I seriously doubt there is any danger or risk involved here, Spazzycat. Think about the difference in psychological profiles between a gardener who spends all their time caring for, loving and nuturing a garden vs. the criminal type who loves and nutures nothing. And think of the joy my letter brings to someone who does the thankless job of tilling, sweating, weeding and digging. A gardener's true reward is the pleasure others find in their creation. I am only too happy to encourage good gardeners when I see one. There is nothing to fear and everything to gain.

So many books I have loved and lost myself into. I still love the classics like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expections, Wuthering Heights, Little Women and can reread them over and over again. Jane Eyre is probably my favourite of those books and I read my Mom's hardcover from her childhood once a year. A Tree Grow in Brooklyn is another favourite. Terry Brook's Sword of Shannara Books and other series of his as well. Same for David Eddings. I like Fantasy books about wizards, dwarves, etc. I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy when I was young and loved those books so much that I couldn't bring myself to watch the Lord of the Rings movies. I didn't want the movie to take away what my imagination saw in those books. My brother bought me the boxed set when we were kids and even to this day no gift he has ever given me (well the Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer comes pretty darn close) will mean as much to me. I wouldn't lend them to anyone else to read. Another book I read when I was a teenager was called Tregaryn's Daughter. I can't even remember now what it was about but I remember really enjoying it and when reading it this picture of where they lived really stuck in my mind. My friend's Mom had a picture hanging in her living room and that picture is almost identical to what I imagined in my mind. I have never looked on line but I have never been able to find that book again to reread and I really want to. Maybe it won't be as good as I remember. Another favourite book of mine was The Outsiders. I must have read that book over 100 times. I knew exactly where it was in the library. Years later that book was on my niece's schools requirerd reading list. I told her I had read that book many times and could recite every word of it to her. I wouldn't watch the movie made from that book either because it couldn't be as good as the book was. Another book was called the Pig Man that I read and reread many times. Years later it went by another name but I read it when it was called the Pig Man. I can't remember who the author was. I don't read as much as I would like because of the lighting in my house. I need to get a better lamp to read by. I miss reading and getting lost in a good book. Anne

Haven't seen much of you lately Joyful. Good to see you around. Yes, the pages get used far faster on KT, but then again a good part of that is people here use the same thread where KT and some others just start a new thread to answer someone in another thread! BTW, I'm glad you're salvaging some of these old threads. They do have value. Thanks for your efforts. The best things in life aren't things... what a great quote! And what a valuable piece of advice! I used to, and well, still to this day in a lot of ways, cringe at the thought of relying on someone else, borrow things, etc. So I'd buy all my own tools, etc that I needed, even if it was a rarely used item. Then I'd wind up loaning them, losing them occasionally, get them back damaged or whatever. The other day I was at my cousin's and talking about how I was trimming my trees. At the back of my lot is a Chinese Elm I want to take down but it's kind of big. Maybe I was hinting for some help... IDK, but anyway he asked if I needed a good hand saw to work on it. Well he got it and I forgot what a good saw they are. We always called them a "Swede" saw, but I've heard bow saw, back saw (perhaps used on "back" bacon??) but a saw by any other name still cuts as sweet. I was able to get down most of it, then drag it out front and there I used the electric one to cut up a little more. I was in a hurry to get this done since the power company trimmed my trees and had a pile they would pick up so I wanted to contribute to it while I could. I was thinking I should get one of these saws..." and after reading this thread I go, Why? Why should I feel bad about borrowing items occaionally when I pay back the favor? That's pooling resources and good for us all. Makes a lot more sense. And I suppose a saw would be $20 or more? For something I might use every 3-5 years at best? Sometimes it's hard to break a habit. Oh, the brush was cleaned up yesterday so I was able to mow the leaves and it's breezy here today so I imagine some have blown back in but hopefully they'll blow through. I got a lot accomplished in the past few days. Took out most of the bushes out front so I'll have better sun exposure for this winter and they'll grow back up next year to block for the summer heat. Not too bad for a fat old crippled up cynic! I really needed to trim one tree that was rubbing on my brand new and expensive roof. The squirrels are unhappy with me though. It was an easy way onto the roof for them. Not so easy anymore. But they had cleaned the walnuts off from it so I think it's fair! I noticed my dwarf crab (is that politically incorrect? Should it be little unhappy?) tree was full of tiny (1/2" diameter) crab apples. Thought the birds would want them but maybe not. Way more than anyone cared to know, eh?

Oh there's no way to pick a 'best song'. There are so many. I'd have to divide into decades and then genres. Believe Lights Blackbird Yesterday He stopped loving her today Danny Boy Amazing Grace Old Rugged Cross Your Song P.S I love You I'll Always Love You (Dolly's version for me) Just a random few.