The Kansas City Star, local newspaper, featured a conifer garden in their Sunday edition. The article was so interesting my wife and I decided to contact the owner to see if we could visit the garden. The owner was Marvin Snyder a past president of the ACS. The garden in a residential setting is a product of 40 plus years of incorporating natural limestone rock, over 300 rare conifers and many deciduous companion plants. These three main ingredients make this conifer garden truly unique. There are also sculptures and fountains. That's how I got hooked...it took about an hour. My wife and I embarked on a new journey...create our own conifer garden. This was about ten years ago. We then purchased our first conifer a Howell's Tigertail. It is still with us today. This addiction comes on slowly almost unnoticed until those sudden impulses to visit the local nursery almost daily to look at the various plants. Studying each label to determine if your garden has a spot for the selected plant. Currently, we enjoy each season of the garden. We now anxiously await spring to incorporate new thoughts and ideas that have accumulated over the winter months. Dave

Jannie, Suggest you find some other friends, as soon you'll probably find that your interests are different now than those of your old work buddies. I think you may also find that they get a bit negative, due to jealousy of your good fortune. As we get older, I've suggested that we keep learning new interests, finding new friends. Some have said that they have a lot of friends, now - so why bother? I replied that yes, you do have quite a few friends - and you'll keep losing them, whether from moving far away, heavy disability (e.g. Alzheimer's) and death. When it's your turn to go, of course, that problem of losing friends disappears. They ain't no trapdoors in heaven, I've heard - once they let you in, you're there. So no more losing friends, right? Enjoy each day as it comes. ole joyful

I've had the Aspen dinnerware (from Crate and Barrel) about 3 years now, and LOVE IT! It never chips or scratches, even when I have (horrors!) banged it accidentally on the faucet or edge of the counter, it hasn't broken. What I also like is that you can buy pieces individually, so you can add more or different pieces (we have two kinds of bowls, and could have two kinds of mugs if we chose). Also, it is a "generic" white, so I can add in pieces from Target or Homegoods when I like. One other note, I have some Palms pieces from Homegoods, and they do chip. Grrr.

My kids, my dogs, my garden, friends, WWIII, retirement, and work. PIcking up a lot of overtime in the next few weeks as we are short staffed and going to get shorter as I know of two others who are retiring this year. They're hiring quite a few people for the uptick in calls since Covid 19 started but they will take months to get hired and trained. Will be busy with work, seed starting and putting together new raised beds that are on the way. I'm also debating on whether or not to take my upcoming 2 weeks of vacation or just 1 of them to work in the garden or go to Florida with a friend. She wants to go to the Keys, it's on her bucket list and although I'm not a beach person I would like to see it and the wildlife.