Thisd is great timing for this thread LL! Its wonderful to see the beautiful things we are all doing on our little piece of earth. I was feeling insecure about posting my pictures (makes me feel like im posting the before picture of myself in a bathing suit before a diet! :) but hey, were all friends here! lol this is the earliest pic i can find, probly 5 years ago. Before i got it to this stage, it was seriously 6 ft tall weeds, shrubs and jagged thorny row of overgrown mess. there was just the chainlink fence. We had to put up privacy panels because the community pool and tennis courts are on the other side, and there was no privacy from people. I was very proud of my little area then. I had just began my gardening hobby and had no idea it would take over my life! then a few years later we brought home this little guy after our rottie passed away. Who after we fed him turned into this... So i had to build a fence around my garden, because he was crazy and would run through the plants, dig one up and run back to me with it! like a sick game of fetch... i really didnt get much else done last summer.. but this spring ive been busy. It has alot of tweaking needed.. And honestly everytime i go back there i panic and leave! I have so much work to do!! but its coming along. I really want a border of the same plant variety on the edge where all the rocks are, but i cant decide.

My palms at 12-14F low on Monday (Jan.6-7) night and till Wednesday (Jan. 8, with probably 16-18F as low) in Orangeburg county, SC, status as of Jan. 18 (10-12 days past the freeze): Washingtonia robustas adult size, browned a lot, but fronds not broken, center still somehow green Phoenix sylvestris (1+ foot trunk): mostly brown, but some light silvery green in the middle, so it may survive Pindo-Queen hybrid, 5 ft. tall overall, in a pot - became olive in colour, but seems still ok. Wash. robustas in pots, size 4-5 feet - browned a lot, mostly, still alive. Those in Orangeburg and Columbia are also damaged, mostly brown. Chilean-Pindo hybrids, size 1-2 ft. in pots outside as well - no damage. Butia capitata and other small Butias in pots (eriospatha, yatay etc.) - no damage except some browning of some ends of some fronds and some yellowing on central spear on some. Greek date palms - 1-2 ft. size in pots - olive to brownish by now, but alive (have some available) Bismarck palm seedlings in pots, were covered with nursery pots, survived! (have some available) Australian fans 15 gal. size (protected from rain only) - both dried and pulled spears... probably will die. Medjools (1-2 ft. in pots) - some damage but ok CIDP (5 footer, in pot) seem it won't make it, although others seem hardier, perhaps already nativized Wash. filifera in pot and in the ground - a lot of browning, especially by rain + cold, look bad but not broken yet All of the above hate temps under 20F and washies brown under 26F. Best temps for palms are 28F and up! Mediterranean fans - very little to no damage, more damage may show later, because they hate temps under 16F Windmills and wagner palms - no damage Sabals - no damage Looks like Sabals, windmills and pindos are best for zone 8, because Trachy wagnerianus can burn during the summer heat unless planted in semi shade. Washingtonias survive if 2 winters are mild after planting, but look bad for a while. None of the above palms pull a spear yet. The absolute winners: Sabal palms! Probably Jubutias too. Windmills would too, but they burn during summers. Pindos can get damaged sometimes under 15F. Grow Sabals! More cold is coming tonight and the coming Tuesday, probably down to 26F, which is not too big of a problem here.

Sorry I never got back to this thread. Wow, pbrisjar, my first reaction would have been to walk right back out again! Glad the surprise party turned out to be fun, and that you also got your romantic dinner. Well, let's see, where did I leave off? I called middle SIL on her cell that AM, she said they were in NH and would be at house around 5-5:30, we'd go out to dinner and then they'd try to find a motel. I checked out a local B&B (expensive), stripped all the beds and washed sheets just in case. Didn't go looking for motels b/c I realized it was a holiday w/e and the nicer things would be booked (would have to change rooms at B&B since didn't have any available for 2 nights in a row), didn't want to take time away from cleaning. Asked my dad about air bed but he couldn't find pump so decided ds could try out his new sleeping bag in the study, dd could sleep with me, and DH would get the sleeper sofa (at least Thurs night since he had to work Fri and would be getting up early). They called at 5:30, were still up around Boston, said not to wait dinner for them. I had put the small roast I had thawed out b4 I knew they were coming back in freezer, so DH and I went out with the kids (and my parents, aunt & uncle since I found out it was their 26th anny and we had missed the 25th last year), SILs pulled in our driveway 8pm just behind us. After telling everyone all day her aunties were coming, DD suddenly got shy. She didn't get to visit much b4 I put her to bed in our bed and told everyone the sleeping arrangements - it was really too late to look for motels and of course DH wanted to visit. I stayed up til 11, DH and youngest sis stayed up really late. Oh, and I took advice to throw everything in closet (master bath) and shut the door - put the big 3-bag laundry sorter we use as hamper in master bath, found a standing towel rack (nonheated) we used in old house and put that in so everyone would have room for towels, shoved some stuff I had in study going to yard sale in WIC. Then as I'm bringing them into MBR and saying "Here's unfinished bath and WIC, but please don't open..." middle SIL opens the door b/c she wants to see how big it is! DH had told them we were still finishing trim, but they had no idea how much work we were doing/still needed. Asked me about all the blue tape on floors (loose tile) and walls (marking studs to nail baseboards). Oh, and then the last night after I put DD to bed I came down and found oldest one taking pics of all the wood on the floor of my DR, my LR with no curtains and half (not even all!) the trim pulled off the windows, no baseboards. I asked her not to, she said her DH wanted to see pics. I have to email her some when we get things finished (she took pics of my kitchen island, liked the layout, but I could have gotten the finished trim out of my BR and stuck it in place for pics! My cousin nailed it up a week later). DS had a science test but DD decided to play hooky (I stopped by preschool with a floppy - cards kept jamming my printer so teacher had to print them but I formatted everything for her, told her then that DD hadn't seen them in 4 yrs so she'd be absent). Then they decided we should all go to Mystic Seaport so I have the largest SUV, got gas, drove 2 hr to spend 2 hrs there, was afraid we wouldn't be home in time for Ds so called DH - he could get off early so OK. My parents invited us all up for BBQ so I headed straight there after getting ice DH said they needed, he was bringing steaks and chicken I had taken out on Thurs to defrost. Got to my parents', my dad said steaks were freezerburnt and chicken was frozen, so down to grocery store (30 min drive) to get steaks, potato salad, etc. We ate pretty late, stayed visiting later, at 9:15 I noticed, wanted DD to stay there but she had meltdown, wanted to come home. So about 10pm b4 kiddos got to bed, adults stayed up til midnight or so? I remember everyone had to brush their teeth 1 at a time even though we have 2 sinks so I fell asleep waiting my turn (should have brushed when I did DD's teeth), finally brushed my teeth about 1:30am when I woke up to pee. Other than that, no problem scheduling bathroom. Sat AM took everyone out for brunch and they left since they all had to be at work day after Mem. Day. They were going to stop and see niece in TN on the way (hope they called her!). Turns out DH either is not good at reading b/t the lines, or set me up I don't know which. I asked about miscommunication, b/c I could have had vinyl tile down in MBA so we'd have another shower and prob toilet, heck, i could have gotten a stock laminate countertop from HD and put in sink(s) since I have them and faucets already. Not to mention a railing on the stairs (2 SILs have had DVT and had trouble with stairs but didn't want to take sleeper sofa). Anyway, youngest SIL said she had told DH that when they were planning this road trip (tour of NE) this was the onyl time they all could get off work. If he had told me that (and that they were trying to see other states in NE, not just driving to see us and whatever else they could on the way), I would have *known* they were coming, even if/when she didn't get back to him after "checking with the others." So I told them please in the future call the home phone to talk to us/email me as well as him, so we avoid the mis(lack of) communication via DH. Though DH tells me they will probably never travel together again (or at least not with oldest sister) b/c they were about ready to kill each other after a week of 24/7. I did hear (driving DH's car back from my parents with single SIL) about how owner of car was having fits over the way the other 2 drove. And youngest SIL was glad to have ds's room to herself since the other 2 snore. So it was a whirlwind visit that really didn't last much more than 1 day. I think they enjoyed having someone else do the driving but still being able to see (a little) of the area that day. Dad was going crazy cooking everyone's steak to order (since they were being polite about what they considered "cooked", talking to a family of vampires LOL, my dad kept throwing it back on the grill when they said "Wheeeeel, a little more than that..." and "Umm, yes, I can eat it like that." when they should have just told him well-done). But I think they appreciated having 1 dinner at someone's house. I know they enjoyed visiting with DH, and oldest was showing my mom pics of her grandbabies. DD enjoyed meeting them, she said she missed them after, promises (?) she'll be a good traveler if we go visit them sometime.

Thank you - sorry to be OT, but do you have any idea why I could copy & paste yesterday, but today not? The code is all in light grey & I can highlight & copy, but when I go to paste, nothing happens. Been trying this all day, with only one success - over on the 'Building a Home' Images forum - and can't seem to repeat that for the life of me!