Robin, your frustration is understandable. I dare say that most of the ones that say things to you would have turned into a bunch of wusses and gone crying to Mama if they had gone through all that you have these past few years. Some people in the world are just that way but this is a big world and there are a lot of really good people in it. I hope you are keeping a journal about your journey. You may want to write a book one day. When things turn around for you, you will enjoy reading about your climb up the mountain.

While I would not describe myself as "pro lawn" I have nothing against lawn if one goes about it in the right way. I use a mix of lawn and flower beds in my garden. I like the look. I think lawn can tie the landscape together nicely. It gives visual relief between flowers. Lawn makes a good path. A little lawn also helps to tie the garden to the surrounding neighborhood, which is mostly lawn. And if you use the "Freedom Lawn" approach, lawn is environmentally friendly too. The lawn in the pictures below has not been fertilized or irrigated or sprayed or otherwise treated in over five years. I don't rake up the clippings. I don't even bother raking leaves. Because I mow high the leaves and clippings work their way down into the turf and eventually feed the grass. Yes, if you look up close, there are weeds, and several types of grasses mixed up, though it's mainly bahia. But from a distance, it looks neat, neat enough for me anyhow. Having a blend of grasses and weeds prevents bare patches. If one thing dies, another fills in. The trick to the "freedom lawn" approach is mowing. You want to mow frequently, every four days or so during a rainy summer. You want to set the mower as high as possible, at least 4 inches. You want to keep your blade sharp. You want to edge. Yes, it's a lot of work, but no more than most parts of my garden require, and a lot less than some. (And my garden has lots of native and Florida friendly plants). In your place, if I wanted to keep some lawn, I would overseed with bahia (Argentine is best for most of Florida). Follow the instructions on the bag or bucket. Give it one feeding to help it get established, and keep it mowed. Now's a good time to do it, with all the rain. I wouldn't bother with much weeding. I'd tear out only the biggest and ugliest ones and mow the rest. I would replace the lawn in areas that don't get enough sun, or where it's difficult to mow, or where foot traffic is just too heavy, or where you just want something else. I would avoid tearing out or smothering huge areas of lawn at once, which can be overwhelming. "> "> Bill

Lynn, IMO decorating at any time is for our pleasure and if it becomes inconvenient or a 'duty' it can be easily dispensed with. Secular Easter decor is really spring decorating so could be done any time before or after Easter, or not at all. Perhaps when you come home from your trip you could buy some indoor spring plants which you'd all enjoy. I completely understand dogs eating things they shouldn't. Our little darling recently chewed a Scrabble tile that fell on the floor! Fortunately we realized before she swallowed it. Good thing I have several sets (for crafts) or we'd be missing a Y! :-D Years ago a different little dog ate several Girl Guide cookies and fortunately survived. I try my best to keep everything potentially harmful away from all the fur babies as I know you do but they don't always make it easy. The Easter basket/candy thing is different IMO. Even tho your daughter is 'becoming' an adult she's not quite there yet and probably still needs some little Easter goody. If she rarely eats much out of a basket I think you might just get her a really good quality small chocolate treasure (perhaps to go along with that piece of jewelry). I don't know the good brands in the US (maybe Lindt?) but when I want something known for quality I go to Purdy's in Canada as their stores are easy to find in malls. We often traveled at every school break, including Christmas and Easter, and Santa and the Easter bunny always found us wherever we were, even in Europe. Of course our kids were younger then but I know none of us like to give up traditions - especially those involving chocolate! LOL Wishing you a lovely mini-vacation and I know you will decide what is best for you and your family without stressing.

Where do you live? What I would do would be to nurture the St Aug until it took over everything. In fact I'm doing that now. Clearly that is not your plan, so with that in mind, and after ruling out sod, I would seed with rye right now (since you missed doing it 3 months ago). The rye will put roots in the ground to stop erosion and will grow up fairly tall to provide shade to the soil. Those roots in the ground are going to be the organic material the soil needs. Then in June get a mix of three types of bermuda seed (Sahara, Princess, and Yukon) for the final lawn. Get 1/3 each of what you would need to cover the entire area and mix them together before seeding. The rye should have died off by then. June is a good time to seed bermuda if you live north of Florida, If you want to do a full renovation that would involve watering daily for a week to sprout all the weed seeds, spraying with Round Up, watering again for another week, spraying again with Round Up, leveling the surface to perfection, and then seeding right into the sandy soil. Roll the seed down with a roller and continue with the daily watering until you get 80% germination of the seed. Notice there is no rototilling involved. Rototilling will lead to a bumpy surface, although with sand it is much less of an issue. Always mow bermuda at the mower's lowest setting to get the most dense and walkable surface. For very best results fertilize it every month during the growing season, even in the summer. It loves the heat and fertilizer. To get the best seed buy online form either Hancock Seed or Bermudaseed.com