Hi Plumie, I do not have experience with bringing my plumeria indoors as they all stay outside year round and that includes seedlings, cuttings and trees. With watering, there really is no set schedule, but generally (hot growing season = lots of water and dormancy = little water). Regarding the time to bring yours indoors is dependant on the weather. Are you trying to keep it growing throughout the winter? If your night temps are dropping to the low 50's and below, I would bring it inside. I would not water before bringing in. Set it in the desired position and observe it for a week. If it is still growing, then water but while inside I think it's much more important to allow more drying to occur in between watering. If you want it to go dormant, or if it automatically goes dormant then again do not water before bringing inside. They will lose their leaves which is normal. The only time you should give it a drink of water is if you notice that it has wrinkles due to dehydration. If these are first year cuttings it is advised to not let them go dormant as they are most vulnerable during their first year and are easily plagued by stress. I hope this all makes sense. Good luck! Tony

We've owned two boats, and if I had a choice, we'd have one again...BUT. First was a 2 seater ski boat...it had four seats, but the reality is that only 2 could ride in it...as you towed your skier. DH bought it when our kids were little and it just didn't work out. He sold it shortly after a sheriffs boat boat came up over it as it was tied to the dock. About 4 years ago, after DH sold his business and finally figured he had time to enjoy a boat, he boat a nice day cruiser with an outboard engine. It had 4 seats and room for 2 more people up front. Again...seats do not equal room for bodies. But he never quite got that thru his head. So because my DH is the guy he is, he invites everyone he knows to join us at the lake, and brings our 2 dogs. 2 DD's (one who abhors the sun), 1 DD's BF (avid fisherman), 2 sons, me, BIL & his son and their dog. That is 9 people and 3 dogs. Fishing gear, rafts, towing ropes, etc. And 3 dogs. Guess who never got to go out on the boat? Plus no one ever contributed toward the gas, and DH was starting to realize it was just too big a liability. Finally we sold it to a nice young couple with 2 small children (and no dogs). I'd LOVE to go on a sailboat, never have, but DH is afraid of the ocean. He is not a big water guy, so I guess it's in my dreams!

Hello again friends. I continue to be amazed by your kindness and concern. Paulines and Elizabeth10029 - if you are back in here reading, yes by all means please feel free to save these posts. ALL OF YOU have my permission (and gratitude) to keep or share what I have written. I am humbled by the thought that my words have meant so much. There are so many more stories here that need to be told. The political firestorms have been whipped up to a frenzy over the past few weeks. I am sure many of you have heard on the national news the statements our mayor, Ray Nagin, made this week during his MLK celebratory speech about making the city of New Orleans "chocolate". Well, of course, the whole city is now in an uproar. I really think he is suffering from "Katrina fatigue". This mayor was very, very well liked by the most of the city - all different races. Now, he has become a symbol of division. And this comes at a time, when we must really pull together and present a rational, unified front. I am embarrassed and concerned about the damage he has done - the whole world is watching us. And I think the image he put forth is so misleading. While to the outside world it appears that there is a huge racial divide - in reality, New Orleans incorporates her diversity far better than many other cities. One of my dearest friends of 30+ years is african american - and she has spent the past few months living in my home. Our families vacation together every year. My other best friends are indonesian, hispanic, and greek - I am the "token wasp!" I have wonderful friends from as far away as Syria and VietNam. And I am not uncommon. Most New Orleanians work with, laugh and play with, cry and mourn with the many diverse people here. The problem arises when poverty and crime are added to the equation. I have no answers, only more questions. As do the other good people (of all races) who live here. We shake our heads in dismay and write letters to the editor! We are in dire need of effective leadership - and it is sadly lacking. The initial rebuilding plans for the city were just released and are being evaluated now. There is just no way possible to make everyone happy. We have to choose safety over everything else. Some people are simply not going to be allowed to rebuild their neighborhoods. It is so sad, tragic. But it would be insane to allow these people to live in harms way - even if they really WANT to! Desperate times make for desperate decisions, and some people just cannot believe or trust that the engineers and experts are telling the truth about where to rebuild or not. The next few months are going to be critical ones - will the city of New Orleans succeed in creating a plan for rebuilding better and stronger and wiser than before? Or will history repeat itself? Can we get congress to give us Netherlands-quality category 5 hurricane levees? Are we valued? President Bush visited last week and commented that "this is looking like the New ORleans I remember". Well, that was voted as the most ridiculous statement of last week. He saw the French Quarter (which did not flood at all) and the Garden District (which did not flood at all). It's just unbelievable. Only 30% of New Orleans has lights. That's right. It is pitch black at night. And cold. No heat, no lights, no phones. My friend's neighborhood - about half a mile from me - still has no working phone lines. Not one single person I know, who lived in the areas of New Orleans that flooded, has been able to move back into their house. People in Jefferson Parish (suburb of New Orleans, where I live) are able to rebuild now and some have been able to move back. It is absolutely still a disaster zone. And it will remain so until the city institutes a viable rebuilding plan - which appears to be months away yet. I am leaving tomorrow to visit DD back in Michigan for a week. It will be wonderful to get away from the daily bombardment of Katrina news. Of course, she calls almost daily (and usually right after the 6pm news) and at the top of her list is "Mom, why don't you sell your house and move up here?" Honestly, I do think about it. But, I have decided to give it one year here and if we cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel by then...well, I will have to make some very hard decisions. Meanwhile, I will play with precious grandson, enjoy the clean beautiful snow of Michigan, and my beautiful DD, and leave the troubles of New Orleans behind for a while.

Haahahahaa! Karen this is SO funny. I'm bursting into laughter reading these posts again, and remembering writing and reading them at the time. Well done! And my favourite part about Martha Stewart dropping in with her dish towel parachute!!! WAY too funny!