Oh my dear...... I have about 4 patches of Immortality.....groves maybe. It is definitely scented and like many irises (and lilies for that matter) it may be described as having a strong scent, especially in the sun. Another one that comes to mind that can be a bit much is Bosenberry Buttercup and even I don't like that one. I guess it is individual preference. I think Saturday Night Live smells like Dr. Pepper! And really like oriental lily Conca D'Or but can hardly tolerate the scent! ??? So if it smells like corned beef to you, I would suggest you leave it in Mom's garden. :) Ginny

I think she is living in the past. When I married my 1st husband at 18 my father then changed. No more verbal abuse. I guess he realized I was grown and he actually became very nice. Helping with our down payment on our first house etc. And believe it or not hes a loving grandfather. I still have issues with him but for the most part all is better. I said that to say I think my mom looks back to that time during my marriage as the first time that things were normal. No more worrying about the way I was being treated.So those were good times. We were all married and having kids and going to my mom & dad's for dinners and pool parties etc. When I divorced and had to go to work full time with 3 young kids things changed. Then she started. heaven forbid I date! I was criticized for everything from what I wore to where I went to who I had visit at my home. Believe me I was raised very sheltered and I certainly wasnt doing anything that was wrong. Especially since I had children at home. I said that because I think that is why she loved my ex so much. And he was one of those guys that everyone loved being around! In a sense he brought our family together. So she glamorizes the past as my therapist once told me. Too bad I dont still see her...LOL I cant bring up the past with my mom. During the time I was dating Wes we really had some blow outs and I did say to her some things I wish I just let go now. When I talked to her about my childhood she always says "I know I know we were such awful parents" sorta sarcastic and sorta defensive. She will say " why do children blame everything on their parents" Im not even blaming just that if you want to go nose in my stuff then I have a right to say a few things. I'm not going to let anything go on in my home that she did ALLOW. I would be enbarrassed to even say anything if I was her. I did just leave when she started when I picked up my son.I told her I would not argue with her.Thats been the way Ive handled her lately,just leave. She called me today at work and said "I cant talk to you when it comes to Wes" Am I wrong....Its not that I dont want to talk to her but Im trying to draw some boundaries and stand united with my husband. Something I didnt always do with my first husband. I love her but we cant talk about anything anymore because it always goes back to how stupid I am for marrying Wes. Funny thing is she will ALWAYS tell me how I did nothing wrong in my first marriage. That I was a good wife and mother and it was all his fault yet she loves him and hates my new husband! I will never get to the root because shes not willing to talk about the past without getting defensive. Again, sorry this is so long! And Thank you for listening.

what about a simple slide show? (that's all PowerPoint is--a word-based slide show w/ fancy fades and zooms, and a computer to help you type out the words.) Get people to send you copies of photos of them from all the stages of their life. My brother's company in Des Moines would be able to take those photos and turn them into a presentation for you. They can scan them, add text if you'd like (or not), and provide you with the equipment necessary to project the pics on the wall (or a big screen). His company is in Des Moines (Triad Productions), and I don't know if they do work by mail. But there have to be other companies like this in other cities. If Des Moines can support such a business, Denver certainly can; ditto Oklahoma City, Dallas. In fact, Des Moines has several companies that could do this sort of work, so help is out there. Go to www.yellowpages.com, and do a search for your area using the term "audio visual"--you'll get several categories. Or, of course, you might find someone else in the family w/ more computer skills who can help with that, if *you* can do the legwork of getting your hands on the pictures, and organizing them. My folks celebrated their 50th anniversary, and they had a slide show like this running continuously. It was neat--there were a couple of pics from them when they were dating, and pics from their wedding, and then from many events throughout their lives. I think your grandparents would like the slide show; who doesn't like pictures? And everybody ELSE will like it, too--don't forget that audience! If it's a really BIG family, you could do a huge poster w/ a family tree. Maybe complete with photos? There are family-tree softwares, I think, but you can also do this w/ posterboard and glue and scissors and markers. For that, you could get some help--assign each of their children the responsibility of drawing their own family tree down to grandkids on a single sheet of 8.5x14" paper, and then fit them together somehow? Here is a link that might be useful: Triad AV Services

I think the advantage of semi-hard-wired would be neatness and ease of use. Kind of a poor person's transfer switch and more secure and possibly safer (no fumes coming in through open window (not to mention quieter) Read the handbook for the generator, it will tell you if you need one or not. Generally in my experience you don't, although I could be wrong. As I understand it, the only 'advantage' or 'need' for ground (and the only reason why current wants to go to ground) is because the neutral is tied to it. Apparently mains current would have no propensity to go to ground without it...If I recall what I was taught (please somebody correct me if I'm wrong, also, don't construe this to say ground is unnecessary with household power, it is, of course, required) Your generator will have provision for a grounding strap if it needs one. I don't imagine it's permissible to tie to the house ground spike outside, you might need to put in a separate one. (again, correct me if I'm wrong.)