I have to say , those maps are very interesting, I had to look where Im at.. Spodosols , no wonder our main native crop is basically blueberries. Methodolgy = advertising to make profit off you.. dont fall for it. Build your soil, compost, manure, water and mulch. I built my own raised beds out of logs, birch, maple and oak, that I cut by hand and dragged out of the woods , its not so much pretty as its free. If you do not have access or ablity to compost, see if your town does it, alot of towns do, if they do not, try to start the program yourelf. Visit your local farmers or horse owners and ask if you can have manure for free, how much and how often. Horse tracks around here offer it for free, so do some zoos, some dairy farmers could care less, other then having some for thier modest veggie gardens, they do not need manure from 200 cows sitting around. Some sell it, but others cannot, or do not have easy access for back loaders and trucks. Methodolgy might be ok to break you into gardening, move past it when you learn enough to be confident on your own. Do not allow a company to make a profit off from you, when you can simply do alot of it yourself, for free! Silverkelt

I'm envious, too! I would strongly urge you to get a map of the London Underground as well for the London area. I was there 10 years ago and there wasn't much we couldn't get to that we wanted to see (including Kew) that wasn't too far from the Tube. (Oh, that we had something like that in L.A.!) And no, it wasn't creepy like you might expect a subway. Of course your mileage may vary, but if you plan ahead, you can take advantage of discounting by buying several days or however it works, I don't remember anymore. London city may be the worst of driving by car so you won't miss anything except angina ;-) We also found the Tube to run often enough for convenience. Whatever you do, Mind the Gap!!!! 'Nother thought in London if you have time, there are walking tours here and there, most meet near a Tube station. Most tour guides have some sort of schedule. We took the evening Jack the Ripper tour by a guy that wrote a book on him, as he was the most recommended. Your taste may vary! But there are all kinds of these for what was reasonable pricing. A good time filler per one's interest and time offered. You might also do the London bus tour early on to get an over view of the city and decide what you'd like to see. If you have time for anything not garden related (!?!), the most wonderful time we had was at the Tower of London / White Tower where King Henry killed many of his wives, and little princes were bricked up in the masonry and so on. As I recall, there are also replicas of the crown jewels, the armory (fascinating!), the tower ravens, and many, many more things. I cannot begin to say what a good time it was and we both wished that we had planned a FULL day to take it all in, imho, if you see nothing else touristy in London, this is a MUST see. The Beefeaters were MOST excellent tour guides. If you're lucky, you might also find one of your relative's names carved in stone before they were executed! Alas, poor cousin Henry T!!! My cousin wanted to go to the pottery district, dunno about pricing with the dollar now, but we both got stuff for ourselves and Christmas presents. We went to Wedgewood only due to time (took the train, I think from Manchester, I'm not sure) but worth a stop for you if it is on your way to somewhere else just for the tour of how they make the china. There are many other companies like Spode in the area so something to check ahead to see if it fits in (if you do buy, we had our pieces shipped home). Nowadays with these shops more common over here and online, I dunno that it's worth to stop to buy except for the memory, but again, the tour was a great memory of something we don't have over here. Have fun!!!

1) Part of the country I live in: Florida 2) One quirky/odd/interesting/funny thing about where I live: People leave five open car lengths between them and going through a green light. Two cars get through. Everyone shops out of the middle of the isle. Very few people are from here. We can’t wait until the vacationers leave so we can get into our locals. 3) Two or three quirky things you do NOT know about me: What’s not quirky about me? I don’t like touching door handles going into business, restaurants ect. If I have to I use the up side of my left hand. I do not like it if someone wants to taste my drink. All I can think of is if they flossed or not or what they may have had in their mouth that is now floating around in my drink. I think men who spit in public should need a public stoning. 4) Any weird or funny phobia? No real phobias but I don’t particularly like spiders. 5) Two interesting/funny/ quirky things about my family: Everything my husband is good at I am not. Everything I am good at husband is not. It’s easy to figure out who gets what job during remodels. My husband smells and sniffs everything he puts on. I have two dogs a Rottweiler and Maltese. The Rottweiler thinks he’s a Maltese and the Maltese thinks she is a Rottweiler. All the women in my family are extremely strong willed. 6) Item and age of the oldest piece of clothing I still wear: Nothing I can think of except I collect vintage pins. My DH/SO/Family HATES this item that I love and refuse to get rid of: In my quest for an all-cotton, knee length sleeveless nightgown I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted so bought a Ralph Lauren loud floral print gown. I look like a clown in it but it’s cozy. I can’t recall exactly what he said but it wasn’t nice. He hates my stored paint and wants me to use the same color in every room to cut down of cans in the garage. He hates the tufted headboard I got at a garage sale. 8)Favorite thing to do when I have an hour or so free at home and no one around to bother me and no work. Well I haven’t had time due to renovations but in a few months I’ll have my very own room to sit and paint in. 9) If I could somehow have another career with, miraculously, the college or training already behind me, I would: I’m not sure I could pick one. There is so much to know and learn about with so many things. I enjoy anything creative. 10) If I could live anywhere in the world for 3 months among the locals (other than the country I currently live in now) I would love to live: I love Italy and south west England but am always glad to get back to America. 11) One last quirky thing about me: I am more of a man’s girl than a girl’s girl. But, I am better at being a girl’s girl now that I am older and have had more time to figure out the complexities of women… even though I am one. I still don’t get vagueness. I’m a visual learner.

Hi - I am Renee, a transplanted Northerner now living in Central Florida. I first moved here after 9/11 and didn't think I would stay but I love it now - except for the hurricanes. I am 48 and single, have a wonderful BF and live with four kitties - Jack (orange and white tabby), Ernie (fat brown tabby), Lola (brown Maine Coon) and Kaci (black and white Maine Coon mix). I have recently taken up two fun hobbies. The first is raising Monarch butterflies. I just had another girl yesterday morning. I am mesmerized by the whole process. The second is geocaching. My love of rooting through thrift stores and garage sales makes me a natural at this form of treasure hunting.