I know that Linwood is along the west shore of Saginaw Bay near the famed cheeze towns of Piconning and such. It is at the northmost part of the Saginaw Valley and is more continental than most of Michigan. Since that would be a safe zone 5, I'd recommend only a few plants; any flowering plum, or cherry (especially dwarf trees) would be good along with a pussy willow or forsythia. If it was about mid April, the options would multiply significantly. You may want to check with Dow Gardens (in nearby Midland) they seem to have a phenominal selection of plants and would have an expert who could suggest something other than what I just did. A google search for Dow Gardens in Midland, MI would be a good start.

Diane Ackerman, a naturalist/journalist, wrote in her book A Natural History of the senses that a component of violet scent will temporarily "numb" the human sense of smell after inhaling the perfume, but that after a few minutes our nose will pick it up again. The idea that a human nose "can't handle them all at once" is perhaps true for certain individuals but certainly does not apply to all humans. Since, for instance, there are individuals with incredibly acute senses of smell,like those hired by perfumeries to test fragrances. They are able to discern an incredibly wide range of aromas few of us are sensitive too. Google aroma/olfactory/sense of smell, etc and you will find a list of articles on the subject, including several that discuss the issue that individuals experience the same aromas differently--physiologically, not just "emotionally". Ackerman's book was very popular when it was published and is very likely in your public library. She is very thorough in that discussion. Also, there was an interesting book published recently called The Emperor of Scent that discusses the phenomonen (but is much drier in its presentation of the science).

First of all the two machines take different formats. You might want to consider purchasing Embird that will convert the two formats so that you can use the same design with each machine sans the Disney designs that are propietary to Brother and can't be used on any other machine. You are correct that you will need a reader writer box for the Brother machine because your machines are different formats. The PED basic sounds like a good plan (available on line at Walmart for around $139.). I have two different brand machines and also found that the hoops are not interchangeable either. The only things that may be interchageable are feet and needles. The bobbins may be different so you really have to watch which bobbin you have and don't get them mixed up. I would thoroughly read the Brother manual before purchasing anything further...they are pretty good about documetation and educating if you practice the manual page by painful page.

If you do decide to go through some sort of memory recovery process, be aware that it is remarkably easy to create memories which you then believe are 100% true. You can do it yourself, as can someone who is guiding you through the process. For example, Elizabeth Loftus, a prominent researcher in the area of memory, once did an experiment with some of her college students for them to try to create a memory in the minds of their younger siblings. (Questionable morality, yes, but very interesting.) The college student would start by describing a story that never happened. "Remember when you got lost at the mall?" Over a period of a couple weeks, the college student would add more detail to the never-happened story. "Remember - you were wearing that green plaid shirt." After a couple weeks, the younger children not only believed that the never-happened story had happened, they created their own embellishments to the story. "Oh, yeah, I remember that Mom finally found me in front of the Gap. It was Christmas time - I remember the Santa Claus decorations." This is exactly the sort of thing that ended up getting all sorts of people arrested and jailed (or merely accused and lives ruined) for stuff they never did. Having done a lot of research in this area because of my line of work, I know that I would never trust "recovered" memories that weren't verifiable from other sources. After a brief but sad heyday in the late 80's through mid 90's, most, if not all, courts in the U.S. now dismiss the idea of recovered memories as junk science, and it's not permitted in court. Personally, I think that what you describe is just how memory works. It's not like a tape recording at all. It's just a series of impressions, some of which come to mind at any given time, some of which don't. I think you probably have the answer already - you were really into sports, and the other stuff that was happening didn't make much of an impression. I don't feel like I have memory problems, but I don't remember many details about my school days. Part of that is because I've always lived in my own mind, and just don't notice the stuff that happens around me.