Certainly lots been going on with you, my goodness. I'm very sorry to hear you lost another friend. I'm so happy kitty is cancer free.

Well, I had a scare a couple weeks ago. Found a huge lump in my breast. Golf ball size. The doctor couldn't get me in for a Mamo for two weeks but when I did go they found 3 more. They say it's cysts but I have to go back in 6 months for a recheck on one small lump the doctor is concerned about.

I've had rotten luck raising Monarchs this year. They're all dying. Can't figure out if it's the OE virus or possibly spraying for WNV? I had one emerge frm a chrysalis with deformed wings, she died two days later. Sad, very sad.

Edna

GGG...Sounds like you are really keeping busy and that the remodeling is coming along. So sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, that must be hard. Also very glad that Boo Boo is doing well and has adjusted to being an "inside" kitty. Your neighborhood seems to be very interesting? Yes, best to just ignore it and keep on smiling!

Edna....yes, it is sad that all the Monarchs are dying. Is there any way that you can find out what is causing it? Wow, that must have been really scary to find the lump! So glad that they think it is only cysts. Be sure to keep an eye on it and do regular exams.

We are some of the ones that GGG mentioned that are "bailing" water out of the gardens... well almost. Lots of flooding in the area this past week, but so far we have been lucky. Since we had 7 inches of rain overnight about 3 weeks ago, it seems like it only knows how to rain. Shouldn't complain I know, but it could let us dry out just a little. There have been mud slides, flooding and many roads closed. So much has been going on that I have had limited time to work in the garden (when it is not raining) that I have rose canes reaching out at least 5 feet to grab me. Must get out there this weekend and tie them up to the fence.

Last week my DH fell off of the flatbed of his truck. Very lucky for several reason. He was only about a 5-6 hour drive from home, so I was able to go and pick him up from the hospital. Also VERY lucky as he landed on his head and shoulder, so it could have been much worse than it was. He doesn't really remember what happened. He had a concussion and has pneumothorax on the right side (air leaking from his lung), multiple contusions, and extensive bruising and swelling. So for the past week I have been sleeping on the couch while he sleeps sitting up in the recliner (he has difficulty getting up, so I have to help him) We go back to the doctor tomorrow to have his chest x-rayed again.
Marylu

Wow, Mary Luis sounds as if your hubby was lucky. It could of been much worse. Thinking of you. My hubby is a truck driver and those kind of things are unsettling. I hope he feels better soon.

Edna I bet that was quite a scare and a long wait for a appointment with many sleepless nights. I am glad it was not as serious as it could be and I hope for good luck for the future.

Girl group girl sounds like your remodeling is right on track. What a undertaking. Your up to your ears these days it sounds. Good luck!

We too are having a awful amount of rain. And some very severe thunderstorm tornado like weather everyday for the last two weeks and rain daily for the last three. I saw a HUGE slug the other day. They must be feasting on this kind of weather. Losing electricity is a daily occurance and so is the tornado siren. I slept straight thru one the night before last. I think I am getting to use to them or something. I wish I could share the rain with those of you who need it. We certainly have to much. June and July were drought like..then it has not stopped in August. We had five inches several days ago, two nights ago another three and another four and a half last night. Trees are going down daily, which just adds to the electricity issues and I am about sick of heading for cover nearly every day. My dogs have the routine down pat now. A funny side of it tho, I have two white bichons..they HATE thunderstorms. One of them is quite fearful. He will crawl down your shirt if he can and has been sleeping on my head to be close to be all night. (More than a bit annoying) but the funny part is they hate to get wet...which has created "potty issues". They hold it and hold it..go to the door and ask..then when you get to the door to let them out, they take a step forward then look up at you and run back to the couch. When push comes to shove and they just must go out..they tip toe after much debating thru the lawn becasue it is so soggy and they don't like muddy feet. My littlest one walks thru the flowerbeds the long way about because there is bark there I think..so its not a mushy as the grass. What characters. Its good for a daily chuckle. :). Yesterday a mom and her two kids were driving to school and a tree out of no where..(no storm at the time) fell on her suv and tramped them. They somehow were unhurt and people in the car following them pulled them out thru the windows..but they were quite lucky. The tree fell on its own. They believe maybe from such sogggy fee it could not holds itself upright anymore. Rain rain go away...

Daughter number two finshed her internship and move back to her apartment several hours away last weekend. While it was semi fun having her her for the summer..it often was not too. Have you ever tried to argue with a lawyer..besides being 25 and thinking she has the world figured out, she is also a lawyer...and she argues like she is in court! She forgets :) and will even tell you she has the floor, it is not your turn when she is not done. Frustrating and comical at the same time. You can't win with her. She is relentless. It about drove us crazy. I pitty a spouse some day. I hope she marries a lawyer so they are least equal on that playing field! She was quite piggy and it caused many problems. Even tho she lived in our little cottage in the back yard, she was the first guest after all our hard work and she had NO respect for that. She left dirty dishes with food on them on the counter for three weeks at a time all summer. Every flat service was covered with either mail or clothes or both. In the three months she lived her I think she swept twice that I know of. I can not believe I raised such a pig. She is picky and precise about her clothing and personal care but her living quarters she trashes!!!!!!!!!!!!! She needs a maid to follow her around all day. She is smart as a whip, but can't remember to carry her dirty dishes to the house or hang up her clothes. Drives me nuts. I think two adult women should not live together....at least not until both are mature in age :) Funny I thought 25 was mature....guess not....On a good note, the firm she interned with made her a very good job offer after she finshes law school in the spring so that should mean no more guest house for her, she can afford her own place! She leaves next week for London where she will intern for an american firm overseas for a semester. I am a little nervous about it but it is what she wants. She studied there once before when the war first broke out and it was pretty difficult to be an american student there then. I am hoping it might of improved but doubtful. We shall see....I see gray hair in the forecast...:)

Going to a double A baseball game with 20 members of my extended family on Sunday. That should be a riot..lets hope there is no rain!!!!

good post girl group girl! We needed one like this.

I was thinking the same thing 3G, and came here this morning with the intention of starting a journal thread.
I wanted to complain about all the rain! I see a couple of you already beat me to it. It has been INSANE. I'd say for the past 2 weeks it has been raining almost every day. Nasty thunderstorms, flooding, power outages all over, etc etc etc. I went out to check the rain gauge again this morning and it was full, which means we got at least 5" of rain in the past 2 days. I barely got any sleep last night because the (series of?)storm(s) just would not end.
Plus we are forecast to get all sorts of nastiness again today and tonight! AUGH!
My garden is an absolute mess. Fallen branches all over the place(one relatively large one that I'm glad didn't fall on the house), planters turned over, plants flattened all over the place. It needs to STOP. I've never seen such a wet(let alone dangerous) August in my life.
Thank you for allowing me to vent.
Plus I went to the doctor yesterday, and it appears that I have tendinitis in my right wrist/fingers. It's been hurting for awhile and I finally decided to get it checked out. Personally, I thought it might me Carpal tunnel, but the doc says no. Now I need to wear a wrist brace for a month, and rest it as much as possible. THAT won't be easy.
I took Benjamin to his first day of 1st grade yesterday. He seems very proud that he is "all grown up" and in 1st grade now. I guess no one likes being at the bottom of the barrel, huh? I shall enlist his help in cleaning up the yard this weekend. He's a good kid.
My wifes office is being shut down, but because she rocks, they offered her a job at a different branch with a big boost in pay. The only problem is that the new office will be an hour away. She accepted the job, but we both know it just wont work for the long run. Poor girl just can't find a stable company to work for(her last job ended because the company was bought out).
Good luck to everyone with weather, personal, and other issues.

Edna -- I have to get mammos every six months. Cysts are scary but usually benign. So stay positive about it! I also get ultrasounds for the cysts and you might ask about using that for imaging, too. I've had two surgical biopsies in the past and one big area that looked really suspicious (pleomorphic microcalcifications). It was the size of 3 dominos stacked up -- deep in my chest wall. Even my surgeon was surprised that it was benign. So, just keep an eye on things and try not to worry.

I'm enjoying reading about everyone's news. This would get long to comment about each one, but I am reading each.

DS1 will be coming home from London in mid-September with his MA in archaeology. He'll take a year off to earn some money and proabably continue on for a PhD in fall 2008. He loves to help me with the garden and he's also a writer/blogger like me.

DS2 is back in pharmacy school here in Chapel Hill.

DH is very busy at his job (where I used to work), but doing well.

I'm starting to second-guess my decision to retire last year! With this heat, I've really had cabin fever because I love to be outside all the time. I'm also missing the technology (software company), defining processes and writing white papers.

So, I'm trying to ease that with writing blogs (garden, home, travel) and writing too much here -- hope y'all won't get annoyed with my comments all the time!

I'm also trying to figure out everything that I can about Google's business model just because I have a technology background. That gives me my technology fix!

Cameron

GGG, I'm glad you started this thread. It's nice to hear what's going on. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. You are the most profoundly busy person! The streetwalkers and other trash are a disturbing problem. Luckily, we don't have it so bad here. One "family" in a rental near us has been looking at the long-abandoned (and semi-refurbished) house behind us. We are fervently hoping they don't expand and surround us.

I'm glad Boo Boo is doing better. Our Himalayan (China) keeps prolapsing. We've changed her diet and keep giving her laxatives and just hope for the best.

Edna, the lumps are frightful. My mother gets regular check-ups and is always on tenterhooks about the results. She's also bitter about getting mammograms. When I was just a little tyke she came home, sat me down, and told me in vivid detail about how horrible it is to get a breast squished. : ) She still tells me. She thinks men should get parts of their anatomy subjected to similar tests. I've dreaded her check-ups for years, because I know I'll get a phone call or e-mail about the unfairness of it all, although it's better than the alternative.

I know too much rain is a bad thing, but we're creeping up on a 9" deficit here. And what little rain "officially" falls isn't falling in my neighborhood. I've just given up for the year. So far, I haven't lost too may plants. A few shrubs and a seedling tree have died and a good many small plants, but nothing that I'll miss too much. I see it as a chance to try something else. There's always more I want to try than I have room for.

A neighbor I rarely see (and now have a burning envy of) was telling me last night about how many preserves she's put up and how productive her massive fig tree is. The only fig my tiny tree put out was eaten by a hen, so I just glowered and let Johnny do the talking.

I've been reading up on beekeeping. Despite all the problems involved in keeping them alive, I think it would interesting to try. I looked up our city code and I'm about to head out and measure to see if I can even fit a hive in. (30' from the street, 50' from the neighbor's house, 10' from his property line) The guidelines are more strict than they were for the henhouse. At least I kept my notes on measurements from the neighbor's house to mine, so I can triangulate. If I can do it, I have a pile of books waiting to be read and a contact in the local beekeepers association and some hive bodies that are still sound in my grandfather's barn. It'll be a good while before I can even begin to set up though, but that'll just give me time to absorb some info.

Despite the dry conditions, or because some spots have opened in the yard, I've ordered two kaki persimmons. So far, I haven't had much luck with persimmons, but I'm willing to try again. I'm debating planting them out or putting them into pots that I can store in the basement this winter. At least I'd know they were safe from freeze damage and I could keep them as hydrated as a dormant tree needs to be (not much). On the other hand, I know by spring a colony of spiders will have moved into the pots. Ugh!

How odd that I hadn't thought about our news threads in ages and suddenly yesterday I was stopped in traffic and began thinking of you all and wondering how you were doing. However, unlike MrMorton, I was thinking that someone ELSE should begin a news thread! ha! Thanks GGG for getting us going. When I left my husband in Ohio, he asked me what I was going to do for work and I flippantly answered that I was going to turn tricks. How terrible that there are age 50+ women out there that actually have to resort to such things!!! Not to mention the sad state of their customers in buying such a service. I hope they all move to a different neighborhood, GGG!

Edna, I'm sorry you had such a scary experience. I do pray that all is well. It's a shame your monarchs are dying. I will pay careful attention to what happens out here.

Marylu, I hope your DH isn't in pain and that he'll be fully recoverd SOON!

Keesha, Funny about your daughter . . . mine will be 24 soon and is impossible to argue with WITHOUT legal training, so I thank heaven for small favors.

MrMorton, sorry to hear about all this rain that you and some others are getting. I'll count my blessings as I drag around the hose.

Cameron, Keep your comments coming! I always love hearing what you have to say.

Kent, So first the birds and now the bees. How did dear Johnny take THIS news? (with a smile, I bet!)

It's been a good summer. My daughter graduated from photography school in June and has agreed to go back to college now and finish her degree while she works in photography part time. I can't tell you how frustrating this has been for me. Both my husband and I foolishly dropped out of college and then had to go back to finish, so of course we wanted to SPARE her this difficulty, but I guess she has to make her own mistakes and fix them too. Other than being stubborn and a knowitall, she is totally wonderful, so I really have nothing to *itch about. Just couldn't pass up this opportunity!

Thanks for writing everyone!
Patti

Patti- Ha! I thought of you when I posted, I was sure you'd ask what Johnny thought. ; ) I requested all the free beekeeping catalogs I could find. One has made it to me already and J has been at it as much as I have. The only difference is he's going through it and geeshing and my-goshing about the prices and telling me how shabby the workmanship is. He's skeptical and wants to know what I'll do if I do decide to try beekeeping and then (typically) decide to do some other odd thing. I told him I'd turn the hives into funky towel holders or something. There must be some use for them.

I measured the backyard, I have plenty of space, but I'll have to think about it. Plus I need to contact the person in animal control I talked to when I was considering hens and ask about the wording of the city code. If the measure is really, literally, 30' from the street, I'll have more options on where I could put hives. There are 14' from the street to the fence.

But, J is asking some interesting questions and making me think. And he's listening to what little I've learned from what reading I've done. He rolls his eyes a lot, they'll probably get stuck. I bet the leech raising idea is looking beter and better.

LOL Kent!
Everyone knows that a beekeepers life is frought,frotte,frot with dangers innumerable!
Leeches sound like a safe alternative.

As to using the equipment once your ardor fades:
My mother had a bat in her house and she called my sister to come and help her get the creature out. My sister showed up with a butterfly net, wearing my BIL's gigantic bee keeper outfit. The bat wisely left on its own.

Patti
OK, I DID make up the part about the dangers, but you really could get stung. How about attracting some of Edna's Mason Bees instead? Then you will only need a board with some holes in it. (I'm TRYING, Johnny!!!!)

Great thread again GGG, thanks for starting it. I though of you today when I looked through my issue of Country Home that just came in today's mail. In it was an ad for Elmira Stove works. They showed a turquoise enameled stove and said "Looking for the unconventional? You've found it. What color does it come in? You tell us." I can't wait to see your fridge and stove. Actually, looking forward to seeing your home's transformation. It sounds like the project is moving right along. ~ Glad to hear about Boo Boo kitty. ~ Sorry you are having rough times in your neighborhood. Hopefully they will leave your neighborhood soon. ~ Sorry about your losing your friend.

(((Cousin Edna)))) Love, hugs and prayers. Keep up your positive attitude and this will be a thing of the past. ~ Sorry to hear you've been losing monarchs this year. Bless your heart for doing your best with raising them.

MaryLu ~ I can imagine you are sick of rain, it's too bad the rains can't blow to those who need it desperately. ~ Oh my gosh, your poor DH. I do hope he is feeling much better real soon.

Keesha ~ I would hate to hear the tornado sirens going off all the time. I was dreaming about several huge ones out over the ocean in a huge black cloud mass, and being in a car in an enclosed cement garage and the car was slowly being sucked toward the garage doors and I was freaking out, then woke up. It was thundering so maybe that's what made me dream that little nightmare. Hope the rains stop for you soon. ~ Your daughter sounds like quite the young lady character. It could be a lot worse.

MrMorton ~ Venting is allowed here, and it always helps knowing our friends are here to encourage us along the way. Sorry you are having so much rain. Hope things clear up for you soon. ~ Sorry to hear about your having to wear a wrist brace for a month. Hope you will soon be feeling better. ~ Congrats to your son for his first day of school. My boss has a son in high school now and I've known them 10 years. Every year for the first day of school they have their picture taken together. It has been interesting to see the growth and changes taking place through the years. ~ Glad your wife has a new job with better pay, just sorry that it's such a long commute. Hopefully something better will come along, closer to home.

Cameron ~ It sounds like your family is all doing well and that's great. ~ The heat has been awful and I know what you mean about cabin fever from staying indoors where it is cool. ~ Don't quit posting as we do enjoy your writings.

Kent ~ First your chicks now bees. We will love hearing about both. Do keep us posted. ~ Sorry you are in drought conditions.

Patti ~ Congrats to your daughter graduating from photography school. May she do well in college and enjoy her photography along the way. Photography is a wonderful artistic endeavor.

As for down here at Plum Cottage, right now it is raining. We've needed it again. Our normal summer weather is afternoon T-storms, but not this year. First we were in drought conditions for months, got put on water restrictions, then started to get some rain. Not as much as usual, but enough so things are now green and surviving instead of browning and drying up. Today was my 'watering' day, so I went out and got the sprinklers set up and turned on this morning in the main garden and YIKES, it's been awhile since I'd done any trimming and the main path was hardly visible. So, after breakfast, around 8 I went out there with clippers in hand and quit when I felt I just couldn't take anymore of the heat and sweating buckets around 9:30. I left the clippings where they lay, I'll get them when it's cool again tomorrow morning. I am sure looking forward to cooler weather again. There was a slight hint of it when I started out this morning, but that quickly disappeared as the sun came up over the trees.

I work part time, but next week will be working a 6 day week as my boss is in an antique show in NY for the week.

DH and I are still working on our little remodeling projects inside and out. We ripped off old brown paneling from our west bedroom wall. Underneath are painted pine boards. Just getting that paneling off made a huge difference in how the room looks. We are going to paint the walls either pure white or add a hint of gray/green for a tinge of color. Then he trimmed off the window we had put in awhile back and that turned out great. He also made a spandrel (sp?) panel from a piece of plywood, for two stained glass windows we have to fit in this west window, plywood painted white. When the weather is nice during the cooler months, we can lift it out so that we can open the windows and let in the fresh air. With this panel it is so soothing and makes our bedroom feel like a quiet sanctuary. We are doing the bedroom one wall at a time, as we live in a tiny place and have to make room to do other walls. We will have more energy come cooler weather and look forward to working on several projects. One we started in the spring was re-insulating our attic, not a job for hot weather. It should make our little place more energy efficient.

I'm working on a picture/book project for DH of all the projects he has done around here since we got our first digital camera in 1999. It is amazing to see them all laid out in page format. I hope to give this to him for our anniversary in a little over a week. He has done a great job.

We have lots of butterflies, and I'm waiting to see our first hummingbird visitors, haven't spotted any yet.

Blessings on each of you. Enjoy each day rain or shine and keep posting here. It is great to hear about all of your lives.

FlowerLady

P.S. I clicked on preview and lost internet connection right around 5 p.m. last night. I went back to where I was and saved this msg. to all of you. We had a 'camp-out supper" of corned beef hash and asparagus from 'can's with a few glasses of wine, and homemade oatmeal bread(I didn't feel like cooking. A can of hash was in our 'hurricane stash'). We then listened to and played to (with harmonicas, then DH on harmonica and me on a Piano T ~ you blow through a mouth piece and play keys like a piano), Gary Moore's 'Back to the Blues'. Wow-wee! The song 'The Prophet' is the best one to us on this CD. That was great fun for Saturday night! The blues have to be one of our most favorite kinds of music. Do any of you play musical instruments? ~ Anyway, I hope today brings you love, peace and joy wherever you are, whatever you are doing.

FlowerLady

I've read through all of your posts, the joys and the sorrows, my thoughts and prayers are with those that are having to deal with health issues, weather, and undesirable happenings in neighborhoods, we've have to deal with that sort of thing at times on our street as well. Good news about remodeling and pets certainly can brighten one's day.

Unfortunately for me, the last few weeks have been very sad, I lost my best pal Dusty my kitty, after many trips, tests, meds and finally exploratory surgery on thursday and biopsies that we had to wait another day for the results, the news was as bad as it could be, she had to be put to sleep. She was 11 years old, has always been an inside cat, has always had the best of health care and fed the best there is to offer so it's hard to deal with. We have another old gal Breeze, she's 15 so she's getting up there too. I get too emotionally attached to animals and when I lose them I have a very hard time dealing with it. I think it stems from having a lousy childhood, and being hurt emotionally over and over again. I finally found a lot of happiness and joy in owning pets, they do give you unconditional love. I am also blessed with the best DH and my 3 kids have made me a very proud mom.

On the other hand, although I'm having to deal with a bit of a Lupus flare up due to the stress, I ended up with that butterfly rash on my face that makes me look like an overstuffed raccoon, it is starting to subside. And THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to whoever was telling about the downside of taking Atenolol for high blood pressure. I've been on it for over 15 years, a lot of my problems that I was excepting because I thought they were Lupus related were not. I went to my doctor after researching A. on the internet and asked for a different med. Atenolol was the cause and not the Lupus of a lot of some very debilitating issues I was having and I could never get my blood pressure below 145/90, loose weight, that's a laugh, I could starve myself and not loose an ounce. I've been on a new med for 3 weeks now and the highest my B.P. has been is 128/82 and I'm starting to shrink and best of all I feel 20 years younger, not bad for this old gal who turns 70 next month LOL. Oh happy days are here again :o).

You guys have taught me to open up rather than keep everything bottled up, I always been one to hold everything in, the childhood thing again. Hoping good things for all of you and a great Autumn which is just around the corner. Thanks for letting me vent, believe you me it helps.

Annette

Annette ~ Your post really touched my heart. I'm so glad you are feeling much better after changing meds. Keeping things bottled up is not good for any of us. Having internet friends who feel like family, or maybe even more so, really help make life more bearable.

Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

Annette, I'm so sorry for the loss of your pet. I'd freak if I lost Boo Boo after everything she's been through! Homeless and lost 7 babies, heartworm, and then the cancer (who knows what before that, but possibly mistreatment. She was deathly afraid of men when she came to us for help). However, I realize it's reality. Miss Kitty is already 7 too... so I've been thinking that although we have 4 already, in 2 years it will be time to find another kitty to bring home. One that is younger.
Have you thought about that?
I think it would help me to be able to lavish my attention on another when I'm glum. It will never be a Boo Boo, but I think it might be better than just a big vacancy in the pet population here.
That facial butterfly rash is so annoying! I had one today - was told it was rosacea, but I don't get pimples or anything, just redness and the skin seems to thicken up a bit. Sunshine helps me a bit - less of a problem in summer, but in winter the ruddiness is really a pain to cover (and no chemical makeups either). Mineral makeup (not bare minerals, but other brands) that were suggested on this forum really helped calm it down.

Edna, my mom has had plenty of lumps which sound similar to yours. Hers fill with fluid, but have never been a problem at all. I've not yet been to a smushing. I dread it because I was told that due to the nature of my make-up they would require several visits. Whadda pain. I'm wondering why they aren't using the new technology that has been developed and is far more accurate more? I am not sure what it is called, but I hear it takes incredible images and is much easier for the patient. I guess it's just expensive.

GGG

FlowerLady and GGG, thanks for the kind thoughts it meant a lot.
GGG, in the past when we've lost a kitty usually to old age as all our cats have been house cats, the exception being Basil the "Terminator" the outside/inside boy we inherited when the neighbors moved and couldn't take him with them. We usually jump in the truck and head for the S.P.C.A. You are right getting another kitten to focus on does help a lot. Breeze has outlasted two now so as much as it would help me to have another kitten I think I'll wait and let Breeze have the limelight for the rest of her days. So far she has been in good health and I hope she has a few more years with us. That is if one doesn't arrive here on her own and insist we are her new family as Annie did.
The Lupus rash I get on my face is only made worse by the sun :o(. Thankfully it's just about gone, I use the ointment Mazon it works pretty good for me and I'd rather use it then the Hydrocortisone cream my doctor prescribed.
Maybe this winter I or someone else should start a new thread,"Kitty Tales", and we can all share stories of these amazing little members of our families.

Annette

Annette, you never know. My neighbors growing up had a cat named Rusty that lived to 22!

I have been missing our blog posts so much, thank you GGG for starting one again! But my life over the last few months has been close to chaos, as far as some spare time is concerned. Not only working long hours at my new job, but a long commute on top of that, plus some freelance work that has come my way as well. I can't afford to loose my few freelance customers, because we never know these days with jobs. Plus I've been working for these customers for a few years now and I wouldn't like to let them down. So, this means that weekdays are nothing but work and weekends too short to do all the things I would like/need to do. Including gardening. And being here.

So sorry to hear about you people troubles with health, pet losses and bad weather. I have had my share of bad news in the family as well as of late - the absolutely worst of all was the loss of a 34 years old cousin at the plane crash in S Paulo, Brazil, last month. He was returning home from a business trip when the plane crashed and everyone on board was killed. Even though they are across the Atlantic from us, we are quite close to that side of the family, so we were devastated. A young life, so full of promise. And almost 300 more... Makes us really wonder why do we get upset at certain minor things in our life...

This week the news here have been all about Greece and the fires which are devastating the country. I wonder if you get this sort of news in the US? I mean, other than in CNN. It's been awful to follow the progress of the flames and the arsonists. More than 60 people have been killed so far, not to mention animals and entire crops and forests lost. This reminds me a lot of our Summer of 2003, where we had a very similar panorama here in Portugal, even though our loss in lives was nowhere near as bad as the one in Greece. I know you all are sensitive to these sort of things, so I ask you to keep the Greek people in your thoughts and prayers, because they sure need it now!

On a happier note, and because this post is unusually gloomy for me, the garden is doing well, aided by the fact that our Summer has been quite mild so far. One ginger is actually in bloom and what a pretty bloom it is. I already feel a tang of Fall in the air which is unusually early for our climate. The sweet gum has even started to turn some colors and one of the branches of the firethorn hedge has red berries already!

Hope you all which are under any sort of affliction get relief from it soon. I will try to keep posting on and off, but as I said, time is at a premium here at the moment. Take care you all!

Eduarda

Eduarda, my deepest condolences to you and your family, how terribly, terribly sad your cousin lost his life at such a young age.
Yes the news of the horrific fire in Greece is all over our news. The Greek communities here are going the extra mile to do everything they can and more to help out, plus many others will be donating what they can as well. It's heartbreaking watching the news, seeing the devastation, so many have lost everything.
I'm so glad your garden is doing well, I was just saying to my DH not 15 minutes ago, summer has departed and fall has arrived. Let's hope 2008 will be a better year for all of us.

Annette

I'm so sorry to hear about all of the losses, illnesses, and bad weather that everyone's been having. Here, it is dry, hot, dry. We're on manditory water restrictions, and the bluegrass is brown.

My 2-year old colt has to come home from the trainers' next week. I'm incredibly nervous about it. I know a whole lot about horse health, horse breeding, and horse pedigrees, but not so much about training, and I am a real chicken when it comes to riding. The "horse whisperers" he's been trained by have really taught him a lot, but I worry that once he gets back home I'll mess him up. Not to mention I am lazy, and the prospect of having to work him every day is not something I look forward to!

We made an offer on a farm last Saturday, and the sellers flat-out refused the offer. Didn't even make a counter-offer. They are asking 50% more than they bought the place 3 years ago. I don't know what makes them think that it appreciated that much, but it is sad because we really like the place. *big sigh*

Other than that, not much news to report here. It's nice we've started the weekly journals again. I've missed them. I think we probably don't post so much during the summer, 'cuz we're all outdoors!

Jen

Eduarda- It's a pleasure to see you posting again. I had wondered what you were up to. I'm sorry to hear of your loss. The fires in Greece are a tragedy, I've been following the stories on-line mostly since I rarely sit in front of the TV.

Broodyjen- Lazy! Ha, I'll bet you are! I can out-lazy you any day, bring it on. ; ) Sorry to hear about the farm offer. I hope y'all have better luck soon.
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One of the Easter Eggers laid her first egg this morning! If I hadn't gotten up late, I would have missed it. (I did go out to give her privacy, so I didn't actually see her lay it.) Here's to staying in bed! (See, Broodyjen?) It's a little small, but looks perfect and is a pretty matte blue-gray sort of color. I wouldn't have even noticed a hen was still in the coop if I hadn't heard her cooing. At least she didn't have any trouble.

I put the egg in an empty tea container and stuck it in the fridge so Johnny can see it when he gets home this weekend. My babies are all grown up. It was a nice start to my day.

Oh my goodness, you all have been so busy.

GGG- I'm sorry to hear about your friend, but glad that Boo Boo is doing well.

And Edna, I'm glad it was only begnin cysts and nothing more.

I know some of you are sick of the rain, but like Slub, we need it over here. So pass some up to my neck of the woods. We were lucky and got some thunderstorms last week, but it wasn't enough. And there is no rain in the forecast for who knows how long. *sigh*

Hubby and I have been oh-so-busy working on the house. It's crunch time now as fall draws near. We are hoping to finish scraping and priming the exterior by this Friday. Then we're having a painting party (if you can call it a party!) this weekend to start painting. We have a few wonderful friends and relatives pitching in to help. I just hope we can finish everything before the weather turns.

I've been blogging so much now that sometimes I forget to check in here. It's all I can do some days to just keep up with my email. So many of you are in on the swap- I'm so excited! Can't wait for that to get started.

I've been thinking of you all. And I have big plans to start making garden beds all over the yard in a few weeks. I'll need lots of advice this fall and winter on what to plant there. :o) So stay tuned.

Tracy

I'm making it in just under the end of August wire. It's certainly been an eventful and busy month for all of us. I'm sorry to hear about the heartaches, big and small. And happy to hear about your victories and achievements. The one thing I think we all have in common is that this summer has flown.

At this risk of sounding like a broken record, it's been the kitchen, all the time. But it's finally nearing completion. Lighting gets finished this weekend and then we will have one last hurdle, the tile backsplash. I don't want to have to remodel another kitchen for a long, long time.

I posted a thread about my garden being a wreck on the discussion side. We have a serious yellow jacket problem this summer. It's prevented me from getting out and gardening the last two weekends. I'm going to have to set the alarm like I'm going to work this weekend to beat the wasps to the garden. I've got a short window to get a grip on things because Brian is throwing me a party mid-September. I can't let people see the garden looking like this. I'm seriously considering hiring some professional help. No, not a shrink, a gardener, smartypants.

Brian has unveiled his birthday gift to me early this year. He's buying me a plane ticket to Holland. A friend of mine has offered me his apartment in Amsterdam anytime I want it this Fall. I'm looking at early October. One of my goals this trip is to seek out some amazing bulbs and have them shipped. I'm going to go heavy on narcissus because they do so well in our wet springs.

I've been spending a lot of my computer time lately brushing up on my Dutch. It's gotten a bit rusty this past year. I have to admit that I love the mental calisthenics, but it's time consuming. And time just seems to slip through my fingers.

Well, that's my news. Thanks for starting this thread Glynis. It's been like sitting around the table with good friends.

Steven

Steven, I hope you hop on a plane while in Amsterdam and come to Lisbon! It's a mere two hour trip and maybe you can get some low cost flights. Schipol-Lisbon is a well traveled route and you may be able to find some bargains!

Eduarda