I've got several in one bed that are starting their Leap Year in 2011, and I'm excited for them all: Liberty Thunderbolt Dick Ward Heatwave Abiqua Drinking Gourd Dream Queen I bought this house 3 full years ago (starting my 4th gardening season now), and this was the first official bed I dug out grass from scratch and planted & spaced everything with a proper game plan, structure shrubs, jap maple, a birdbath. Nothing was shoved in or randomly placed. Everyone looked great in their Creep Year. I don't do official written eye counts anymore, but my mental count is telling me every single hosta has put on multiple eyes between Creep and Leap. Liberty is up. The rest range from nubbins to being ready to unfurl. This is the first year I'm going to stand back with a critical eye and determine if the bed needs companion plants or whatever. Very excited! Gayle

We are actually days away from making 2 separate rooms, and doing a whole house remodel. We designed our addition to work for now and the future. We have 3 children 11, 8, and 5, who will get bigger and so will their friends and my father will be moving in with us, as he is lonely since my mother passed. I want our home to be a place the kids feel comfortable bringing their friends without being cramped...which is what we are now. Our current living room is about 20 x 15. We've decided to open the wall to the garage with large french doors and make it a rec/family room. They will still be two separate rooms, but we'll have the option of keeping the doors open or closed. The room was supposed to be a substitute for a basement play/fun area, but then our architect came back with the drawings and there was a large playroom upstairs for the kids. We still thought the family room would be great since we have large outside family/pool parties (60-80 people) three times a year, and one of these times it's going to rain. We will probably have several smaller gatherings now that we'll have the room. I figured the french doors would allow privacy, but not too much - thinking of those testosterone filled years. ;)

I have attempted to read a truly dreadful book which I cannot throw anywhere as it was a gift, but as soon as decently possible I'll pass it on to a charity shop. The 'story' called Code Girls set during WWII is about a group of females sent to a large mansion to supposedly learn the 'art' of cypher breaking. But our three heroines are cooks/skivvies working in the kitchens. They are all endlessly describes by their brown/hazel/green/blue/flashing eyes, their long floaty/curly locks and their curvy/slim/long-legged figures. They giggle endlessly and their merry laughter 'tinkles' from dawn to dusk. I am rather hoping Hitler drops a bomb on the lot of them. The 'author' also makes several basic clangers . . . getting the name of the Prime Minister wrong, describing the vehicle driven by handsome local vet (he of the golden chest-hair and brown muscular arms) as a battered 'Land Rover' some ten years before it was designed, plus others too boring to relate. Many females reviewers at Amazon loved it!

Joann: Do you have the full story? Bone grafting is sometimes done when a post is to be installed. If the jaw bone has thinned and there isn't enough bone to support an implant, a bone graft is done to build up bone material. Its best to have this procedure done by a dentist who has been certified for this type of oral surgery. I have never had a bone graft recommended to me after a simple tooth extraction. However, when it came time for an implant, a bone graph was done ( following the extraction). My dentist determined that I did not have a thick enough jaw to accommodate a post and would not do the post unless the jaw bone was thickened. I was under the impression that an empty tooth socket would fill in, but according to my dentist, it does not fill in with true bone. A bone graft encourages the tooth socket to become solid bone and fused with the jaw. As we age, the jaw does loose some material. The loss of a tooth can encourage bone loss. The jaw bone is stimulated by loads imparted to it by the teeth. Bone tends to strengthen at high stress stress zones. You asked about pain. The procedure is more uncomfortable than painful. On the day of the surgery, you will be given a shot of anesthetic in the jaw, the same as for a tooth extraction. The gum will be opened, the tooth socket cleaned out and ground up bone put in place with medication to encourage new bone to form. (You won't feel any pain for this. You'll have the discomfort of having your mouth propped open for the duration of the procedure.) The bone particles act as an armature for the new bone growth. At the end of the surgery, the gum is sown shut and you'll be given instructions about aftercare. You will need to use care not to injure the site over the next few hours because it will be numb and you may not know it is being damaged. The Dentist may prescribe pain medicine in case there is pain after the shot wear off. I did not need any pain pills afterward. Yes, there was soreness, the same as for any surgery, but that went away. There will be several followup visits. In a week or two, the stitches will be pulled and then you wait, you wait for new bone to grow. This will take from 3 to 6 months. Mine was ready after 3 months. Bone progress will be checked by x-ray when the dentist suspects it may be complete. This procedure can be abandoned up to the point where the dentist orders the implant and the tooth cap. After that, it does not make economic sense to stop, so make your decision before this. However, to my way of thinking, it does not make sense to stop the procedure after it has begun, therefore, one should make the go, no-go decision before the bone graft.