The Knoxville swap was a blast!! My neighbor Jan came up with me , it was her first swap and she is hooked!! She said my "plant swapin friends" were the nicest people she had ever met. I think she'll be back, lol. Cheryl -- thank you for hosting us again and on such short notice too !!! Ohh and for digging in your garden for me-- I just love the lime green spiderwort with the electric blue flowers!! Your gardens are very beautiful, it was a pleasure just to be in them. Thank you. Canna, whoops- we never made it to your compost pile did we?? wink,wink ;) Ione, I'm bringing more hosta to the MTPS and between now and then I'm going to look for more of the orange marmalade hosta. I enjoyed seeing all my friends again!! Thank you all for a wonderful day !!! Marianndretti

I've had some helpful advise on this forum quite a long time ago and just checked in for the first time in a long time. My opinion on this topic - is Yes and No. My two youngest daughters - 29 and 30 cut off any communication from me and their oldest sister two and a half years ago. They will not communicate with us, so I guess I just am supposed to give up on them. I've been to a psychologist for over a year. He told me that I need to tell myself that I did the best I knew how when raising them. The pain and heartache they have caused me is awful. I wish I could have their memory excised from my mind. My oldest daughter and son are very kind, empathetic people and have been a wonderful support to me through this. So, yes I would never wish that I didn't have them. After investing 25 years into the others and doing what I could to make them happy, I do wish that I had never had two more children with my second husband. He and his family have caused me so much grief, it would take a book to relate all of it. The family is instrumental is turning these girls against me too. I fight the bitterness of this situaiton everyday. Of course, they will always be part of me and I will always love them, but who could ever imagine that our own children could turn on us and not even want to explain why. I have the greatest empathy for anyone else that has been through a similar situation.

Oh I'm so sorry. Finding out the loss is greater than you thought is almost like losing it all over again. (((hugs))) There is something other than all new or a bad replica...it's a good replica. Friend of mine (I should take pics some time) built a new house about 15 years ago, and to walk inside, you'd think it was from the 17th-18th century. He worked with a fellow who salvaged antique wood and he used real beams, flooring, boards, etc. to create an excellent replica. There are also in between steps, like using more modern materials in the same way that they did back then so it gives the same look and coziness and feel, but in a slightly fresher way. I was in another house on a house tour that was a lovely Queen Anne style victorian...just gorgeous. We were stunned when they told us where the addition was. They did such a good job of replicating the style and trim, that it was seamless. So it is possible. Also, keep in mind the benefit of the new is that it won't need the maintenance or have the issues (think electrical, plumbing, rot) as the old has. And the new can provide wonderful features that the old never could like in-floor heating, adequate electrical outlets for today's appliances...

I guess I agree with Nik and Kes, having awful soil. But back when I started, I sure as heck couldn't of afforded hiring people to do the heavy machinery deal, nor the new soil...nor could i afford it now, methinks! Diane, remember that the human body , in the course of a seven-year cycle,renews all it's cells. Therefore, every seven years, a person is, in a way, re-born. So when you turn 70, you will be re-born for the 10th time in your life! Now that is something to celebrate,IMO! best wishes, bart