Jody, what is that pink/green leafy colored plant in the bottom photo, I love the shape and colors.

The plant is Heuchera, or more commonly, Coral Bells. If I'm not mistaken, the name is Creme Brulee'. It is planted in a large pot with Creeping Jenny, a spike, Coleus... and the blue flower is grown as an annual, and at the moment, the name completely escapes me... it's on the tip of my tongue! Ummmm... I know it, I just can't think of the name right now!

Anyway... Heuchera comes in all sorts of leaf colors and combos... I have Palace Purple planted in the garden, and also one with "chocolate" in the name... They get little spikes of white or pink bell shaped flowers that hummingbirds love!

Oh. Maia is REALLY cute... Will you keep her? As if I remembered reading somewhere that you want to keep a girl.

Oh Jodik, They are gorgeous!!
If nobody else minds I'll go ahead and post a photo of my little girl Teak.

Yep! Maia stays! I didn't really choose her, she chose me. There were 3 females in the litter, and she always was the first to crawl to me, from the day they were born. Any time I was near the whelping box, she came right to me. :-)

I've been wanting a new female since Minnie passed away. Emma is a great girl, but she's not that young. Maia will be raised as my personal dog, and we'll go through Obedience and a bit of Street Protection training. I'm never without a dog, especially if I travel anywhere! Maia will be my re-callable bullet! She will be my personal protection dog.

She is a cutie! And I can tell she'll be easy to train... she's very intelligent for a youngster! I like a thinking dog!

I'd love to see a picture of your girl, Teak, Dizzy! Please post it!

She might be a good protector, but right now, she is a real cutie to cuddle up and play with.

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This is Teak last summer.

My, Dizzy, what striking eyes she has! Aren't they great, as a breed? You will never have to worry about your safety when she's with you... Nice picture!

I'll try to dig up a picture of Minnie later today, so you can see one of our bulldogs.

Nice looking dogs! Maia is irresistable, you'll have a lot of fun with her over the years. A friend of mine said that people say looks don't matter in a dog, they just claim to want a good worker. But she always said there's that time when the training isn't going so well and if you can look at the dog and she's cute (or you think so anyway) and remember why you love her it's a heck of a lot easier. We're accidental border collie people here at our house. I was looking for a different breed and ended up with BCs.

Suzanne

It was the same with me. I was looking for Yorkies and Malteses, and ended up with Miniature Schnauzers, coming from a background of breeding German Shepards and Dobermanns. Quite different. It is interesting to see how breeds differ from each other and not only by looks. They have different characteristics and habits.

Maybe it comes from breeding for so long, but truth be told, pretty is as pretty does... the color and looks of a dog are purely superficial and meaningless, as long as they fall within the parameters of the breed standard. Like a race car, it's what's under the hood that counts. All the cuteness in the world can't cure a poor temperament or genetic defect of some type. I'll take the ugly as sin dog that is healthy, stable and works like the dickens! Emma is living proof of that statement! She's got a mug only a mother could love, but she's everything she should be for her breed.

What I find incredibly interesting is how certain characteristics and personality traits are prevalent throughout an entire line. For instance, Emma has this habit of wagging her whole butt sideways when she's happy... and one of her daughters, Ruby, does the exact same thing.

Ana my 6 year old walks in her toes, so did her dad and same with her grandfather. I still remember the proud look in grandpa's face when he first met Ana in NY and said "Ohhhhh, she's got the Mancini walk!" She also sleeps like her dad with her right arm covering her face. Without the snoring...Thank God!

Although Ana looks more like me (Asian), she inherited her father's Irish temper, impatience, and hyper-activeness. She LOVES flowers just like mommy.

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Oh! Maria!

Your daughter is beautiful!

I do not have much time to respond, as of late, but please know that I appreciate the pics and correspondence of ALL!

Thanks!

She's just beautiful, Maria! You must be so proud of her! Both of your girls are lovely, though... Nice pictures, colorful backgrounds!

My daughter snores at night, like her father! I'm curious to know if my grandson will snore, too! He is bypassing the crawling and going right to walking, just like his father!

It's very strange, because most of those things don't seem like they would be genetic. But there it is...

((((elizabeth))))...I miss you girl! I know you are busy with school. I am with these two first graders and 2 college students to take care of. Thanks! Yes, my daughters are my lifetime treasures.

Jodic...Thanks! Those pics were taken in a garden center in OH last June. I wish it was my garden...lol!

Your girls are the most stunning blooms in you gardens, Maria! They are a fine example of your good looks and wonderful upbringing. Good to see you, girlfriend! Hope you are well, m'dear friend!

Maria,

It is not just the start of school. I am pretty much settled in the classroom (still too much work to do), but this year, I am the sponsor teacher of a new Robotics Team.

We have only 6 weeks to design and buld a Robot from the materials supplied, and we (me, my students, mentors from industry, other teachers) are brand new at this effort.

But, it is a worthwhile cause, and I am amazed at the enthusiasm of the students.

I will be 'out of pocket' for at least 4 more weeks, and then I will sleep as much as possible to recoup.

It's worth it, though!

Actually, I plan to rest some this weekend. We have this tropical depression/storm projected to head directly over us, so we will get LOTS of rain and some wind. How much, I do not know. But the rain is welcome, except for the 6 inch part. My yard will flood.

Please know that I am reading, with smiles and interest. I just don't have a lot of time to respond. If I keep power, maybe I can some this weekend.

Hugs!

Cindeea...Mwwwaaaaa! Thank you so much for that compliment. I have always told my daughters of how the outside beauty fades in time and the inner beauty flourishes forever. Yes, I am finally recovering from my daughter's recent car accident. Now it's time to take care of things with GEICO, DMV, local courthouse, wrecker company, junk yard...sighhhhh! If this happened in the Philippines, I could have just given this car away to an oyster farm so oysters could cling on to it!

Elizabeth...I hope that your students and their parents realize how blessed they are to have you as their teacher. Ana and Em-em was with their Kindergarten teacher. Em-em now 9 years old is a special child. She was born in the Philippines (Remember her pic with the Jade Vine flower?)and acquired meningitis at the hospital nursery at 5 days old. She survived but had to have a shunt implanted in her brain when she was 3 months old. She got to learn her ABCs and 123s but never got to read. The Montessori school there could not figure out why and said that she could possibly be dyslexic. Getting her a personal tutor also failed. They would just let Em-em attend the kindergarten graduation and put her back to kindergarten the next year. She arrived here in US and at 8 years old, the local Elementary school placed her in Kindergarten under Miss Carter (bless her heart). In 2 weeks time after classes started, she read her first words. Last May, Em-em did her last and final walk in a Kindergarten graduation. She is now a very proud first grader.

Maria - You must be very proud of both your daughters! Two of my three children are severely ADD, and I know how difficult it is to find teachers that are truly dedicated to their profession. We were told, over and over, that our children needed medication to control the ADD. All they really needed were teachers with a bit of patience and understanding. The medications have too many side effects, and we didn't want two little zombies that sat and stared. We put all three of our kids in a different school, and thanks to the wonderful teachers there, all of them flourished and learned... I hope there is a special place in Heaven for really dedicated teachers! I know it's a thankless job at times, and most don't make enough money for what they do.

Instead of all the medications, we gave our ADD children the occasional cup of coffee or can of Mt. Dew to calm them down... and as they got older, we taught them to control the ADD on their own... my husband is still severely ADD, and he controls it with coffee and what martial arts training taught him. My children all are grown now, and all are doing well. They made it through their youth with help from a few really great teachers!

Elizabeth - If you're half the teacher that the ones we had for our children were, then you deserve a lot of credit! I hope your students, and their parents, realize how lucky they are to have you! I hope the impending storms are not that severe, and you and your yard come through just fine! The forecast here is calling for lots of rain and bad weather in the coming days. We do need a bit of rain, though...

Cindee - Above, in this post, in the photo of the container grouping with the Heuchera you admired... the name of the plant that I couldn't spit out is Heliotrope! It's a blue/purple flowered Heliotrope! Why couldn't I remember that?! :-)

I was going through my photobucket account deciding which ones to delete or not. Guess what, I cannot find any to do so. All the pics in there, 359 as of today seemed so precious to me. What caught my attention were the very first pics I uploaded. My very first amaryllis...Dancing Queen. Here it is together with Ana, just 4 years old then. The bloom was almost as big as her face! Ohhhh how time passes by...

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Hi guys,
It was very interesting for me to read your posts. It just so happens that I am an Integration aid at a special school. Teachers and aids at my school are all Special Ed. trained and are very dedicated to our students. I do admit, it's very hard at times but it's very rewarding.

Maria, Ana is beautiful, what a stunning picture! I have the same prob deleting old photos. They are all so special and really capture the moment. Today I have some new Eye Candy blooming (non amaryllis). I have been given many different Plumeria babies from a Florida Garden Forum friend. This one I have anxiously awaited it's blooms and I absolutely love the smashing colors. What do you think?

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Aren't the back petals interesting? They blend from a dark pink to almost white.

Very pretty Cindee! We used to pick out plumeria flowers and string them up into a lei in the Philippines waaaaaaaaayyyy back when I was a little girl. We had to be very careful for the branches are brittle and if it cannot support your weight, you will find yourself in the ground with sap dripping on you...lol! They grow there with practcally no caring at all sometimes taller than the houses. Ummmm... the houses there were mostly one level/story houses. PI is right in the typhoon belt of the Pacific Ocean.

You're a fabulous photographer, Maria! It helps that your subjects are so great, though! What a great shot of your daughter next to the bloom! It's a good size reference photo to show how huge some Amaryllis flowers are!

That's a lovely pink, Cindee! I just love how plumeria flowers are so subtly shaded... They have to be one of the most beautiful flowers in the world!