Hi All! Sorry for the slow response here--I'm on the road for a few consecutive weeks, and internet access has been spotty. We took a couple of quick pictures, but the light was terrible, so they're hard to look at. Here's the update: We got EVERY bit of ivy root out of the areas destined to be flower gardens by the means described above. We then heavily amended the soil, put up plastic edging where the bed abutted ivy, and planted the trees and perennials. During this time, which lasted about 6-8 weeks, we'd been keeping the other half of the ivy patch assiduously mowed. So we decided to risk it. DH pulled up every accessible bit of ivy he could from that area. We then evened out the area with extra top soil and planted grass seed. (Late June is a terrible time to plant a lawn, but hey--that's when we were ready.) And so far, so good! He'll be monitoring the ivy situation more closely than I will for a while. We might need to take other measures, but it at least looks decent now, and we were tired of having the yard look like a construction zone. Grass seed is cheap, so if we need to take other steps in a few weeks/months, it won't be too much of a loss. Pics soon. Thanks for all the input!

Stuff that has always come through for me was disappointing ..echinacea, asters, larkspur ..(I have about 30 two litres with nothing happening)..not giving up, just moved them to the side of the shed where I can't see them. However, I have Catalpa sprouts, datura going like gangbusters, Peruvian corn (grows 15 feet tall, I swiped a cob from a municipal park). Seems like the normally difficult germinators did o.k., and old faithfulls suffered this spring. Just my 2 cents.

Second time was when my appendix when from 0 to 60 when we were in the Poconos. My Appendix went nuts in one weekend and my family had a bad history moms appendix went shoelace and wound its way around her colon, my sisters appendix blew in one afternoon while I called 911, I only called for help because my dads appendix blew in his body and he had peritonitis for months with his torso wide open. They took my appendix out and I did not do well. I hemorrhaged again and died on the table. They brought me back again with blood infusions. They hold it over my head whenever it suits them. Maybe its why my mom is so on top of me all the time and why she thinks I'm so fragile. I'm not as fragile any more its my turn to help her. I wish she would let me.

I wish I had read this 6 hours ago! I had a hankering for a burger... never thought of chili but today would have been perfect. Called a friend and we were going to go to Chili's or Red Robin and settled on Red Robin. Then my van wouldn't start - battery wasn't up to it. Surprised me because it had warmed up to a sweltering -9° and old "Vanna" always starts like the champ she is. So put the booster on there, fired it up. Had trouble keeping it running. I feared gasline freeze. Once running, I let it run for a while to charge the battery, maybe thaw the fuel line a bit and then thought I'd shut it off and make sure it'd start, and make sure the battery was holding a charge. It didn't. Booster back on. I was determined to get a burger so I was going with or without a charged battery. Started it up and got over there in time for an A1 Peppercorn burger and it was great. Wish I had thought about the chili burger! Oh, I took the booster/charger with me in case it wouldn't start. Parked close to an outdoor outlet, just in case, but Vanna fired up for me when I left. It hit me on the way home that in this frigid week, I was driving with the defroster on full, headlights on, rear window defroster and probably the radio too. So there's no way the alternator could keep up with charging that poor thing's battery! Didn't even think about that! So, now I'll keep it in mind. One of those DUH moments... Course now it's going up to about 30° over the weekend. Anyway, back to the topic. I like my chili THICK! None of this watery, soupy stuff for me, I want man-food. Something to sink my teeth into. So thick you don't use a spoon, use club crackers, bacon thins or chicken in a biscuit and scoop that stuff up and shovel it in. Not overly seasoned but it must have a bit of a zing, lots of meat, and yes, heresy to some but I want kidney beans! Occasionally some crusty garlic bread on the side, but normally, crackers. Just another thing I don't get anywhere near enough of lately!!! ;)