Brugmansias in hanging baskets. Portulacas. Yuccas. And green spray paint. That's my landscaping plan for next year. (Joking - I think.) I feel your pain. Spent from 4:30 to 9:30 last night running in and out to turn the soaker hoses on and off. This was after watering plants all day for a living. And it was hot as heck too. But the soakers are a whole lot better than standing there with a water wand being eaten by mosquitos and flies. I found an extra soaker in the basement that you can flip over and turn into a sprinkler hose. I ran it through the shade border where the ferns and hydrangeas were gasping. It is supposed to blend in with the bed - how dayglow green with yellow stripes blends in is beyond me. But it made a nice misty shower effect that I think the plants enjoyed. Going on vacation this coming week - will have a tangle of soaker hoses on timers running every few days. And the outdoor deck and porch pots will have little wicky devices that help keep them watered. Of course, if I do that, it will pour rain the whole time.

Maybe there truly needs to be more stress on the parents and teachers working TOGETHER in order to make the school experience the best for the children. I think that communication is key between parents and teachers, and that it can only benefit the students. You don't go onto too much detail on your relationship with these teachers, are they personal friends or just teachers at the school? The reason that I ask is because it's hard to expect a "stranger" to pour out their soul regarding the troubles they have on their job, especially a job such as teaching which can have very emotional days. Unless there seems to be something wrong with your children maybe you should ease up and just hang in on being an involved parent. That's what is most important I think!:)

I can identify with the too much to do in too little time stress situations and I also can identify with the there is too much to do and not enough time to do it and I don't know where to start so I don't do anything syndrome. In my case, it now takes me and hour and a half to drive home from work due to the traffic problems every day that seem to get worse. I usually don't leave work until after 5:00 PM, have to get to the other side of the river which means I have to go through or near downtown Nashville and there is always some function going on there where traffic does not move. By the time I get home it is 7:00 PM, I have to change clothes, feed the horses, cats, dogs, grab something for me. By then it's 8:30 or 9:00 PM. And by then I'm too tired to do much else because I get up at 4:00 AM and start the routine in reverse all over again. Saturdays it's almost the same. Got to get all of my trash together and haul it to the collection site, go to the feed mill, co-op, grocery shopping, maybe the vet and a dozen other things. I get home around 4:00 PM and try to mow the yard. At almost dark, I'm out feeding all the animals again. Sundays I am so tired that I don't want to do anything but I have to get my clothes ready for the next week at work, do what housework that I can get by with doing and try to have some time to just do nothing. People are always telling me to "get rid of my animals", I don't want to get rid of my animals and the only way I could get rid of them is to condem them to certain death. Nobody wants the cats or dogs and my horses are untrained and old. I don't think there is any way they would even load in a truck or trailer and survive the experience. I just want time to be able to enjoy my land and my animals, and, I am hoping that is in the near future. I hope to be able to retire at the end of June.

Thanks folks, I have a sack of about 10 different 1/4 yd cuts that I've bought/ordered/lived with. I had them all up for varying lengths of time from hours to overnight to days. Hubby is sooooooo over it. Every time I tried a bright color it just looked off to me. Once I put a big, bold pattern in it just clicked better. I actually really like the same pattern in blue over the sink, but when it's in the eating area it's not quite right. So essentially I think I'm ready to go neurotic but not quite certifiable crazy yet. I'm going to accessorize with a lot of blue but if I decide to go back to red or yellow or orange in the future, a can of spray paint solves the issue. This thread has also made me love suzani now. :) The eyebrow comment is valid and definitely makes me think. I've got one more fabric store to visit today, but at that point I think I have to make a call of some kind. I could put this off for months if I let myself.