To anyone planning on purchasing or moving turtleheads, I thought I'd share this from another member on GardenWeb: COMPANION PLANTING An interesting observation was made by gardencommando concerning a possible deterrent effect of Chelone on the beetle. "this summer we were totally infested with the red Lily Beetle. After reading up on the subject, I used the simple drowning them idea, but modified the mix a little - amonia with dish soap. Although I stalked and killed hundreds of the horrid things, I suffered heavy damage to all the lilies except 1. The one an only difference that I could find is: the completely undamaged lily has a Turtle head planted on each side of it. I checked on the toxity of Chelone and although it seems to not be edible it says nothing about repelling pests." Personally, I plan on planting mine on either side of my fritallaria where I spotted beetles last spring and am planning to wage an all-out war against any babies this spring:)

I am getting Jude the Obscure, Kathryn Morley, William Shakespeare 2000, and Glamis Castle. I also ordered Purple Splash because I couldn't resist it. There are several more Austins I want, but no room at this time. I especially want the Generous Gardener and Golden Celebration. And Evelyn is a beauty too. I do love Abraham Darby which is my only current Austin. Believe it or not, Jason, I actually sit in the garden and enjoy it some too. I don't just work in it although there is plenty of that also. kay

Shirley...I am so glad you finally got your box, even if the wine got broken. It just shows how roughly the PO handles our boxes. As you saw, I had marked it "Glass" and "Live Plants". Wonder what happens if you don't mark them to let them know that there are fragile items inside??? I wish you had gotten to see the label though...It was made especially for you. Also, I have spoken to different people in various Post Offices about mailing wine. Each person gave me a different answer. One told me that it was okay to mail wine as long as it was under a certain proof. My homemade wine isn't proofed, even if it was, they wouldn't know what it was because they broke the d--n bottle;0) I'll bring you some when we go to Gatlinburg in the spring. Don't let me forget. Gloria...OUCH!!!That does sound really painful. Hope you heal quickly. Marea....Thank you for the nice complement about the wine. I'll have you a bottle waiting when you come and see me this spring. I can hardly wait to show you over the farm. Maybe when you get settled in your permanent home I can return the visit. Welcome Roxanne. Glad to have a new member. I've been away from the group a lot recently and have missed out on your joining. Now for the sad news...My aunt passed away late yesterday, she was cremated today, and there will be a memorial for her tomorrow in her hometown (London, KY). This is the aunt that I have been helping my cousin by sitting with her a few times a week. Maretta (my aunt) was 66 years old and died of cancer one month after being diagnosed. The blessing is that she is no longer suffering and is in a much better place. Hello to everyone...I have missed you, and hope to be back and more active in our group again soon. Debbie

Dear Paigect, I am another one of those - former stepchild/stepmother. I didn't like my stepfather for a while, but figured things out when I grew up and we had a great relationship before he died of cancer. My first dad was dead when I got him, so there wasn't any wishing to get back together stuff. What role do you think you could play in putting an end to your son's fantasy of you 2 getting back together? Do you think that you could actually help the situation? Or do you just want your ex to be the one to deal with it? I take it you aren't remarried yourself. If you are truly trying to get your son happy and able to have a relationship with his dad- you could help. If your son acts out and is disrespectful to his stepmother and you condone it and blame it on the fantasy and her - you are giving him a message that he can be disrespectful to adults if he chooses not to like them. Do you see that? I have one stepson who is like that, and I have another one who I adore and he a loves me. The difficult one has done things that would curl your hair - choked his girlfriend, stole his dad's gun and got arrested 3 days out of marine boot camp, run around naked, at 16, holding his penis out in front of 10 year old girls thinking he's funny, wrecked cars- twice in one weekend one time, threatened me, runaway and left horrid notes blaming me numerously, got beat up at school for running his mouth and needed to be taken to the med station a number of times, stole his dad's 300.00 fish finder and lost it, lying, partying and skipping school, bad grades, no job, the list goes on and on. When do you say enough is enough? His hell bent goal was to get his dad to divorce me so he could be in charge. He wanted to run things. He blames me for joining the Marines -claims he wanted to get away from me. Now he hates it and it is all my fault. It will be my fault if he gets hurt too. He isn't responsible for any part of our bad relationship or his choices, is he? I am just supposed to take it, the blame and the horrid behavior. His room is a mess from the last time he was home - including used rubbers and half eaten candy bars stuck to the carpet. Oh by the way, his carpet is ruined, there are holes in the walls and his mattress is all chopped up - the new one I bought for him when we moved into our house together. That is all my fault too. Some kids just aren't nice. I must be doing something right though - his brother loves me like crazy. And now you can call me an evil stepmother like he does. Or you can realize that some of us have come to the end of our ropes and patience. You know what? I honestly hold my husband responsible, along with my stepson, for his behavior. If my husband hadn't made excuses for him, made him accountable for his actions and made him take some responsibility, he wouldn't have turned out as bad as he did. I have 2 of my own kids in the house too. They are not bad kids and respect my husband. My ex is out of the picture. It is like I have 3 kids and he has the one. I don't want to leave my husband, because then I couldn't keep my stepson who loves me. The older one is out of the house in the Marines now and it is a whole different household. There is peace. It isn't the his kids vs mine thing. Sure they all pull stuff. But I can discipline now and no one accuses me of being mean and targeting the step kid and other rubbish. It is fair. And there is respect and love that goes both ways. That is the most important thing. No I couldn't respect my older stepson. His repeated behavior wouldn't facilitate it. Every time it would seem to get better - he would pull something and some how he would turn it around and someone else was to blame. Usually me. Yes I am relieved he is in the marines. No, as a matter of fact, I clearly stated I didn't want him to join. He doesn't have good sense and I am afraid for him. But there is a peace in the house. Except of course for my husband. He blames me that his son is gone. But you know what - he is the one who could have refused to let him join. He is the one who could have talked him out of it. He had the influence and the power. Not me. Master manipulator that kid is, huh. Oh, by the way - the boys mother killed herself 3 years ago. She was a drug addict, convicted of embezzlement too. Her choices caught up with her and that was her answer. Now her son is going down her path. I am scared to death for him. I wish someone could help him, but I clearly can't. Maybe the marines will. And when he grows up, maybe he will figure out I wasn't that bad and we can have some sort of relationship. No I won't hold my breath though - I don't want to die, already had that scare with ovarian cancer. Life is too short to be that miserable. Until you walk in someone elses shoes, be careful how you judge them. Some of us have had waaaayyyyy too much to handle with perfect grace. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. That is the path of a stepmother.