Oh, my!!! I accidentally landed here, while beaming back and forth between 'Conversation' (not much going on there)to 'Discussion' and I'm sure glad I got side-tracked here. Your pix are so awesome, John! Thank you for sharing them, especially these days! They have given me 'a shot in the arm' and I can't wait for Spring again! I love the 'show' in Spring with the sometimes purple eyes emerging, pushing up to stand tall and slowly unfurl, and the leaves displaying their particular Spring colors lasting well into Summer! Then, the Summer show begins, with many scapes making their appearance early on! Thank you, John--oh, and I STILL love my daylily magnets! :o)

Hi Connie, I'm glad you like the pictures and glad to be able to work with them again. You asked about having a plan about growing hosta in pots. A plan? Ha!! I am crazy and greedy at the same time. I have to put them somewhere because I buy like a maniac. It is catching up with me as they increase and I find I have to get them into the ground. Last year, a disaster, I lost about 60 of 150+ that were in pots. That scared and depressed me no end. I worked really hard planting as many as I could. I ended up the year bringing about 30 in pots into the garage (making sure they were dryer than they were the year before). I had also bought 90 new ones so I feel I made some accomplishment in the net result. I love the look of the pots around the garden and sometimes stick them in a planting bed on top of bulbs or something done. I often can be found wandering aimlessly with a hosta in my hands waiting for a spot to call out to me that that is where it should go. It often works. I am trying to use duplicates in the pots in order not to worry about the losses. You asked how much is in garden. We have 10 acres but I would think the actual garden space would be similar to a large suburban yard. None of it is taken up with much lawn. The lawn is about 9 x 9 (down from 10 x 10). It's just enough to put a table and chairs on and to smell the grass when you cut it. The rest is driveway, patio, walkways and decks. I do have the woods. It would be the size of a large backyard. That is where my hostas are now headed. I knew when they all grew I would be able, eventually, to get them in the ground. Now it's a matter of how much energy I have to get the soil in place to plant them. I did a bit last year and will do more this year. At least I have the option. Hubby is mostly helpful and not too much of a hindrance. He great at building and likes creating the "built" part of things. He sometimes argues with how something will be done but I usually win. I look at things totally with what I want them to look like and he looks at things as to how than can be built. I think he thinks there are two kinds of flowers - roses and iris. He does now recognize a hosta and really is proud of the results. The house has changed a lot in 20 years. Below are a couple of pictures of when we moved here. Have a great time on your vacation. Myrle

I hate to hear that you've run into problems. It sounds like the GC is willing to remedy the issues with the stonework. Hopefully, he'll get it taken care of soon. Are you close to your build? Our subs have all been REALLY good about keeping things cleaned up. Some of them were naturally that way, like our framers & drywall crew who had a cleanup person on site all day. Others needed a little nudge. On the day that a trade started I showed up early with a broom in hand and told everyone how sorry I was for them having to work in such a messy house. It was already spotless. :o) I put 5 gallon buckets in the smaller rooms (bedrooms & baths) and large boxes in the main rooms of the house for them to toss stuff into. They have to pass by the boxes constantly, so there's no excuse to leave things laying around. I empty everything promptly when it starts filling up and sweep when I can't find anything else to do. They learn quickly and we've never had to say anything to anyone. :o)

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, but as it turned out, Sony decided not to send anyone to Toronto and is going to let the staff in Toronto work it out on their own without a director. I guess that is one way for them to save money. So I will wait for warmer weather before I visit Toronto, and Kevin will not be there, unless he goes with me. Last week a friend asked me to go to Brazil with him some time next year after April. He has to settle an estate there, and he knew that I could take the time off. We'll see if that materializes. I would like to visit Brazil, but I've been afraid to go because I do not speak Portuguese, but my friend does, and that would make me feel more comfortable. He will be mainly going to Rio de Janeiro, but would be making side trips to Petrópolis and other places.