There were roses everywhere when we bought this house, and we have been removing them one by one and giving them to friends. One friend lives on a street called Rose Circle, or something like that, and she has been good about taking the unwanted roses off our hands. I have been replacing the roses with drought tolerant plants, such as succulents and cacti, which I much prefer. Still, some roses still come back from roots that we were unable to remove, and so it is an ongoing process to get rid of them. We have kept one rose bush in the front yard that makes white flowers, and it seems to bloom all year, which is why we kept it. Also, the white flowers go better with our color schemes than the pink ones. We are trying to get rid of the pink that we inherited with the house. The first thing to go was an ornamental peach tree that attracted possums. We have replaced that with banana and heliconia - not drought tolerant plants, but they work with our existing watering system. I have a hard time throwing out orchid cuttings, but we have too many epidendrum in the back yard and no place to put all of them. I also have a bit of a hard time throwing out bromeliad cuttings, but I have no trouble at all throwing out roses, as the thorns are quite nasty. Some of the bromeliads are nasty also, and so I do not feel bad about throwing those out. If it pricks you, do not feel bad about throwing it out is my philosophy. It's nice when you can find homes for unwanted plants, but it is not nice to keep something that is getting in your way.

Coolmama, As long as I can remember, pets have filled a 'void' in my life. They are so loyal, trusting & make no judgements. They love you unconditionally regardless of your age, status, beliefs, faults etc. I don't recall ever being without a cat & since I've had a house, a dog also. Many years ago, when I was 18 & living in a fourplex apt. in the country, I had a cat Shamu. One fall day, while visiting a farm, the workers found an infant bunny in a bale. I recall them saying that is was unusual for the time of year & bunny had no chance. So, I said I'd take it home, which I did. I fed Buffy with a doll's bottle with Shamu sitting at my feet, awaiting his turn. Yes, I fed that cat, too, so he didn't feel left out. Later, when Buffy ate potato peels, when I prepared a meal, Shamu ate raw potato peels. I think Buffy thought it was a cat, & loved to snuggle with Shamu even trying to nurse. Buffy thrived & even knew it's name, coming when I called. He & Shamu were the best of friends. I loved that bunny & had a stong bond - bottle feeding is so special. As usual, Shamu slept in bed with me, while Buffy slept in a box, with a screen on top, nearby. One morning Buffy wasn't in the box. Much to my horror, I found Buffy dead under the bed. I was devastated. I had a difficult time coping, as did Shamu. At the time, it really bothered me that it had died alone, without a sound. The slightest sound from a critter, awakes me. I learned very quickly that mourning a pet isn't socially accepted, generally. No one understood the grief I was experiencing. Basically, the attitude was it was "just" a wild rabbit. Oh well, big deal. This forum is wonderful as here there are people who understand, share your pain, & offer comfort. You do need to give yourself time to grieve. It's not easy. I've lost beloved pets since, & always have a hard time coping, more with some than others. My heart goes out to you. A gerbil, isn't JUST a gerbil, it's a piece of your heart. Summer

tricia ~ I washed my hands of the house a week ago when we pulled the offer. I posted here to vent and also to show the different things going on in the market here in CT. Me, I'm a total 'fence sitter' waiting for the right home to come up in one of my selected towns. School systems do matter as I just left a town where the School system is failing. I do get frustrated living with the in-laws but only b/c it's hard to be a family in your own home and then having to live with another family....... a bit cramped at times. BUT I am fortunate to have a place to stay. Now my husband on the other hand - he makes spur of the moment decisions and bad ones at that - but that is another story. He also has no patience. That being said..... We have a realtor up in the Enfield area who we've used a couple times now - to buy and to sell. I do appreciate your input on this situation and offer to communicate. I've read your posts and responses on the GW and feel like I know you. Also, I LOVE mystic - before being married I was engaged to a guy who had a boat docked on the Mystic River down there. And I love Angie's Pizza! I also wanted to put my situation out there. We have excellent credit, money to buy a home with 20% down and no home to sell. We made a good/great offer on a home and had checked with the town regarding mortgage currently on the home as well as history. We had a contractor come with us to see the house - We know they have a contract on another house that they already obtained a 3 month extension on back at the beginning of May and the house has been on the market a few months - we did our research. We made a good offer the home and the sellers still wanted more. It's 10 days past our negotiations and the house is still on the market - not my problem. I'm sure they have thier reasons as to why they didn't sell. That is thier right as a seller. If they call me - maybe we'll talk but I have no plans to pursue this home. Meanwhile, another home in the neighborhood sold (it wasn't what we were looking for) and a new one just came on the market - we may go see. We like the neighborhood so it may be that we end up in that area anyway. So with a positive attitude the search goes onward. I'm sure there is a house out there waiting for us. Wendy

Dawnidea, I'd love to hear what your husband knows about changes to Audi - is it the 2016's? or the 2017's? I don't know if I can tolerate this car for another year. 1929Spanish, my old BMW was a 2003 with 178k miles on it- I loved that car more than any I'd ever owned (well, except maybe my 1967 GTO that I owned in my 20's). It was still going strong, but I haul my grandson a lot and didn't want to risk being stranded someplace with him, if it did break down - it was just getting up there in miles and too risky. I am not a regretful person, but I regretted getting the new one almost immediately. I sold my old one to my handyman; I almost offered to trade him the new one to get my old one back! Cyn, I'm glad to hear you love your Audi. I had a 1973 Audi 100LS that I loved, back in the 1970's, then two different model VW's that I loved when they were made in Germany, but I quit VW when they started being made in Mexico, because my last one was not reliable. All my cars have had 150K + miles, so leasing is a new thought for me. You all have helped me. Thanks!