Just an update. Usually at this time of year, I've taken hundreds of close-up shots of the pretty roses -- not so this year. Spraying insecticide and applying Bayer 2-in-1 granules slowed them down, but the thrips have pretty much continued to nibble and distort almost every bloom this year -- except for the miniatures which were badly burned by the spray (not the Bayer). Toss in a little blackspot and powdery mildew, and this year's roses have been downright pitiful The good news is that no one at the party cared, as the rest of the plants are generally healty and happy. Score one for bio-diversity. I've written off the roses for the rest of this summer. My question now is how do I keep them from coming back next year?

No guesses on the party question from me. I have a bad case of CRS and it doesn't seem to get better. Now my buddy, Plantlady Jan has a good "rememberer". She remembered that I'll be away over Easter and she sent Easter/April presents early. What a nice surprise. There is a wooden Happy Easter sign for on my door. Guess it is time to take down the one that says "Fat Snowmen Last Longer". This year they are lasting too long even for me to appreciate. The new sign has a cute bunny holding a carrot on a string. A note pad holder with a brown bunny and beautiful spring flowers was the next thing I pulled out. Cute as can be and it has place for a picture on top. For now I'll enjoy the message that says Love Grows in a Garden.So true. Then came a nicely framed print of a snowman and a cat standing in a snowstorm. Really cute and it says Let it Snow. About 90% of the time I say that too. It is really nice and will be one of my treasures in my new house. Very "country" and will be perfect there. Jan sent me a welcome stone for my garden too. It has Daffodils(SP??) bees and dragonflies. It will start off standing beside my new front door. Later I'll find a special place in the garden for this. A chocolate bunny and an "energy therapy" cleansing bar for body and soul.Hummm maybe both together will give me enough energy to get me moving again. OK Jan,picture me singing in the shower while nibbling the ears off the chocolate bunny and lathering up with the energy bar. Well, maybe don't picture it but you get the idea. I need all the energy I can get these days. I'll let you know how it works. A nice soft pair of gloves will still be useful. It was -11 degrees when I came out of work this morning. I lost my favorite pair St PAtty's day/night. It's always good to have spare gloves in this climate The candle with the bunny on it is just precious. Bunny is sitting up to get a good look at all the flowers and butterflys around him on the holder. The design is pale springish colors of lavender, sage, lt yellow, and blue. So fresh and pretty, I can't describe it very well, but, I love it. Thanks again Jan. I hope the bunny finds your house too.

This all sounds very familiar! We bought our first business when DH was 57 years old! We put everything on the line and then some! We had both run businesses before and actually were working in the business we bought, so there were no surprises. We too were appalled at how badly run were so many small businesses. DH has a talent and track record for turning around failing businesses that he immediately applied to our own. We have never looked back though there have been times of extreme stress and anxiety. Owning a business is very different from being employed, and it's like having a family, you can't leave it behind at 5pm every evening! On balance though it has been great for us, and still is. It sounds as though you have considered this move very carefully but here are a few of my own thoughts for what they are worth. I always caution prospective business purchasers to make sure the accountant they use for due diligence is independent in every way from the seller. In your case you and the seller both have a relationship with your accountant. If you have complete trust in him/her then you may not need to get an independent due diligence. Having the seller hold a note is absolutely the way to go and you should make this note a significant value. Your contract should detail under what circumstances payment of the note could be withheld. Right now it will all seem amicable but things can, and frequently do, change very quickly! Because of your ages, take great care not to over extend to develop the business. Your DH will reach the stage, sooner or later, when he wants to quit working. If you have over invested in your business it may be difficult to sell. I can't stress enough how important it is to have a clear exit strategy from day one!! All that said, this is both a scary and exciting time for you. Owning your own business can be fulfilling in ways that employment never can be. It can enrich both your lives. As long as you have always pulled together in difficult times rather than fought, you should be fine. You have to decide what life is about for you, playing it safe but possibly risking DH being frustrated and unfulfilled, or taking the leap with all its attendant upsides and downsides. We took the leap and don't regret it! I wish you both the greatest success.

a2gemini - thanks for the lesson of the confusing land I know only from Robocop and Home Improvement. :p Never been over there before. Before moving to the southeast I normally stayed from Texas to west of the Rockies to that whole north central/northeast US portion of the map is still unexplored. MGMum - I have some friends from London, ON who mentioned something like that. The whole area sounds really different from parts of BC that I've spent time in. Texas_Gem - all I can say is that my eyes get as big as saucer plates every time I read something about the tooth problems! cal_quail - comeon and join the not at work today club! Painting is on the list over here too so I can put things back on the bottom shelf of the pantry. greenhaven - using up stuff you already have is loads of fun, especially if you're a minimalist. I did find everything I needed eventually. It's like this... Hardware needed for the front door is a deadbolt, doorknob set, and at least one round thing that goes around the doorknob (escutcheon) that makes it look nice. The escutcheon I already have has a satin brass finish. I also have a nice non-locking doorknob set that I found at Habitat a couple of years ago but it's satin bronze. So I'm starting with 1 out of 3 pieces of two puzzles. I was able to come up with a way to properly finish both of them. I'll use the satin bronze one for the front door because normally the only thing that takes a key at that location is the deadbolt, not the knob. I already have one of these. Also two escutcheons in that finish were available from ebay and I wanted one for the inside and another for the outside. Deadbolts are easy because Schlage still makes that finish in their commercial/high end residential line. I'll use the satin brass set for the door to the garage because everywhere I've lived had a patio (locking) doorknob to the garage + a deadbolt. This is the only way you can get satin brass doorknobs for some reason. I have only one escutcheon in this finish, which is ok because it would be pointless to have one inside the garage. The finish has been discontinued but deadbolts are still available. I'll wait for the satin bronze set to come in first, then use the key number to have the brass one keyed to match it when I place the order. I'll have to do the same with the lock on the knob since those are available only on ebay with whatever cylinder they came with. All of this lock replacing is a good thing because right now we have three different kinds of locks at home. We only have the key to the front door, and I'll have to replace the door to the garage at some point because some genius decided to cut a dog door in it and they did a really sloppy job. It's also insecure because to get in from the garage all you have to do is reach in from the dog door and turn the knob if it's locked. This post was edited by schicksal on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 9:57