Olivia - I entirely agree with you that it would be dreadfully negative to discuss ex-spouses and friends gone wrong. Therefore, perhaps we should describe the truly tragic episodes of ex-spices and herbs gone wrong??!! Who has not experienced the heartbreak of tarragon turning terrible or basil going berserk? And, the most horrific of all, finding that one's precious stash of saffron (smuggled back from a business trip to Barcelona) has turned to nasty orange dust just when one intended to use it in a fabulous risotto milanese to impress the new neighbors... Oh, the humanity!!! In view of Ngaire's rule that posts must be only "happy" posts, I cannot further describe the racking agony of spices and herbs gone bad. Perhaps one day I will remember to put little date labels on my Spice Islands bottles and will thereby be spared the pain of losing flavor along with losing my dignity. Cheers, Fred