Michelle and Denise, this is New England and the sight of a Speedo is relatively rare and usually means wearer either, A.) really knows how to swim properly and well (I remind you, this is NE and Ian Crocker is not the norm in northern New England), B.) dives (this is NE), or C.) is from Quebec or Europe. ;) On that fateful first date I was charmed by his witty and droll sense of humor and thrilled to find his legs long, athletic, and shapely enough to have fared well in a 16th. century doublet. I was definitely hooked and have remained so for pushin' 25 yrs. now. One does not "discipline cats", PM. You don't have have since they're already the most perfect creatures on the face of the earth. Peacocks are the most fascinating birds, but they certainly have a disconcerting cry. We have a Kirby vacuum and I hate it. It's heavy and louder than I think it ought to be, it's like dragging around a compact car. But it works very, very well. My brother inherited a Mehle (sp?) when my aunt died and he really likes it. My recommendation for animal hair is a good, "beater bar" on the rug attachment and a smaller version of same for upholstery. Those are definitely two happy canines, V.. But I've never seen a wet Lab. that wasn't happy, lol! I am not particularly impressed by all the "new and improved" introductions from plant breeders. It seems to me that the more they try the more they fail and they really seems to have focussed on Echinacea recently. That sensibility, coupled with the color (not my favorites) leaves me ambivilent about the Echinacea in question. It will be interesting to see what is decided and how the introduction fares. Sounds like the chow at Deanne's was pretty good! did the kitties get any filet mignon? Cement for your birthday sounds good to me. I want to see the new additions EMPTY, so I may assess the lines... ;). But no doubt you've already crammed something into them. Not sure what the weather will bring today, humid again and foggy with a threat of a shower. Yesterday it burned off and left us with a lovely day. I weeded diligently for several hours and dug two holes to receive shrubs. Hole digging on the Compound is frequently an exercise in frustration, requiring the proper mindset to address the many buried rocks and a willingness to shift the hole to one side or the other if you can't dislodge the rock in question. I did get another Vaccinium corymbosum into the ground and took the (Cindy)loppers to the taller of the two we transplanted in the spring. I was gratified to note the extent of new growth from the bases of them and that encouraged me to trim the tops back more aggressively than I otherwise might've. I should probably get moving and eat something because we're going to try to finish off the remainder of the wood this morning. After that? maybe more weeding or maybe a cruise to the nursery to pick up the Viburnums and MAYBE we'll get them in the ground. A longshot, for sure, but it would really do my heart glad to see something like that happen. Jerri, I am routinely shocked by how little people consider the emotion well-being for animals. For the first time in years I actually saw a TV ad. to spay/neuter your pets. Evidently, New England has a pretty good record about that stuff (good enough that the shelter import puppies from other regions because they're relatively scarce), but the shelters are awash in cats. I had a surprising encounter with a rather unpleasant woman yesterday. Rex and I were returning from our walk and we walked down the field/parking lot for the church across the street. I was informed it was "church property" and asked if I walked my dog in the new garden/cemetary for cremated remains?? Of course not. I asked if there had been problems with that sort of thing and was icily told I "was the one with the problem". OK. We have a key to the church and the rectory (have for years), and in the nearly 20 yrs. we've lived here no one has ever told us we may not walk the dog over there. Yesterday, in fact, there were two famiilies picnicing with 3 happy dogs between them. Many people enjoy fishing from the rocks and bring their dogs with them. I was stunned and pointedly asked her why she was clearly so angry with me when I had done nothing wrong. She blustered some more and I've decided to discreetly inquire about this with my neighbors and good friends who are members of the congregation. We had lunch out yesterday and noted with surprise that this was probably the last shot of summer as so many kids go back to school in August now. It will be quieter this week and busy on the weekend and then it will begin to wind down for the season. I'm not ready; i always wish summer would go on longer than it does. It makes me a little bit sad, actually. I make the bed and I tuck in the sheets. Mum preferred the "cocoon wrap" and I would frequently find her contentedly swaddled in the down comforter when I'd go down in the morning. Hi Marian. TTYL.

newbie_in_nj, Last year was the first year I recall having success with Echinacea. I had sown Magnus and purple Coneflowers in the past with either container failure or who knows what. But for 2006-2007 I did White Swan, Magnus, and Tennessee and they all sprouted like a charm and were planted out. I've got my fingers crossed that they last through the winter-- haven't had good luck with keeping Coneflowers in my yard, don't know why. Shimla, No, not so together...I'm only ready because I have such a backlog of seeds collected/purchased over the past two years. I'm gonna clean house by WSing all of them! ...well, maybe not all of them.... :-) Linda

awm : thank you for the sweet and supportive wishes. I sure hope your ride goes well. Two of the folks I am with have done that ride and loved it. We are indeed fortunate in the support we get from our families. tina thank you too. I will keep up the updates as it helps to clarify things in my head too :). I am glad you are enjoying it. golddust. we had flashing lights but it was just a miserable set of circumstances....hopefully not to be repeated. Glad you like my TALL tales. Sue yes it never has stormed today but we have had a fine time. We walked several miles to go to a Dollar Store and to stretch our legs. Time for a nap I think. Your trip sounds wonderful. I bet you will always cherish that time as will I this trip. Most likely won't do another as I don't want to leave DH this long again but this one time it is good. More later. c

Jannie, that's funny! I can see myself doing it. I was pretty proud of Grace that she thought to call home, to let us know. Just in case we were worried. (though I wonder if mostly she called to tell Dad what a doofus I was). We haven't done the cell-phone thing. It's against school policy to have a cell phone in schools in NYC--even if it's in your locker! Her teachers, though, have an unofficial "don't ask, don't tell" policy. As long as they never know, they don't care. And apparently, if someone's accidentally goes off, everyone in class starts fumbling w/ their pockets, backpacks, purses, etc., to "camouflage" the true culprit until he/she can turn it off. And apparently they all laugh, hoping the noise will disguise what directions the ring is coming from. But next year, I think we'll have to have one, bcs she'll probably travel to and from school on her own. I think I'd worry more about her if she were walking to school in my hometown, or a small city or a suburb. In NYC, there is ALWAYS someone around (usually thousands of someones), and I'm confident she'd get help if she needed it.