Hi Harley: We have had vegetable challenges thanks to the darned squirrels!! I was trying cabbage collards this year but the squirrels loved them. I guess that's a sign!!! We have some veggies in pretty colors for fall planting. A new one is Magenta Chard, we have some ragged jack kale (bluish green leaves, pinky-purple stems), lettuces....pretty plants that you can mix with the edible flower violas we have and speckled or red lettuces to make pretty salads!

Who went to the plant sale? I got there a little after 7 and had a lot of people ahead of me in line. There were still tons of plants to look through. I'm not sure it would help to get there earlier unless I could block the entrance after I got in until I had a chance to read all the plant tags. lol I got a geranium Johnson's Blue, monarda 'Rasberry Wine' and a haworthia pearl plant. I need to read up on that last one. I assume it's a houseplant. I'll post a pic below from the web that looks similar. I wonder if it would be happier outside in the summer. Violet - I guess it's a good thing that all the woodland phlox was gone when I got to the shade section. I came home and started cleaning out my old pre-icestorm shade bed and found quite a bit of woodland phlox growing down in the weeds. It just wasn't blooming there because it was being choked out. I dug up several little starts. It was hard to get the roots but I think they'll do ok if I pot them up for awhile. Question Violet - When the Master Gardener's have their meetings to pot up plants before the sale, what do they use for potting soil? Is there a way to get that stuff in bulk or do they just use compost? Here is a link that might be useful:

NHSuzanne~ (((((((((HUGS and DOUBLE HUGS)))))) Ouch! That kind of situation hurts! Even tho' they may not have meant any harm! The first thing that came to my mind was the same thing Raeanne wrote. We have a group of 4 gal pals here and when we do something in groups of 2 or 3, we rarely share- it spares hurt feelings. Sometimes I'm the one left out, but we still love each other. It just works out that way. The second thing I thought was: Have you offered to sell Casey to Linda with a payment schedule? If you're going to consider selling Casey or get another rider if Linda stops riding her, why not work out a deal? Obviously, Linda cares a great deal for Casey and has had a year-long relationship that's good for you, her, and the mare. Linda seems to be acting as though she wants her "own" horse; a reasonable deal that you may be able to facilitate if it can be worked out in a memorialized agreement. The other, third thing I hate to mention, but will stick my neck out here anyway. Maybe the 'other' gal pal has a less strong connection with animals than yours and Linda can look at the horse and get a feel for it better by herself. You are very good with animals and sometimes, I'm certain, they are rather drawn to you. Linda may feel like she needs to be alone with the horse to see if she gets the right fit going. Who knows? But it's another idea. Why not buzz Linda and talk to her about it over a tea? It'd be worth it to clear the air before the road trip. She may feel trapped if you decide to wait until the car ride to bring it up. Again, ((((HUGS)))) and I hope the answer comes to you. Tikanas, I am going to STARCH your UNDERWEAR if you send me any laundry! :) Raeanne~ Your costume sounds like --- wild, man! Have fun! Besh~ Thinking of you! My kids are going to be: 16 y.o. - Goth fairy (don't ask!) 14 y.o. - The scantiest dressed witch I've ever seen. 8 y.o. - Red web witch. Very cute! 6 y.o. - a piece of candy corn! Me - A line from Top Gun. DH: Probably nothing - he hasn't got the spirit yet this year. Too much work, not enough play, I'm sure....lol. All for now. My clay mask went to the kiln today, so I'll see it next week. I am starting on a terra cotta sculpture of a very muscle-bound man in a kneeling position at a prayer bench-naked and crying. I don't know why I'm doing this particular sculpture, but that's what happened when I started fashioning the clay. Everyone in the class thinks I'm wiggy or something. Ah, well, what else is new? Maddie~ Hope you are causing trouble where ever you go! Amy~ SO glad you checked in and that life is comsuming you! Feast or famine, eh?

Hi all, Not sure what all to say since I've been away so long. At least you still remember me. :D Re the way of eating question. I've changed my way of eating at least several times in my life, this most recent being lower carb. I try to keep it under 75, but don't always succeed. If I go very low, my heart gets more irregular, which makes me concerned. I don't eat desserts or junk snacks and deny myself things I want, like muffins, but don't feel like I'm getting the results now that I should given my diligence. I've kept my calories lower than what I'm theoretically supposed to be eating for most of my life. I wish the whole thing worked for me like it's supposed to. My relationship with that guy I've talked about for the last three years is difficult for me now. I don't think anything really bad is happening, but the closeness we had has pretty much ended over this last year, so I'm going through a grieving process, facing that some things I thought would last, didn't. Lots of my old issues have come up and it's been harder than I expected. I've been working on my art still so that part is good. Still not over the top, though. My younger son is going to be doing seminars on open source tools for .NET, and his first one is tomorrow on NUnit. Still haven't heard from the older one for three years now, though I've sent things, called, and left messages. Heather is still good, and I just ordered her some kitty food from the net that is supposed to be a healthy mix that is close to what kitties eat in the wild. I'll post this and then read more. I've planted another garden with lettuce, tomatoes, parsley, zucchini, broccoli, green onions, cauliflower, and different types of flowers, including a purple hibiscus bush and a yellow one. It's a good time of year here. Does anyone know what the story is with Happyto? Haven't heard about her in some time. She was here when I first started and had lost 80 lbs, but then ended up gaining it back when she started eating carbs again. And I remember when her husband passed and she got involved in her church, but I don't know what happened after that. Amy