A while back Femme Forte did a wonderful photo essay about her garden.  I left a comment or two, and since we're both plant nerds we got to discussing the differences between aloes and agaves, and the confusion sometimes caused by common names vs. Latin names, and other fun stuff.  At some point she asked if I'd like some cuttings, and I said of course, as any gardener would.  I didn't think much more about it, but a few days later, like Christmas come early, a parcel from sunny Southern California showed up on my front porch.  It was full of plant starts which Femme had gone to the trouble to collect from her garden for me, and which she had then gone to the expense of mailing half way across the continent to some schmo from Open Salon.  I'm an experienced outside gardener but not so good with house plants, so she also gave me the 4-1-1 on how to keep my new plants alive and thriving 'til I can put them outside next spring, and there was even a scribbled warning on one of the wrappings: "This one has spines so don't hurt yourself you moroon!"  My only house plants beforehand were a pothos, a couple of spider plants, and a rather bedraggled ponytail palm, so in one fell swoop the biodiversity of my wintry little home was more than doubled by this kindness on Femme's part, kindness which obviously comes second nature to her. 

Anyway, thank you for the plants, Candace; they're like having a bit of Southwest desert sun in the middle of a Kansas winter.  And thanks also to OS, for affording me the chance to meet such great people. 

And now, in a wholly gratuitous  and unwarranted use of cute kitty pictures, here's Button...

Merry Christmas OSers!