Didn't know what she looked like, just been checking for eggs. It pays to spend time in the garden, checking things out. No, gardening in never boring!!!!

I think I planted mine in NJ/Zone 7 in 2010 or so, from a four footer and now it's at least 20 feet tall. This time of day, the sun hits it at a certain angle and the leaves look yellow-green (even though it is the all green species, not a GoldRush, etc.). What's to say. It's impressive still being able to plant trees at a mature age and being able to look forward to a Sequoia a few years down the line!! I just limbed up mine a bit too. Should do NO HARM, btw. But I would encourage you to water as we are about to start a heat wave here in the East and much of the country. They are okay in heat and drought but NOT AS MUCH so as Bald Cypresses. (Which is btw, another terrific tree!) I have about a half dozen each of Bald Cypress and Dawn Reds to be planted out back in the Autumn. Cheers!

You wouldn't believe the amount of puters we have. I have 2 plus a laptop, both kids have their own & so does hubby. Our basement has enough parts to build a few systems. All are Gigabyte boards except hubby's; he had to have the Asus that was popular in late 2006, the one with the massive copper pipes. I actually have a system spec'd out at newegg, it's an Intel quad core (usually use AMD too) with a Gigabyte mobo but didn't have time to do more then pick parts. Now I'm sure new stuff came out since this was back in late March. What ticked me off when I was picking parts is that most mobo manufacturers have stopped using 2 IDE connectors, I like a minimum of 2. I don't run sata drives as my main, only for backup. I have a few large IDE drives that I would like to reuse. Guess I will have to buy a multiple drive enclosure and use them externally. What I love about the Gigabyte boards is the backup. I can't tell you how many times that has saved my butt! Even that won't help my server though, it's not getting power to the mobo, bought a new PSU, that didn't do it, so I'll work on it in the winter. Thankfully I have the puter (Gigabyte) I built dad before he died, but it's slow, slower then the NNXP. I was going to use the GA 7NNXP as a backup computer, then use the server as a media center, building myself a new machine but I didn't count on both of them crapping out at the same time. lol That GA 7NNXP is an awesome mobo, have you ever hooked up as many IDE drives as you can? Dreamgarden, I'll go check the link out. Usually I read stuff like that at Maximum PC but with moving, did not renew my subscription and don't get over to their web site much these days.

Hi Kath, Congrats on getting your nursing degree! I'm sure you worked VERY hard for it! Use the DOLLAR STORES, esp. for laundry/cleaning items, Deoderant, toothpaste, misc. cutlery, glassware, plastic storage containers, etc. Get that crockpot out and use it! I work 2 jobs and I am so thankful for my crockpot! Plan ahead for meals, especially with you working. Get a FOODSAVER and make ahead meals and freeze them. Get the mixed salads at the lower cost grocery stores, roast some chicken...you've got dinner for that evening and a meal to take to work the next day! Take your own lunch and snacks to work. Refill water bottles. Buy a filter for the sink or a filtered water container. $10 at Walgreen. $5 to renew the filter every 3 months. Drink more water instead of fruity drinks or soda. You'll be surprised how you will get used to in and REALLY only WANT water. Buy secondhand clothing for yourself and your kids. CONSIGN any good clothes you need to get rid of, shoes, purses, belts. Our local Goodwill stocks underwear by HANES...'seconds' I guess. They sell for 80 cents apiece. Sell your nursing books you don't want to keep on the Internet (amazing.com half.com) Good Luck!