I recently "let go" of a number of work clothes--fine wool skirts, pants, jackets. I'm still doing nearly the same work, and wearing professional wardrobe, but these either no longer fit or don't look quite right. I also almost exclusively wear pants and jackets now rather than skirts, and I previously had had a lot of narrow skirts that fit pretty closely and with not much forgiveness in the hips and waistbands! I had not worn them in maybe 5 years and had had many of them out of my closet for a year or more but could not "let go." It helped me to try on a bunch of things in my closet and to see that I had other clothes that looked better now and that I had a slightly new "look" that wasn't achieved by the old clothes. So, that actually styles HAD changed a bit and that I would buy new things rather than make those work. And there is the 5 extra pounds--that I might lose, or might not. But I really can't completely explain why I could collect this huge pile this month and could not do the same thing the previous year. Somehow I was able to see that I just was not going to wear them. And, that somehow I would be able to find other things (this idea is re: the hidden hoarding, being afraid I would not find other clothes. That's not so far off really, because "they" did quit making some fabrics and styles that I like--or at least, not readily available in local dept. stores.) I think also these represented a lot of my early professional years and investment in my work wardrobe, and there is some nostalgia for that young(er) working woman. I have had the same experience with some other items this year--things I could not have imagined giving away last year, now I look and say, why on earth do I still have this? So to me, it is encouraging not to be too hard on myself when clearing out things--that, if I seem to be struggling with something, I can either take a little time to try to unravel why I'm struggling--that does sometimes help-- or I can just put it aside, but that when the time is right, I will be able to let it go and it will feel right. This seems to be true for a number of things when you have a family--one year you couldn't imagine giving away some games, or puzzles, or sporting goods, and the next year, kids are different, now you realize nobody's actually used it in longer than you thought, and boom--give it to someone who will use it.

gabro - no offense taken in any way - we are good. The hard part about writing something down is that meaning - unless spefically written - must be implied. I got what you are saying and it makes perfect sense. But in no way have I made excuses, condoned or apoplogized for anyones bad behavior. My purpose on this forum is to help people. Most of the focus is usually on the pet, but most of the work and most of the problems have to do with the owner, not the pet :-) If someone here is having a hard time and needing to vent, it is not up to me to determine where that should be done. SG - has been abusive, in reading and remembering past posts I know Sg has been severly abused, and I know that abusive victims act out in adulthood. Those are facts, they are meant to educate not excuse behavior. Thats it nothing more. I dont attatch anything personal or emotional to the majority of my posts. For pkguy - As adults I would think it would be up to each person visiting this forum to be able to determine if a posting or the contents of a posting is something they want to contribute to. I prefer to contribute what I know in the hopes of helping make the lives of pet owners and pet better. Not to lash out in just because the OP did. In my mind it is a waste of energy and not helpful to anyone. So disclaimers should be in your head and your intent. If a poster wants to respond in a third grade manner so be it. Im not here to dictate anything. I know what I know and I learn alot here - some from SG. It seems a shame that SG can not seperate emotional responses from logical responses - but like I wrote before SG is not the only one here who has replied or posted something that is dripping in emotion. I dont see where in any of SG's posting there is an expectation or pleas of sympathy or understanding. SG stated facts about how SG was feeling and to let us know because of those feelings SG is not coming back - period. There is no plea for understanding or sympathy. As far as my take on this, I dont ask you to apply sympathy or empathy to SG's issues - Im just put out there that maybe ther is another reason for SG's outburst and instead of acting in a third grade manner by kicking back and taking your ball home and refusing to play anymore that people step back for a second and consider that SG's outburst might be because of past abuse and not due to wanting attention or being spoiled or having an uncontrolled ego trip. Thats it nothing more.

goodbye to THE best baseball player ever....................... Thanks for the memories! Thanks for the fun! It was a BLAST to watch THE KID play. He had fun. We had fun watching. Wishing Junior an amazing retirement. We'll miss you. okay okay some will disagree with the best ever. But he was DAMN GOOD . One of the best ever... so long, Junior!

I am in Chesapeake - near the coast in southeastern VA. Brutal winter this year. A good 8" of snow last week and temps in the 20's and below. I have two well-established pomegranate 'trees' in my front landscape. Both have fruited for the past few years - and I've seen others in the area that also seem to do very well. I'm just praying that this cold weather doesn't get to them. My varieties are 'Wonderful' and I believe that the second and more successful of the two is either 'Grenada' (but might possibly be Angel Red or Red Silk) It appears to have been mislabeled, which is a shame, because it is thriving and produces great fruit. This fall I received some new plants, which I will plant in the ground in Spring. Varieties are: Afganski / Salalvatski / Kai-Acik-Anor / Nikitski-Ranni / Golden Globe / Agat / Bala Miursal / Hotuni Zigar / Phoenicia / and Purple Heart Growing Pomegranates is a bit of a hobby for me. I love to eat them fresh! There are so many 'new' varieties available, to us, now . . . it's hard to resist trying to grown some of them! Does anyone else have any recommendations - successful varieties and where to find them?