Oh my goodness, Donnie! It's happening on your side of the world, too? Now I'm really nervous about the 7 pots of 'August Moon' sitting in my whole new planting area, in front of my house tonight. I purchased two full pots of it today, and divided them up with at least 2-3 eyes each and came up with the 7 at a final cost of around $4.28 each pot! I chose the 'August Moon' for the color and also because it can usually be found reasonable in cost these days and I had hoped that no one might be as tempted to dig them up, since they are so inexpensive by comparison to so many!! I'm thinking I might run out and bring them in now! LOL My biggest enemy this year is definitely the lack of rain! They are all doing fine, because I am able to keep up with watering but it has been a real task this year due to the watering restrictions and the extremes I've had to go to, to harvest water to use on them! janice

Say, I just "Googled" "Trailmanor Campers on the I-net and got a whole bunch of info, which seems straighforward, and very interesting! You will probably need something to tow with, other than a VW car, or a lightweight sedan or van! At least a 6 cylinder engine! I didn't see anything in that site indicating the trailers can be towed by an under powered car, or light duty truck! Remember, the world isn't flat, like the plan where you live! There are steep hills that can be encountered all over this land, and there's nothing worse than grinding slowly up a mile long hill, with other drivers gesturing with the one-finger salute after you get to the top! And, where you have to cool off the engine! I towed a Coleman tent trailer up over the mountain, from Cherokee to Gatlinburg, and it heated up! The engine was a 350 Chevy, but it was steep! I thought i had plenty of power, but how wrong i was! you'd probably have to investigate a crew-cab 1 ton pickup for towing. Not 4WD. 3/4 ton might suffice. Cars, as built today, i don't think so, unless you tow where the land is flat. HTH: Rusty Jones

Technically speaking, it's not legal to change an addressee on a postage affixed envelope. In reality, the post office isn't too picky about it. Technically, you're supposed to take it to the post office and have it replaced. Like I said, I don't think they're too picky, and have done it before. But we are talking about an organization who sued the Boy Scouts for putting their fundraiser brochures on mail boxes! Ob $aver thought: My favorite is paying bills online. Between postage, envelope and check fees, it's realistically 50¢ per bill saved. I'm saving $25/year easily, plus the gas of going to a mail box. Another favorite is my little "pantry". I hate going to the store and people who have to run to the store every day for something are nuts. Worst case, I can always make a can of soup. Plus I have a few groceries in case of a storm. Another phrase I enjoyed came from one of the spouse-swap programs where the minimalist/frugal wife's motto was "Do I need it? Do I love it? Does it make me money?" If not, toss it. Oh, and I was proud of myself... My washer was dumping water all over the floor and I thought I'd have to replace a washer after only 26 years of dependable service. Hey Joyful, shouldn't that have been under warranty??? ;) Being crippled up like I am these days, I can't do too much but I was curious to see if there was a chance of it just being a hose or something, plus I couldn't really wreck it, so, after tearing it open, sure enough, all that happened was two hose clamps lost their tension. A trip to the auto parts store, 2 - 25¢ hose clamps, maybe an hour, well, couple hours of "work" (more play and confidence builder) and I saved the cost of a new machine and disposal of the old. So what would that be? Anywhere from $100-$500 per hour pay, tax free, and I'm washing away again. Maybe I'll get another 26 years out of it? Well maybe not, but I'd expect a couple years of use anyway. Oh, other little things, like making a non-electric humidifier out of an ice cream pail sitting in front of the heat register. Cut holes in the top to keep the cat from playing in there. Plus I had to set it into a dishpan because she got mad and tipped it over! There's so many things, I can't think of them. But I enjoy reading others ideas too. I guess I try to make money spending an investment. For instance the Frugal Gazette books to me are an investment since they give you ideas and motivation. Use the library for movie borrowing & rental. Bought a few dozen popular movies for $1 each and share them with a lot of people. Shop for things on the internet to see what they'll cost, then know if it's a good buy when you go out. I had to buy a new dryer and saved $200 by buying a floor model at the "BB" Store. Researched things I wanted and checked reviews and the like. My $5/mo ISP has paid for itself so many times it's hilarious.

If you haven't started putting your things in the RV the best tip I was ever given was to put a notebook on the table and write down EVERYTHING that goes into your home away from home. That goes from the bedding right down to the toothpicks. If you also write down where it is going to be stored you will save yourself so much time when you get on the road and can see at a glance what you need for the next meal or what you forgot to bring. If you think of it place that list where you can see it and check off items as you use them or take them back inside when you get home like the laundry. After a few trips out you will see things that you forgot...things you need to add and also the things you can remove because you didn't need them in the first place...coming from an overpacker here. I cooked all our meals and I use a lot of spices etc...they take up way too much room in the rv so I took tic tac boxes and put the names of each spice on the cans. Camera film containers or pill bottles from the drugstore work well too. By using some spices from the house I saved money and found that the ones in the rv if left for a period of time only get damp anyway, therefore it wasn't too much to replace