Hi Guys...just a pop in to see what's what! Just got back from grocery shopping and can't dally. Marian...you gotta stop saying "As Ei always says...I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer"...They're gonna think I was saying it about you, when it was about me! LOL! :-) If you want to know just how dull this old knife is...the whole name thing went completely over my head...must have missed the original post about it. Kept reading later references, but didn't know what the heck they were talking about. Glad V gave you a new perspective. Now that I know what everyone is talking about, I think that V is right. :-) And absolutely you know that you are much admired and okay, I'll say it "loved" and can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt or insult you. So please don't go away - Think Chelone said it best and you *would* be missed *way* too much. LOL Sue...loved your song...hope you have a great Christmas party you little girly girl! :-) T - thanks for the compliments last night. See you've been working on my time schedule these days! BTW, I could so see you as a comedian *and* a writer. I still get a chuckle when I think about that story you told about your mom at the DMV. Eden...loved the snowman gift! LOL! Now I know just what to get my brother for Christmas this year! :-) Have a great day all...Ei

Hi all! I've had major computer problems since I've been back, and now I find that I can't log in. ????? Sorry I haven't posted, nor read; Ifinally gave up and went to the library--sigh.... Canada was wonderful, but seeing Zig and her DH was THE BEST!!!!!! I swear, she is so incredible; it seems like we've known each other all of our lives, and we just kept talking--(poor DHs--couldn't barely get a word in edge wise!! LOL!!) I got to met their son, too--he has the greatest smile--looks just like his mom's!! I'm not kidding--they made us feel so welcome, it was if I'd come home. And speaking of homes--their's is marvelous--I want their bathroom! (My first apartment wasn't that big!! Lovely, lovely paople--I am so glad to know them, and am honored to call them friends! Smootchies to Zig!! Rog surprised me by taking the last day of fishing, and poacking up and taking me to spend the night in Mackinaw City, and then we spent the next day on Mackinac Island. (I was thinking of our Allie when I was there--) WOW!!! It's so beautiful! It wasn't very crowded, and we had a blast! Although, I was disappointed that you had to pay $12/per to go see the Grand Hotel if you weren't a guest. I understand completely, but I would have liked to have gotten pics for my mom (she's a huge fan of the movie "Somewhere in Time, which was filmed there). A wonderful trip in all! :):) I didn't think we were going to get to go up til the morning that we left. The prior Thursady I had gotten something in my eye, and the optomologist said I had a severly scratched corena, and I spent that weekend in misery. I looked like I had a welding flash in my right eye, and when I went back to see him on Monday morning (we left Monday night), he put me on steroid drops, and today was my last day. He said that apparently what ever blew in my eye was maybe covered in a chemical (oil, gas, who knows?), and that I was having a sever reation to it. I'm OK now (and was as of Tuesday afternoon of the trip), but it was really scary! We're leaving early tomorrow for Cincinnati, OH and then Dayton. We're going to an aquarium, the Wright-Patterson AFB, and to see a Princess Diana exhibit at a museum--they have her wedding dress and a bunch of personal items that I'd love to see, so off we go again! :):)We'll be back on Tuesday, and hopefully, the ????thingy that he needs to fix the 'puter will be there--and then I'll get to catch up on thing! :) Hope all is well! Hugs, Maddie

Well,I just scrolled through this entire thread and I am consumed with jealousy over your gardens. My little quarter acre doesn't allow for too many beds and my aging body does not either. The front of my house needs desperately to be relandscaped but digging out the old stuff is more than I can manage. It is raining buckets today and we have had a generally rainy spring. My peonies no sooner bloom than the rain beats them down. I was thrilled to see that a Kopper King Hibiscus that I relocated last year is coming back. It looked dead as a doornail, but now a big lovely shoot is coming up. My garden was not put together with much of a plan. I just add things as I fall in love with them. This year I added a deutzia. Here are my azaleas from earlier this spring along the driveway. I dug them out of my mother's woods about 35 years ago and I had no idea what colors they were, but I kind of like the mix. Here is my tree peony: What is the name of this pink flower? I know it is rather common, but I can never remember the name. It comes up all through my raised bed each spring and it is so adorable:

Ah, but, Nicole, for those who do enjoy good wine, a good wine glass can make a huge difference. Riedel makes different wine glasses for the different varietals. If you were to do a taste test with wine from an "ordinary" wine glass compared to the same wine from a varietal-specific Riedel glass, you'd notice the difference immediately. So, by buying new high-quality wine glasses, your hubby is happy because of the purity of reflection, and your wine-drinking guests will be happy, too. :-)