Well, I went crazy this weekend and bought some plants just so there was something there. The grocery chain in the area was having 25% off on perennials,so I got some hostas for $4. I also bought colius and ferns, though I know they won't survive the winter. But it's really perking up. I'm going to move my Irises into the area, and I'm building a little overflow fountain with a royal blue glazed pot. It won't look professional, but at least it's not just a dirt pile anymore. I had so much fun I'm going out at lunch to a different place to look for something interesting, even if it's just more annuals. The main reason I wanted a designer was because I'm on a corner lot and I was wondering if there was something I could do to for a little more privacy. But, I'll think about that more later.

Hi, If you have kids, they will enjoy the visit too... ANNUAL MANURE FESTIVAL May 13-14, 20-22, and 27-28 Quote: It's springtime and the farmers at Puck's Farm are slinging their usual load of bull. Manure that is! To celebrate the spring gardening ritual, the farmers at Puck's are holding their 26th Annual Fert Fest May 13-14, 20-22 and 27-28 when gardeners everywhere come to fill their pockets, purses and pickups with a free load of manure. The critters at Puck's Farm have been mucking about all winter to produce a shed-load of high quality multi-purpose organic fertilizer. This year's offering is an aromatic blend of cow pies, road apples, goat droppings, sheep doo-doo, pig poop and rabbit raisins creating the perfect balance of nutrients suitable for muck-raking or crap-shooting. The annual constitutional features gardening seminars, gardening prizes, free seeds, free advice, games and as mulch free poop as you can scoop. There are also pony rides, horse-drawn hayrides, bonding with nature and lots of baby animals for the kids to meet. Admission to the Manure Festival is $8 per person and supports the educational activities of the Moraine Learning Centre. Admission includes all events and unlimited pony and hayrides. Please B.Y.O.B. (bring your own buckets, etc, shovels will be available). http://www.pucksfarm.com/events.htm

happy2bme: I honestly can't think of any scenario in which a $350 notary fee would be reasonable for a single sale! What does it take, like an hour or maybe two of mostly waiting around? Take a look at the link below to see the notary requirements for FL. The coursework is 3-hours and is offered free online! The notary application is only $39 and the other requirement is that you have to be 18 years old. So where are they getting those fees from? I don't know how much $350 matters to you, but maybe you should ask why you're getting charged that much. rrah: Yes, the fees are small in relation to the total price of the house. But it makes me feel worse when I have significant cash outlays EVERYWHERE else, too. Inspections, lender fees, realtor fees...all stuff that I'm never going to get back. I guess I mostly have a problem with the escrow companies not being very up-front with their charges. By the way - the fees I listed were for me as a buyer. The seller also got charged a wire fee (probably to pay off her lender), and my wiring the money into the title company's escrow shouldn't create a charge because I am separately paying my bank to do the wire. Like I said, I chickened out and didn't question it....that's my own fault. I think the escrow companies count on people not making a fuss. Especially because they are doing that nickel-and-dime thing where each charge is not that substantial in itself. I'm not saying all their charges are bogus, because of course the county does actually charge for recording and courier costs need to be paid to Fed-Ex/UPS. But I can bet you that, at least in my case, they have loaded some profit margin into both the recording and courier fees. I vote that escrow fees should be the only compensation for their services - any other charges should be strictly third-party charges with no padding. They could modify their escrow fee as needed if they somehow (I doubt it) haven't built enough profit margin into the current fees. I don't know how it works in all the other states, but in CO and CA, the title companies are the escrow providers, so keep in mind that they are already making a lot of money off the insurance premiums. I suspect that they would still do just fine if they provided escrow services free of charge with the purchase of title insurance. Nobody has said what they think about the title insurance premiums. Anyone know where the heck the money is going?

Language states that fee is based on total construction cost established at time we sign agreement with contractor but fee is adjusted in the event that revisions occur during the construction phase. We went with a separate company to handle the HVAC to purchase and install the necessary equipment. Since she was not involved in the process, we feel she should not be paid the 9.5% fee on this part of the project. Wondering if she can legally charge us a fee if we did not use the contractor doing the renovation job...seems like a large sum of money for basically doing nothing.