Hello nanner, I thought I'd post a bit about what's been going on around here the last few years. I wish I could say the stone house is done, but it isn't. (I feel very silly about the fact it's not done. We had every good intention of finishing it and we have laid more stonework every year, but other stuff keeps getting in the way, namely, life!) We got involved with finishing and remodeling the quarry garden and a whole bunch of other stuff, like moving the little 'barn' again (for the 4th and final time--at least, that's what we told our son, who wasn't amused!) Last fall, our furnace gave out, so we installed geothermal which meant we had to tear up the entire west side of our yard (about a half acre) and saw down trees, dig up hundreds of hostas and perennials and relocate as many as possible. The bright side of this was the opportunity to change the entire landscape of the front of the house, AND to get more rocks! Our 'digger guy' "C" is still around, too, and he was instrumental in the geothermal excavation and in loading another 130 tons from the local quarry for us. We had "C" make a berm close to the house and that's where we started the new rock garden. We're not sure if it fits in the landscaping or not, and we jokingly refer to it as 'the elephant burial mound' which is kind of self-explanatory. :-) The first pic shows one of the four trenches: Below is a picture of Carl & I after two of the six loads of rocks were delivered. By December 2009, this was as far as we got on the Elephant Burial Mound: I have to take more updated pictures of this garden, especially after the dwarf conifers and flowers are planted. I started a blog about the garden with lots of pictures and all the other goofy stuff that goes on around here which goes into much more detail, if you're interested, the address is: http://krensgarden-karen.blogspot.com/

I've grown various Charentais melons over the years and they are hands down the best flavored canteloupe of them all. I really suggest the F1 hybrids, the open pollinated varieties are great for gardeners but are unreliable for selling. "Savor" is my standby, it's a true Charentais with thin, smooth blue/grey rind, and no netting. It produces a little later than most muskmelons and needs plenty of heat in Sept. to finish up well. It doesn't slip, so it needs to be cut from the stem and the only way to know the right time is by experience. Too early and it's firm and not as sweet as can be, too late and it's cracked, soft inside and overly sweet (the kind you get drunk on). The other Charentais I find reliable is called "French Orange". It's an F1 that's got a parent with some netting to help it store a little better, but it doesn't have the classic, smooth, blue appearance (the french would pou-pou it). While not quite as flavorful as "Savor", it matures earlier and still has fantastic sugar levels and that classic Charentais taste. It does slip from the vine, making it a lot easier to harvest at the pefect time. Once customers catch on, I sell both of these melons as fast as they hit the table and due to their size, I get a higher price than the large musks. Hope this helps. -Mark

Good workout music is so important! I have to have music on my mp3 player that matches my pace on the treadmill or elliptical. DH is the opposite; it drives him crazy to think he has to match the beat! I have pretty eclectic mix right now, but it's all good: Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love, Bad Case of Loving You, Simply Irresistible Bon Jovi - Any Way You Want It, In These Arms, Livin' on a Prayer, The Boys Are Back in Town, You Give Love a Bad Name, You Want to Make a Memory Blink82 - All the Small Things Dave Mathews Band - American Baby Green Day - American Idiot, Boulevard of Broken Dreams One Republic - Apologize Bruce Springsteen - lots, but especially Born in the USA, Born to Run Sting - Brand New Day Gloria Estefan - Conga Van Halen - Jump, Dance the Night Away, Runnin' With the Devil No Doubt - Don't Speak Journey - Don't Stop Believin', Faithfully, Open Arms, Wheel in the Sky The Cranberries - Zombie Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter, Honky Tonk Women, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Let's Spend the Night Together Outkast - Hey Ya! Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl Crazy Frog - I Like to Move It Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me, Surrender Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day Lady Gaga - Just Dance, Poker Face Seal - Kiss from a Rose Pink - Please Don't Leave Me, Sober Natash Bedingfield - Pocketful of Sunshine Aretha Franklin - Respect Michael Jackson - Beat It O.A.R. - Shattered Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow Kings of Leon - Use Somebody Coldplay - Viva la Vida, Yellow Parachutes Sister Sledge - We Are Family Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It Black Eyes Peas - I Gotta Feeling

No great words of wisdom for you, but a couple of thoughts. For my older boys we bought the older one a subaru wrx and middle one a used saab 9-3. While they both have been amazingly trouble free, when they do need work the things that are wrong need to go the dealer and it's been expensive. In particular with the Saab - they don't sell them anymore so parts are pricey and hard to come by - some impossible. That said, son #3 now has his temps and I've decided he can only buy American or Honda or Toyota. Looking at a several year old Ford Escape with AWD - not real sexy, but safe and functional. I personally love a new car, and have leased my last two vehicles. I drive them three years and take them back! My DH is a drive to the ground guy, actually takes pride in how many miles he can get out of a car. I believe BMW includes all the maintenance on their cars so you have to factor in those fees you'll also have to pay on a different car that probably will need some work. I'd keep the BMW, cancel the collision insurance on the Jeep since it's so old, and buy the girls a decent enough car that it will last at least 6 years. I think the 2010+ Fords are all good quality, and reasonably priced. I like the Ford Fusion. I also am a huge fan of Honda Accords and Civics. You should be able to find a fairly decent one for under $10,000. Goodluck, teen drivers are not for the faint of heart.