Cannas thrive so well here that they're popular for "old ladies gardens" & landscaping at gas stations! certainly nothing to get excited about, for a new gardener like me wanting to show off her skills (groan). but about 10 years ago, I went to a garden show with a new acquaintance who had just moved here from The Netherlands. When we got to the booth where they were selling a dozen named canna rhizomes for about $8, she went into orbit! She bought a bag, & her excitement must have been contagious: My aunts still can't believe that I *bought* cannas! one dozen Conestoga rhizomes x 10 years = ...a real whole bunch of cannas. In the meanwhile, I've been given cannas, I've gotten them at swaps, & on one memorable occasion, I rescued a bunch of wilting cannas from where they had been discarded by the side of the road (those turned out to have wonderful bright yellow flowers with vivid orange spots)! & today I'm a lot more humble about gardening & grateful for the "bang for the buck" my garden gets from cannas.

Those pics were for production. We have no idea how she actually lives in the home. Likely she has personal items but did not want them visible....she is known to be intensely private. Heck we are pretty boring, but we also removed most personal items when we had a public open house, including pictures. It's just smart. The property is probably a great deal of that value though the house is fabulous. Yes I would consider it if I lived in the city and craved secure privacy because af all the media following me about. Fortunately (since I don't have the cash available lol) the media is leaving me alone so I can just putter around in our big box. :p. I do think it's a beautiful home and so unfair to be calling it a mcmansion. I see nothing at all that would qualify it as such. It's sensitively sat on the property, high quality materials, very livable, no short cuts...really, where on earth do you get mcm out of that?

I have a MIL and FIL just like that! And a SIL, BIL and wife too. Evidently, when the BIL's youngest daughter was born, they thought this would be the last grandchild, Then, DH and I had a son (3yrs.) and a daughter (14 mos). When we asked if they wanted to spend time with the kids, us, anything... the response is always busy. They told other family members that they retired and they aren't doing grandchildren anymore, yet they moved next door to BIL to be closer to grandaughter. They didn't retire from bing grandparents, they just retired from my family. They have sleep overs, babysit, take the other grand kids to lunch, santa, etc. They never include my kids. Once, the BIL's daughter told my son to move out of his chair because she wanted to sit next to her "Aunt Robin, and that she was the favorite". My 2 yr. old son, moved to another chair. When I commented that that wasn't very nice to say, MIL said "Oh let her have her fun!". They only live 15 min. away. I have decided that I will not tolerate this behavior anymore, and nor will I make my children tolerate this. I don't want my kids to know that they are not the favorite, or that their family even has favorites. I don't want my kids exposed to the "demeaning way" that my ILs treat me. I dont' want them to think it's okay to treat anyone that way. My family begins here. My holiday events will be happy, fun, and surrounded by people who love each other. Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. are at my house. If anyone wants to come, they can, provided they treat my family with respect and kindness. If not, they are not welcome here. In my house, I am allowed to say that, and inforce it. I haven't had the chance to say it yet, they never visit. Julie

Jerri, I guess that's what I need to stop and think about and quit worrying. I think a relationship with MIL has more bad points than good...and why spend so much time trying to get someone to approve you that never will? It should tell me something that my fiance' isn't bothered at all by not hearing from her or not having a relationship with his own mother. He's known her a lot longer than I have, so he's a better judge of the situation than I would be, right? And it says something that she has no problems writing children and grandchildren out of her life~especially over something so petty. That takes a special kind of person to that to their child that they gave birth to and raised. I mean, she hasn't talked to her one son in about 3 years and says she doesn't even care anymore because it's been so long. I know when I really think about it, I'm still angry and hurt over a lot of stuff that's been said to me or about me or my family since I met this woman (she's done a lot of belittling me and telling me I'm unhappy or have a low self esteem when I know I don't and I'm happy). She's caused me a lot of grief and problems too by just constantly talking to me about my one BIL and SIL and their situation and things. I don't agree with how they take care of their kids and things but it doesn't have to be a major part of my life! She would call or e-mail or IM or whatever about them until that's all I thought or talked about 24/7! But when I sat down and really thought of it all...I didn't care at all about them~it's their life and their problems! Or I've listened to her call here and get on fiance' about something I let him buy (he's spoiled she says and yet the other boys are mistreated because they never get anything they want). Or she'd make him feel guilty because his brother would supposely do anything for him and we wouldn't return the favor...when in fact my fiance' was making less money than one of them let alone both and they were bumming money from us! It was constant arguments and problems every week. And you can't tell MIL anything...she knows more than you do about your life. I often hear my fiance' saying, "Yes, Mom," "I know, Mom." when he's on the phone with her and it's just because she's telling him she knows we didn't pay our electric bill or something (because she figured up how much we spent going out to eat and on the stuff we bought) when in fact we did but she won't listen. And DS may miss his Grandma but he has many more where she came from! Ones that actually say they love him and wouldn't pretend he didn't exist. (Once this past summer we saw her in the Wal-Mart parking lot coming down the same isle we were coming up and she dashed in between cars to avoid us! She had this look on her face that I've seen her get when she sees someone she doesn't want to. That made my fiance' so mad because there our son was yelling, "Grandma" and she's running like were strangers! We weren't even fighting with her then!) Another thing is...if I don't have to go down there and put up with her and all that crap...I don't hear stuff about the others and can't be blamed for saying things about them. That's been a good thing. And my one SIL that I don't get along with... I see very little of her now. I've realized she and MIL are a lot alike and she just causes stress that I don't need, also. Okay, I just need to keep thinking of how peacful it is now and remember the horrible things she's done and said and how it's not something DS needs to be around or my baby when it's born. I really wish she would change, but it's not up to me and it may be way too late. Oh, and yes we do plan to marry. We always have it's just we get busy and it doesn't pop into our everyday lives. If we could just go today or tomorrow and do it and it be done, we would. Neither of us really like to plan stuff. We want just a JP wedding with a simple family party afterward. I think it would be best to wait for warm weather now and others think I should wait because I'll be gaining weight and all due to the baby. ~Leslie~