Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for May 12, 2014

Well, that pass sailed right by her!

What about my smarthusband?

Is Janis one of those who take their smartphone to bed with them?

It is still called pomme d’amour in the south, though the name is disappearing. Young love…

I see the difference.Arlos has taken the time to research and remember, Janis just hits the web..I wonder if the young generation will be leaning to much on the tech instead of themselves.

Do people really carry their phones into the vegetable garden? (You can probably guess how old I am!)

I love my smartphone, but really don’t like it when I’m working around the yard or in the garden – Just don’t like the extra bulk in my pockets.

@dani rice – never know when the broccoli’s going to text you that it needs water

Can’t blame Arlo for trying…the “love the geezer” remark worked.

Janis will also be amazed at how deep Arlo buries her phone in his garden!

Arlo has a size 12 brain, Janis however has 4 gig of memory…..

Ouch, girl!

I thought onions were “love apples”….

gmasanta: No, the quote is: “A love apple a day may keep the doctor away, but an onion really will.”

Arlo really knows how to wrap his hands around a hoe.

Dani Rice. Yes.

Danny Rice, I do. I’m 61 and sometimes get work over the phone. To me, land lines don’t make sense if I’m not home…And what do I need it for anyway? I just have a little flip phone, no gadgets, and I don’t text much…It’s nothing but a cheap phone to use when I need to use one…Remember, you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, and the phone tells you who’s calling, so you have a chance to make a decision…And for the record, up in the wilds of Waugashance Point, MI….My cheap little phone actually worked, while my friends’ smart phones didn’t work so well…..

As an 18th century reenactor – tomatoes are just starting to be eaten in the colonies at the end of the century. They are thought to be poisonous as they are a nightshade. (As a reenactor I know this, but have no actual idea what a nightshade is.) Thomas Jefferson was one of those who started serving and eating them when he brought them back from his trip to Europe for the colonial government,

comicsssfan -

All nails were handmade in the period. The boys just old enough to work were put to work in the nailery. From everything I have read and heard the boys were encouraged to work not by beating them, but by offering them encouragement in terms of additional fabric in fancier colors or money (carrot not stick). Fabric in the period was extremely expensive and extra fabric a good reward.

We also have to look at life in the period from the period, not looking back. (Yes, I think slavery is a terrible thing.) Many of Jefferson’s slaves came from his father-in-law’s estate. He and his wife’s sister’s husband split the estate and each took on half the debt of the estate, putting Jefferson into debt for the rest of his life. Had they not done this the slaves from his father in law’s estate (including the half sister of his wife and her family) would have had to be sold, perhaps apart from each other. By taking on the half of the estate he kept the families together. In Virginia while it was a colony one could not free a slave without the permission of the Governor. There is records of it being allowed in 3 cases – in one the slave had saved the life of his master, in another a reputable free black man had purchased his wife and children and wanted to free them so that if he died they would not be sold. I don’t remember the details of the 3rd case. After the Revolution one could free their slaves, but the slave had to almost immediately leave the colony. This would mean leaving loved ones behind, especially if they were of another planter. In addition since Jefferson was so far in debt due to taking on half his father in law’s estate he could not free the slaves. Again, thinking in the period, not now, his debtors would foreclose their debts if he got rid of his collateral for their loans – the same as today one cannot get rid of one’s house if there is a mortgage on it, unless one sells it and pays off the mortgage or gets permission from his lenders to do so.