Well, I LOVE them ALLL. I have to say there is not a one that I wouldn't mind having. I do have to say that Color Glory done very will for me as all the others did (SO FAR). And, yes there are some that aren't as pretty as other but I tend to find something that I like about every hosta that I have. So, if I had to pick one it would be Frances Williams. She is an awesome hosta - doesn't burn for me looks great! She tends to stay for a couple years and leaves me. I HAD Colory Glory which was beautiful until the stinking, no good for nothing VOLES had it for a midnight snack along with Spilt Milk, Independence and countless other. OH and Thunder Bolt. Boy, I was MAD on that one. I do agree that hosta loves what it loves and they can tend to be spoilt. Anyway, I also have a question. Have any of you tried the Castor Oil remedy for VOLES?

Thanks so much for your candid responses. It is hard to hear the truth, but I really did need to hear it. To answer some of your questions, I wasn't reading into something that wasn't there. When we first met, he made every effort to spend time with me outside of the conference; hiking, going to the pool, hanging out. He would buy me drinks, etc. No, we never kissed and thank god for that. Also, when I told him we should stop communicating, I meant it. And it was he who wrote me months later which started us talking again. There were times even after we started emailing each other again where I would not write for weeks, and again, he would write me to ask me how I am, etc. At the second conference, there were times where strangers mistook us for a couple and he never corrected them, it was me who's like we're just friends. Anyway, we do have to have a professional relationship though, so unfortunately total non-communication is not possible. We will see each other at conferences, know the same people, etc. I do not want to think of him as a con man or a predator although he did misled me on purpose. Maybe I'm too forgiving but I'd rather not get angry.

My best friends are the girls I have known since childhood. Vicki, Kathy, Mary, Marilyn and Donna. Mary lived next door, Vicki and Kathy down the block, Marilyn around the corner and Donna I met the first day of Grade 9. She was the only one in the class who had a dress on. LOL I am close to all of them but they aren't necessarily close with each other. Vicki and I are close, Kathy and I are close, Marilyn and Mary are close, Kathy is Godmother to Mary's oldest. Marilyn has been close to each of us at different times but we all get along and a few times a year Mary has all of us over and sometimes Mary will only have Vicki, Kathy and I over. I spend most of my time with Vicki, Kathy and Donna. Vicki was with me at my Mom's bedside when she passed away and held my Mom's hand. Kathy's Mom just passed away a few weeks ago and I was really close to Kathy's Mom. Kathy's Dad called me his "adopted daughter" after my own Dad passed away. Kathy would say I was closer to her Dad than she was. He liked to tell stories and I liked to listen. LOL Mary's Mom is 91 years old and when she sold her house next door I missed her terribly. She is still going strong and I talked with her last week at Kathy's Mom's funeral. Donna knows Kathy from Grade school and knows Vicki through me. They are just acquaintances and know each other through me. Vicki's Mom used to be friends with my oldest sister since they grew up on the same street so Vicki's Mom has a picture of me and Vicki when we were just babies. All the girls are married except Kathy and I and still have good marriages. Marilyn met her husband Doug when we were in highschool and "had" to get married. LOL Those were some trying times. Mary's husband Mark was the boy around the corner - our paperboy and we always knew Mary and Mark would end up together since we were kids. Mary was Bucky and Mark was Duck. LOL Kathy was Moo, I was Higgy, Vicki was Druke and Marilyn was Armie. Kathy's Mom called me Higgy right up until the week she died. One day I will post pictures of us now that I have this laptop and once I get a scanner. We had such a good time growing up together and they will be my best friends 'til the day I die. Anne

My SD's mom has been saying she's gonna take DH to court for two years. The best way to nip it in the bud... say "go ahead!" and then say NOTHING. IF he had custody, then it is VERY difficult to change custody without proving the custodial parent is not acting in the child's best interest. You don't need a lawyer until you have been served with court papers. Then, you can ask for attorney's fees from her if she has no basis for making you seek legal counsel. If her mom forked over money for a "good lawyer" in the past and she still does not have custody, then unless you are doing something WRONG, chances are she won't have a leg to stand on... right now, all she is doing is making threats and the best thing to do is ignore her. We have gotten threats to go to court. BM actually responded to child support papers by alleging abuse of her child and asking for custody. Her abuse accusations were: 1. We make SD take at least 15 minute showers. 2. If she doesn't take a 15 minute shower, we MAKE her eat Oatmeal or chicken noodle soup while we eat the 'regular' family meal and we make her go to bed early. 3. SD doesn't have as much FUN at our house as she and her mother thinks she should. THE TRUTH: She needs to take a good enough shower and 2-3 minutes of just getting her hair wet & getting out does not cut it... we make her go back and use soap. She has been given chicken noodle soup and goes to bed when she is getting sick, even if we are having her favorite enchiladas. If we took BM's accusations seriously and got defensive or tried to justify why we do what we do, then it would only encourage BM to keep making these RIDICULOUS claims. DH asked her, 'do you really think the court is going to change custody because the custodial parent is making sure the child has good hygiene, eats healthy, gets lots of rest?' So, SD started failing in school on purpose because her mom told her if she fails in school, the court will let her live with her mom so her mom can help her in school. She was finally told that she will repeat the grade again if she doesn't start doing her work... that if he mom isn't involved in school here, the court will not 'assume' she will do better over there and that we can prove we are trying to get her help she needs to do well in school but her mom hasn't come to one conference... just sits there telling us how we are doing everything wrong while she does NOTHING. Besides, she does not know everything that happens in our house and she relies on a 10 year old's slanted information because SD is upset she has to have a bedtime, do her homework, take a decent shower, do her own laundry, and keep her room clean. It only makes BM look foolish to guess at the truth and put it in writing in court papers. The last time she threatened to take him to court was a few weeks ago and he said go ahead... we will also talk about the back child support and just how involved she is in SD's schooling. BM has not yet filed anything and the truth is, she probably won't because she does not want to discuss EVERYTHING.. just the BS that she wants to b*tch about. When you open the door, you can't pick and choose what may get brought up. The point is, you can let yourself get all worked up over what BM is doing and let your life and mind get cluttered with it when she is probably blowing smoke and laughing at the reaction she gets. From your past threads, it appears that you really don't like her and apparently have told her so. If she is as manipulative and dramatic as you say, then the best way to deal with her is to take the wind out of her sail... by NOT reacting and not giving her any attention for her antics. Let your DH deal with her. Remove yourself from it altogether as much as you can. If he gives her information regarding the children, do it in writing. When she starts a scene, calmly stay seated & ignore her.... watch the show, smile and act as if she isn't there. An 'argument' takes two. If she makes a scene, she will be the one looking foolish. Any reaction from your side of it only hurts the kids when they are there to have a nice holiday performance and end up worrying that mom and dad are going to fight... what a way to ruin the holidays for the kids. NICE!!! (and I thought it was sad yesterday when I went to my Stepdaughter's play... there was a little boy asking his teacher if he can call his stepdad really fast to see if he can come. He had nobody there from his family and all kids want is for someone to care and be there) It may not be the situation with the kid yesterday, but it is so disgusting when a parent gets angry that a stepparent has the nerve to be involved in their child's life.... and it happens all the time.