We got the rest of the chilies planted yesterday, and the jalapeno that I was worried about perked right up after being watered. I've been watering my new herbs and chilies again at lunch time, and they seem to like that. The chilies seem to be growing really fast, but the basil is only just now coming up, while the basil plants I bought aren't doing well. I should probably stick with growing them from seeds. I planted tomato seeds also but have never had that much luck with tomatoes in Westchester, except my first/second year, when I planted cherry tomatoes in the ground next to the grape vine, and they put out tomatoes continuously for over a year, but they kept getting smaller. I have some new succulents that still need to be repotted, but the epiphyllum are all doing well. I put them on a shelf on the SE side of the house, installed a temporary roof over that, and put mosquito neeting (from an old gazebo) around them to help filter the sun. They are in an area (similar to the opposite side of the house where I have orchids) that has walls pretty close - only about 8' apart, and so they already get partial shade, except around noontime. The orchids are on the NW side (my house is at 45 degrees from NS), and so they have more natural protection, but I did build a roof for them and put up a bamboo curtain on the SW side. If I had more shade around my house, I would grow more bromeliads, and several that I have now are blooming. I bought a new one last week-end that I will keep in the house because the last one Iike it that I bought got sunburned almost every place I put it outside, except in the orchid area. It was 81 today - much warmer than normal, but still pleasant. It's very nice for gardening when I get home from work. I'd definitely try to make it to Yosemite one year in mid-May. I like that the days are a lot longer in May than in September, and I would like to see the falls at full power. I can handle a bit of chill if it is not windy. Lars

Dear Francy and Ben: If M. Teixeira Soapstone had been responsible for templating, fabricating and installing your countertops, we would definitely replace your tops, or better yet, ensured to never have installed a cracked material to begin with. From what you are describing, the slabs were purchased in August and only installed 6 months later, who knows how it was stored, how many times it was moved around, how it was handled, was it hit with a fork lift, cracked then repaired?There are just too many possibilities here. We, as professional and exclusive soapstone fabricators, would not ever have worked with a cracked slab or installed a countertop after it was cracked, even if it was cracked in transit on the way to your home. The fabricator/installer is fully responsible to inspect the material before it is installed or fabricated. Should this slab had been cracked originally, the fabricators responsibility would have been to contact the supplier(M.Teixeira) immediately to get the slab replaced. Unfortunately we cannot be responsible for products that left our warehouse 6 months ago, specially if they were stored and fabricated by a third party, for the reasons explained above. Because I am a human being, and can understand your frustration, I will authorize a considerable discount on another slab, should your fabricator decide to replace it. The Santa Barbara is our most expensive and least available material, it is a rare stone that is no longer being quarried, although we still have some stock left in our NJ and CA warehouses. Feel free to call me directly toll free at 877-478-8170, should you need further assistance. Sincerely, Rogerio M. Teixeira M. Teixeira Soapstone SOAPSTONES.COM

Oh Sharon, I'm sorry! Several years ago I had sent out written invites for our quite dressy Christmas party for Saturday Dec 11. On Sat Dec 4, we were all sitting around in our comfies, watching a movie and the doorbell rang. Hmmmmmm. Sure enough, one couple had put it on the calendar for the wrong weekend! So there they were, all spiffed up, us all not, staring at each other and laughing! They ended up going out for the even also and had a wodnerful time. Her only complaint was that she had to go buy a new outfit since she felt she couldn't wear the same thing again since they had run into a couple of other guests! LOLOLOL! Hope you did enjoy dessert! A

I hear your frustration. Some orders specify who is responsible to take kids to appointments, usually the primary custodial parent, but if they don't do it, then duh! the other parent should.... that's just common sense. I will never understand why a parent would complain about anyone doing something nice for their child, who they "love" so much. The reason I put "quotations" on love.... if a parent truly loves their child, don't they want what's best for them??? If they can't provide it, they should be grateful when someone else does provide it. Period. It doesn't matter whether the person providing it is the other parent, a relative, step parent, neighbor, stranger or government agency... isn't the goal to do what is best for the child? If someone is too busy, lazy or in any way unable to do something like take the child to the dentist for a year, kiss the feet of the person that isn't too busy or lazy and takes the time to do YOU a favor because now your child has received care. I am way past caring what my SD's BM thinks... if I give her an opportunity to do something and she doesn't do it, then I am taking carte blanche and I don't care if she thinks I am stepping on her toes or over my bounds. SD has a class trip coming up. DH asked her to pay part of the fee two weeks ago. As of today, no response. He tries to call her. No answer. He can't afford the trip so SD won't get to go. Meanwhile, SD tries to call to talk to her mom about her upcoming birthday but BM is still not answering her phone.. maybe thinks DH is trying to call about the trip. SD leaves a message because I offered to throw her a party if her mom isn't going to. BM never calls her back. (last year she said she was doing something and by the end of the day, SD was in tears & we are left to console her mother's disappointments) When you are dealing with someone that says they are going to do something but then don't... you have the choice to do it yourself or leave it be and it doesn't get done. If she chooses to do it because you did it first.. then eventually the kids will see that their parent isn't doing it for them, they are doing it because they are engaged in battle with you (or your DH). Kids are perceptive and they know who is doing right or who is doing wrong.... unfortunately, they sometimes choose a side and usually it's the wrong side because they love both parents and the one that is doing wrong... well, I think kids want to help the parent that seems to need them more.