I choose to remain in denial! When I first started butterfly gardening, I was happy to have a few Rue plants. The next year, I thought it would be nice to add some fennel. Then I found this forum, and discovered that I could have a lot more butterflies if I just planted a lot more host plants and nectar plants. There's a saying: One is too much and 1,000 is never enough. Yeah, it's true. Once you get started, you'll fall off the garden bench and into a bottomless pit of addiction. One more plant is always my mantra when I shop online or go to the nurseries. But, it just doesn't work. Maybe I should say, I'm going to buy 50 plants, and I'd feel better when I only come home with 49. Susan

wow, Flyleft, it's le 30ème this year, time for you to come back !!! Just for Laughs festival starts right after Jazz Fest; I was walking downtown all afternoon, I could tell there were lots of tourists, really fun buzz. The weather is glorious right now, I hope the predicted rainstorms don't happen tonight; they warned people that no umbrellas are allowed, no chairs either, it's standing room only; this makes sense since the venue is downtown, not like an open country field with tons of room. I'm going to download tunes by Stevie Wonder, I only have a few on my IPod. Parma, I'm trying to get used to the Dallas heat but it really drains me out ; we golf at 9:30 a.m. so we can be finished sooner.

Maybe I'm reading the post wrong, but I have a different viewpoint than nymommy's. We use CL to sell items and always get what what we feel is the true value of the item, based on its age and wear. Sure, it may not sell within a week, but over time the right buyer will always show up. I sold my backpack blower last summer and got at least 4 emails from guys telling me they'd offer much less than I was asking and to contact them when it didn't sell. Well, 3 days later I sold it for my asking price and the buyer didn't even make an offer since he knew he was getting a bargain. Whether you're asking $600 or $60 for a piece doesn't matter since the buyer still has to arrange transport. That's just part of CL and if a buyer can't arrange pick up then that leaves them with buying from a store front. It's easy to rent a truck from HD , borrow a truck from a friend, pay someone that hauls and occasionally, the seller will deliver for a fee. So, one can usually figure out a way to get an item to their house. Ok.......I'm off the CL box now. Don't know what got me started!

No pics yet because nothing's been able to be "redone". Still plywood subfloors, no appliances, and a ripped out bathroom. I realized yesterday that the refinished floor has areas that are duller than others, so now I need to get the guy back to recoat. It didn't show up until the floor was fully dry and starting to "cure" but it's very noticeable. :-( The entire finished basement has to be ripped out (walls, ceiling and all insulation) and the floor and all the framing disinfected. Environmental companies don't do this and not many pest control ones do either. I've gotten estimates ranging from $4400 to $9600 for the same job. It involves guys wearing chemical suits, respirators, extractor fans, disinfectant spray, the whole 9 yards. The neighbors will no doubt be appalled at the goings on. Then I have to get an electrician in to examine the visible wiring for damage. I'm sure there will be some. Haven't been able to address the garage floor issue because the old refrigerator is sitting there waiting for my son to arrange to remove it, which apparantly is a more complicated scenario than hosting the Olympic Games. Nobody rents a truck with a power liftgate, nobody we know has a trailer hitch for one of those tow-behind things, and none of his friends have time to assist. When the rest of the house gets painted, the walls will be sealed with BIN first. I realized that the garage floor is actuallly painted (the grey stuff) so I may be lucky and perhaps a good scrubbing with Mex will help. (TSP isn't allowed to be sold in our state) I have to say, the rodent stink is just as bad as the dog smell. Different but equally disgusting. This has been a huge financial sinkhole. What should have been no more than $35K in renovations has already surpassed $65K that in outlay to date, and there is still another $40K committed to (and necessary) but not yet done and paid for. In the end this house will have cost me $100K more than its selling price and neither the house itself nor the area justifies that number. I could have bought any of a number of houses listed at that level over the past 3 years which would have gotten me more square footage as well. And fewer problems!