Gratz on your first bloom. :D Overhere I got to be patient as well, since we normally get bloom season somewhere in mid May and this year it is 2 weeks late at least. But I also spotted a bud on my tiny Cecile Brunner climber (I still can't get used to the thought that this collection of tiny twigs will get higher than a meter), which probably will open in a couple of days, depending if the weather will get finally warmer. Some bud-dage I also saw on Mme Isaac Pereire and Sympathy. For the later it is actually early, usually she was a slacker, but I guess walking around it with a shovel and discussing which other rose would be good for that spot helped to bring a point across to her. x)

Unfortunately, the rain seems to be bypassing us except for a spitting rain right now. And I NEEDED that rain to soften the soil for the addition of the hosta strip to the garden! So, I may have to run the hose on the "soaker" setting for a while Sunday to soften the soil. Then I can plant the hostas I saved in the garbage bags and wait for the 3 new ones to arrive to plant. The OUTRAGEOUS thing is, now the mgt. is toying with me again. They told me in that letter to have my "plantings" out from under the hosta tree, and so I did. I only left the annual salvia, as it will die soon anyway. Guess what???? The dead tree is still there, but I know the "landscapers" have been busy cutting down zillions of trees and large branches all over the complex. So I wonder, with good reason considering their spitefulness, if they wanted me to dig up my garden for no reason except to ruin it AND they won't remove the dead tree as I asked. I just ran into my downstairs next door neighbor, who has told me often how much she loves what I did with the Neighbor's Patch (she is one of the 2 "Neighbors"). She paid me a wonderful compliment just now---she is getting married next year and she wanted the name and color of my Easy Does It rose because she wants to use it in her bridal bouquet!!! I just informed her about the co-op manager's nasty spiteful behavior about the hosta garden, and she was truly appalled.

Several people have sounded surprised when I have said that I don't like earning interest. In our situation, tax rate on interest is at top rate, but dividends on local stocks used to be somewhat lower, and last year the advantage increased somewhat. When I put my money where it earns interest, almost always the number of dollars of principal is guaranteed not to shrink ... but the number of dollars (apart from the rent that they are earning) won't grow, either. Rather than putting my money into the bank and let them earn more on it than I do ... ... how about owning part of the bank (well, most of the time ... if not so hot, recently, when some of them've been up to some rather nasty shenanigans)? My fully-secured line of credit would have charged me 6.25% about three or four months ago, I think it was. Then it was 5.75% for a while. A couple of weeks ago it was 4.75% ... before the latest round of rate cuts. I figured that I could borrow to invest at almost nil net cost when the rate was 6.25% (but was trained in the days when we were told not to be in debt ... and found it's a bit hard to teach am old dog (or, if female, you know the word) new tricks. However ... the borrowing to invest deal looks even better, now. ole joyful

I didn't have wallpaper paste but I had Weldbond, so I watered it down and used it. Came up with a paint scheme yesterday but Dh really likes it as is... ??? it could stand but I'm not sure. BTW ignore the blue wall color, it's just the primer - that's going darker with a color wash. anyways, I'm thrilled with this, it looks 100% better.