Jo Ann: solar powered lights as a door prize??? oh wow how cool! i sure hope i win those! what a great idea! Beverly: i am glad you like my signature saying. i dont know who wrote it but i just feel that it says it all!!! how else can you justify buying a pot of asclepsias in april or some virginia bluebells in the summer? my husband thinks i have lost my marbles when i bring home what looks like just a pot of dirt! lol i just finished potting up 31 plants and i have loads more to go plus several plants for direct trades too! but you know what? i feel great! i keep thinking of more and more things that someone might enjoy and its a great way to thin out some of my plants! I am really getting excited and it BETTER NOT RAIN THAT DAY either! so Margie and i were thinking about what time we have to get up that morning to get there around 10 and since i live about 1.5 hrs from her and she is closer to columbus than i am i am thinking i will have to get up at the crack of dawn along with the dern roosters!!! Sue 'The one thing all gardeners share in common is a belief in tomorrow'

I'm almost finished with winterizing the deck, just a few more things to store today; all in its proper time. First I had to drain the hose and put out the heated birdbath, install the squirrel resistant cage around the rhododendron Percy Wiseman (tasty flower buds) and start protecting a few shrubs before the ground freezes so I can't put a stake in. This was the first morning with temperatures below freezing and my heated birdbath failed! It may be just the GFI - I reset it and we'll see tonight. I had to break ice and refill all of the birdbaths, to the great relief of the turkeys that were clustered around the frozen baths when I looked out this morning. The row in the back is turkeys bellied up to the water bar. I saw an article in the Cape Cod Times online today about Birders wonder if snowy owls will return to Cape. Apparently they're beginning to trickle down to New England. Claire This post was edited by claire on Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 10:50

I live in a rural area near the Ellisville Harbor State Park, and a road runs right by the salt marsh. At low tide the mudbanks butt up to the road and a few years ago I took this photo. At the time I knew almost nothing about ducks, and noticed the strange looking mallards in the mud. My philosophy is always shoot first and ask questions later, so I shot and went home to check the references. I didn't even know Green-winged Teal existed. At that distance my Canon Powershot S5IS with a 12X zoom can handle it, although I don't get that nice feather detail. Some day I'll get better equipment, but not right now. Claire

Good Morning, Wish I was camping with Ekl. I bet she would really push me with that paddle. Reminds me of the time year before last when DH and I were camping and decided to float/paddle down the river. About halfway through, the sky blackened and I could hear thunder in the distance. I am terrified of lightening, especially anywhere near the water. Have had, locally, on 2 separate occasions in the last few years, a young boy struck and killed by lightening, near water. I grabbed the paddle and let me tell you I had an upper body workout that day! I think DH got a real kick out of watching me kill myself trying to get down river and off of the water before the storm hit. It wasn't a bit funny to me. Thank God, the storm turned and didn't hit us. I never could have out paddled it as far upriver as we were. SS, Thanks for the vote for the award. But remember, I only lost 5 lbs last week. The other 2 were from the weeks before. I've also found a big difference in weight with different times of day, different clothes, and after meals. I only go by 1st thing in the morning weight in my nightgown. Counting calories would be too hard for me. I am so lazy. I have found it easier to just forget the bun completely at BK and have the meat in a dish with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I have to have my mayo. I've never been big on bread anyway. Lots of meals I cook I just forget to fix any bread. Drives DH crazy because he feels he has to have it. But, he will settle for WW sliced bread with butter spread on it when I forget! Harold, How are those eyes doing? Can you see us yet?!?! Sorry we are confusing you with the multiple weigh-in days. Weekends aren't good to me, so it is best to have a day to get back on track before posting an official weight. 48 lbs lost! WOW! Such tenacity! If I can hang in, that would put me right around my goal weight. I shall set my sights there. Peg, 3 lbs! Great job! I can't wait to get below DH in weight. I HATE HATE HATE weighing more than him. That's why I get discouraged when I only lose 1 lb a week now. I think he hangs around high 150s -low 160s. Once I get below him I will be ok with "slow and steady wins the race". Can y'all tell I'm from the "I WANT IT NOW" generation? That's how I got so large. I wanted those 2 big bowls of chocolate ice cream everyday while I forgot veggies and exercise. Now I'm paying for it. Those chest pains were my gift from God to wake me up. It worked! Karen, I'm glad you held steady while being sick. Are you feeling better? I bet you are weak as a puppy. Take it easy 'till you get some strength back. I know what you mean about night snacking. DH eats stuff every night after we get in bed. Can't fall asleep because of all of that eating noise on the other side of my bed! Some nights it's peanut butter crackers, others it's 2 peanut butter sandwiches, chips & dip, whatever he can find in the kitchen. If I can't resist, I will do celery with a very little PB, or 15 or so pistachios (sp?) shelled and eaten very slowly while he pigs out. I try to resist "Roseanne" that is giving Silver such a hard time!!! Helen, Everybody needs some fun with friends occasionally. And to still lose a pound, how sweet it is! Jas, About the WW. If it helps you get where you are going sooner, it is worth the $8 weekly. I did WW for a while once. My meeting was about 40 miles from home, so I quit going. Being right at work would really help you. My friend does it and it has helped her. It's just about finding what works best for you. If you have friends who are doing it at work with you, that would really help you stick to your diet. Nothing like having that up close and personal encouragement. If it would still be you working alone and you can get yourself kick-started, Save the $8 to use at the grocery store on healthier foods and spend the time you would spend at the meetings working out, walking, etc. Check in here more often for encouragement and our tried and true diet tips that have worked for us. As you can tell from the length of my posts, I love to talk. I can talk until you beg me to shut up!!! Have a great day everyone, Betty