first thought, of course, was NAAN, but if NAAN were the answer, the clue wouldn't need a question mark. "Bread" in this clue means "money" and "flat" means "apartment."
• 23D: Brain freeze cause (ICES). I entered ICEE without thinking about it too much. Had to go back and fix that S.
• 55D: Bing info (URL'S). Do people actually use Bing?
• 58D: Bulldog booster (ELI). An ELI is a student at Yale University, where the mascot is a bulldog.

Crosswordese 101: Apparently, William Shatner wrote some sci-fi novels. The series is called "TEK War," TEK being a drug of some sort. And that's all you need to know about TEK to recognize it in a crossword clue.

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 52A: Mountaintop home (AERIE).
• 60A: Dedicatee of Lennon's "Woman" (ONO).
• 58D: Bulldog booster (ELI).

Everything — 1A: Clips for trailers (SCENES); 7A: Fridge incursion (RAID); 11A: Triangular sail (JIB); 14A: Kia model (OPTIMA); 15A: Dagwood's pesky kid neighbor (ELMO); 16A: Japanese salad ingredient (UDO); 17A: Daffy trying to hit the piñata? (DUCK BLIND FOLDED); 20A: Campfire remains (ASH); 21A: It originates from the left ventricle (AORTA); 22A: Pops (DADDY); 23A: "Garfield" waitress (IRMA); 24A: Detective Spade (SAM); 25A: Survey response at the farm? (CHICKEN FEED BACK); 33A: Stows in a hold (LADES); 34A: x, y or z (AXIS); 35A: Many a Louis (ROI); 36A: Supplies for Seurat (OILS); 37A: Sends regrets, perhaps (RSVP'S); 39A: Entry in a PDA (APPT.); 40A: Maui strings (UKE); 41A: Waterfall sound (ROAR); 42A: Not at all good at losing? (OBESE); 43A: Tom fooler? (TURKEY LEG PULLER); 47A: Only reason to watch the Super Bowl, some say (ADS); 48A: Like a pretentious museumgoer (ARTY); 49A: Plane parking place (APRON); 52A: Mountaintop home (AERIE); 54A: Likely result of failing a Breathalyzer test, briefly (DUI); 57A: Loosey's cake-making aid? (GOOSE EGG BEATERS); 60A: Dedicatee of Lennon's "Woman" (ONO); 61A: Jazz singer Laine (CLEO); 62A: Blanche Dubois's sister (STELLA); 63A: Place with presses (GYM); 64A: It may be a peck (KISS); 65A: "Mustn't do that!" ("TSK! TSK!"); 1D: Fizz in a gin fizz (SODA); 2D: PC "brains" (CPU'S); 3D: Make quite an impression (ETCH); 4D: Beat back? (-NIK); 5D: Boards at the dock (EMBARKS); 6D: Strauss opera based on a Wilde play (SALOME); 7D: Flat bread? (RENT); 8D: "M*A*S*H" actor (ALDA); 9D: Currency-stabilizing org. (IMF); 10D: Thingamabobs (DOODADS); 11D: Hirsch of "Numb3rs" (JUDD); 12D: Picked from a lineup (ID'ED); 13D: Shampoo ad buzzword (BODY); 18D: Shah's land, once (IRAN); 19D: New ewe (LAMB); 23D: Brain freeze cause (ICES); 24D: Juanita's half-dozen (SEIS); 25D: Leverage (CLOUT); 26D: 17-syllable verse (HAIKU); 27D: Slugabed (IDLER); 28D: Green Bay legend (FAVRE); 29D: Abbr. on food labels (EXP.); 30D: Adrien of cosmetics (ARPEL); 31D: Small woods (COPSE); 32D: Bad-check passer (KITER); 37D: Acuff and Clark (ROYS); 38D: Actor Mineo (SAL); 39D: With skill (ABLY); 41D: Scapegoat in some down-home humor (REDNECK); 42D: Downs more dogs than, in an annual contest (OUTEATS); 44D: "Get Smart" evil org. (KAOS); 45D: Shirts and skirts (GARB); 46D: Mass leader (PRIEST); 49D: Visibly wowed (AGOG); 50D: Chincoteague horse (PONY); 51D: Sufficient space (ROOM); 52D: Sits in a wine cellar (AGES); 53D: Inflatable items (EGOS); 54D: Shoulder muscle, for short (DELT); 55D: Bing info (URL'S); 56D: Writer Dinesen (ISAK); 58D: Bulldog booster (ELI); 59D: Shatner's "__War" (TEK).

Autumn harvest Aide Memoir

..

This year, following the ethos of the gorgeous (in a quirky sort of way but not quite as ravishing as Cleve West) Mark Diacono, the Socks decided to restrict their small veg planting area to unusual crops unavailable at the supermarket.  And tomatoes of course - but more about them later.  


The picture above is of our greenhouse grown purple tomatillos.  These were a real success, their flavour less sharp and fruitier than the bog standard tomatillo. These could actually be eaten raw as fruit as well as cooked into some interesting Mexican style stews.  The only drawback was they developed a leaf problem starting as small green spots, turning into big holes with the leaf eventually dying off.  This was oedema - a disorder due to overwatering and a humid atmosphere.  It didn't affect the fruits but looked rather unsightly which was a shame.  Apparently the purple tomatillos are more prone to it than the usual ones.

Lemondrop chilli

The lemon drop chilli (a rarer one from Real Seeds) was another success - grown in pots in the greenhouse a good cropper, hot fruits with a definite lemony taste.

Purple Venuzuelan

Another Real Seeds rarity was the Purple Venuzuelan chilli, a very attractive plant to grow but for us more ornamental than use.


Tomatowise we grew several varieties in grow bags in the greenhouse, 

Sungold -  (best ever cherry tomato) couldn't do without it

Black Krim - somehow ended up with only one of these and one too many Red Zebras (potting mix up). This plant was never healthy having both fasciation on one truss which died, and then some infection in the stem.  However the few large fruits we saved were extremely tasty and we will try this again.


Red Zebra - Sod's law that we ended up with one extra of these which were the least exciting. They were good croppers (still going) but not quite as well flavoured as the rest with a slightly floury texture.  Good for cooking or drying.


Green Zebra - by contrast these were gorgeous, fruitier than the reds with none of the flouriness.  A slightly lemony zing to them.  Late croppers and still going.


Outdoors and pot grown I used up some Black Cherry heritage variety seeds that had been kicking around .  These were quite delicious although as the weather got worse have been moved to the greenhouse - still bearing fruit.


Also outdoors Gardeners' Delight - a tad boring compared to the rest.

Achocha

The Achocha 'Fat baby' (also Real Seeds) were a disappointment.  Grown outdoors in a bag they quickly spread out and climbed rapidly up the fence.  Sadly although they had a good crop the taste was negligible and they looked a mess.  Might have been more fun if I got the exploding variety.


Amongst the usual herbs and the Bedsock's mint collection we also grew 'quillquina' an unusual and rather attractive purple-stemmed see-thru plant with bluey green leaves, a little like coriander but more lemony.  Very good in salsas and unlike coriander, not prone to bolting.


We are still awaiting the outcome of the oca later in the season. We dedicated an entire (small) raised bed to this and although the foliage did look quite pretty it is now something of a mess.  We need to have a balance in our small garden as to what looks attractive and fits in with the general planting schemes and what we really want to grow to eat.  Veg and herbs really need to be 'doers' to earn a place.  Sadly, whilst we love courgettes, our bag grown ones were poor croppers and as usual got various leaf diseases which made them look unsightly particularly as they take up a lot of room.   


We are experimenting with growing various veg in re-usable 'bags'.  The Bedsock is less than happy with his newly bag planted purple sprouting broccoli  - it all collapsed overnight.  Don't tell him but yesterday I saw Spook rolling around on top of the bag!!!


As gardeners relatively new to growing a great deal from seed can anyone tell me which of the chillies and tomatoes will come true from seed if I collect them from this years harvest?

Romantic Love Couples Wallpapers

The Best Top Desktop Romantic Love Couples Wallpapers in all kind of resolutions and sizes. For your PC, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS. High resolution Romantic Love Couples pictures and photos, widescreen, 4:3, 16:9 and HD wallpapers.Romantic desktop hd wallpaper with a love couple holding eachother on the beach at sunsetRomantic picture of a man and woman having fun in the