Thank you, Laura... such wonderful sentiments! :-) Our weather has been crazy, too... but we half expected it. Last year, we were already laying out soaker hoses and starting to water...and this year, we've gotten so much rain that we're completely saturated! We're just now able to get in and cut grass, and talk about tall! It's hard on the mowers, I'm sure, but what can you do?! If it's grass, it has to be kept mowed at least semi-regularly... and if it's garden beds, they must be kept weeded or the grasses, thistles and other nasties take over! So, we're darned if we do and darned if we don't! Mother's Day was nice... calls from my kids, and the husband made a nice dinner... while I spent the day relaxing, for the most part. There are certain chores that must be done regardless of what day it is, like cleaning and feeding dogs and other animals, but that's no big deal... I have it down to a science! ;-) I finally got the old guy to help me get photos off my camera, so I thought I'd share a few this morning... Here's a mama and her twins... My very best mouser... I call her Vixen! The next generation of excellent mousers... one of Vixen's 3 little ones... Walking from the shade garden area toward the new rose arbor... A young Peony Tree in the dappled shade garden... notice the rambler rose runners everywhere on the ground! Closeup of the flower from the Peony Tree... Another Peony Tree in the front yard... north side... And this is a Trillium that opened white and is turning a pale pink shade. It's among a patch of purple flowered hybrid Trillium I planted several years ago... you can see the mottled leaves of the hybrid... I didn't plant the white one, though... And finally, the first of the Irises are starting! I hope you enjoyed a walk around the yards with me... stick around as all the roses begin blooming and other perennials begin to color the gardens a wonderful rainbow of scented color! Thanks, Al... I can finally view Youtube, but the monitor I'm using has no sound on board... for a girl with a technological genius as a husband, I'm always the last to get upgraded! Would you believe I'm still using Windows XP?! I desperately need an upgrade to Windows 7, which should be coming shortly... when he has time to upgrade me. :-) It's kind of like being the plumber with the leaky toilet handle that sticks, or the barber that doesn't have time to cut his own hair... when you're in the business, you're last in line! :-) It looks to be another gorgeous day... sunny and hot with strong humidity... I may spend some time weeding and edging today, instead of killing myself cutting grass! Hope everyone has a lovely day! And... Happy Gardening!

"just because it is colder in Iowa doesn't mean it is colder everywhere else." Oh, How true. March 8th my wife and I left Iowa for an extended stay in Florida to try and get warm. Eastern Iowa had been in a cycle of Rain, Ice, Snow every 3-4 days since before Christmas. We just wanted to go south and get warm!!! We hit tennessee day after they got smashed by a blizzard. Went on to Gatlinburg, there it was 50-55. Went to Savanah Ga. It was 60 and rain there. Went down to Venice Fl. 60 and high wind. Couldn't dive because water was so turbulent you couldn't see your guages. Ft. Lauderdale and Deerefield Beach wind off the ocean was 40+ mph and temp not above 60 or so. Went over to Freeport Grand Bahamas for 6 days. Temp never got above 65 most of the time it was 50-55 and rain 4 days out of 6 it rained and had high wind. Tryed diving one morning and the waves came up so badly once we were out and underwater, the dive master came down and called us in and it was almost impossible to get back on the boat as the boat was rocking in 6-8' seas. 21 days gone and only a couple of them did we see 70+ temps. Got back to Iowa and we went right back into the winter rain ice snow cycle and we are still in it right now minus the snow. Still cold enough to freeze outside some nights yet. I just want to be warm. I will gladly put up with 90+ temps and 90% humidity. I am tired of being cold. I would like to break a sweat for a change. Of course the old saw still applies: "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still" Here is a link that might be useful: For those who wish to keep the debate going, ample fuel here!!!

Those of you wanting a laptop, definitely read the post Have you switched from a PC to a laptop? lots of good points in it, not only Windows computers but Mac's as well. My pain management doc has a Sony Vaio that he loves as well as 2 Mac laptops; he's mentioned one other but can't justify buying another. Wish I could remember what brand it was. Before buying be sure to research. As johnmari says about her Dell experience, unfortunately, that's what most people say. They also string you along until your 30 days are up to return it, then end up sending you a similar system, usually minus premium software you've paid for; and it's a refurbished machine. I have Windows and a Mac.. While I've been using the Mac mini, Windows is just so much easier and once I get the Windows machine finished (still not done building/adding parts) I will switch to that full time. Not sure if I posted in the other thread about our Compaq laptop, I bought it for my son when he graduated in 2003, that thing was a floor model and is still running. We blew a drive out in an airport (got hit against something) but installing the new drive was painless. I would buy one again, depending on how much they are compared to a Sony. I love the look of the Sony screens; we own 3 monitors with the XBrite technology..

Now THAT'S a RIOT!! LMAO Years ago, I taught someone a lesson about walking across in front of moving traffic. I've mentioned a few times in here that when I was a kid I was a "gearhead", and into building cars and racing. My "daily driver" was an older trans am that was actually built for the track, with a 455 cubic inch motor, complete with a dual quad set up sticking thru the hood where the stereotypical trans am hood scoop usually sat, and believe me when I tell you, it wasn't just for show. My father's office was in New Haven, right on the edge of one of the worst parts of town. (Paige-- for your benefit-- it was the old tile place at the corner of the Boulevard and Congress ave.). Now, this "Congress Avenue" was the kind of area that if you stopped at a street corner, someone would always come up to the car looking to sell you drugs. However, on the far side of it is Yale New Haven Hospital, where this one particular day, my wife was after having our first son. Anyway, here I come, tooling down the road, and these two guys come walking out in front of me, so I slowed down, and finally had to stop right there in the middle of the road, because they thought it would be great fun to have a conversation right there. I sat there for about 30 seconds, until it looked like some other folks sitting on some steps on the sidewalk were getting real interested in my car. At that point, I figured if they wanted the car, they were gonna have to run real fast, and I just dropped it in low and matted the gas. You want to see these two guys in the middle of the street jump just as fast and as far as they could! Just imagine standing on a drag strip about 30 feet in front of the cars when the green light comes down, and that's about the view these two guys had, complete with the noise and the wheel stand. I'd be willing to bet it was a long time before they walked out in front of anyone else. (and before anyone passes judgement for being that reckless, when it comes down to it either being me or them, I'll guarantee you-- it'll be them, every time)