Yesterday I picked good old single/semi-double, ordinary coreopsis seeds from plants that were started when I first started wintersowing six years ago - seeds from Queen Trudi herself! I love coreopsis - it's so reliable and drought hardy (so important in the south!). Barb, who said anything about neighbors? Just kidding - if I have neighbors though, I think I ought to give them a little bit of a thrill, don't you? (LOL, more like a FRIGHT!) Lynne, I've already been to Carolina Gardening, and may be able to participate in the Upstate SC swap in September - we'll see how things go here. I'll email you so I don't get too far OT here. Tiffy, it is my understanding (with sadness, I may add) that lupines don't do well in the south. But where I am going to be near the mountains, in a 7b/8a area depending on which town I settle in, I will check other yards for lupines and see if the area is a bit cooler than the rest of the state. I would love to have a bit of Nova Scotia there - I'll be back to visit your beautiful province someday! Well, off to gather more seeds!

Thank you, everybody for the good wishes and big welcome back to this side. I really hope I can spend more time here. Now, now, Sharon, the Patriots are only the best football team in history. Stacie, I'm happy to hear Aiden is doing so well. He sounds like a fighter. Shaun, have a drink at the tiki bar for me, please! Alexa, good luck with your busy upcoming week. Nancy, a big happy birthday to Kim. I hope dinner was the best - well, I KNOW it was the best since you made it, but I hope your celebration was just as good. Pat T, congratulations on your grades! You should be proud. I'm not even going to respond to your Patriots comments...LOL Cathy, I cheered for the dolphins to get their ONE win this year ;) And yes, Brady is a cutie. Michael/Lyra, a sincere thank you for giving me the biggest laugh that I've had in a long time. Your posts always make me smile. This one made my day. Duane, don't work too hard. At least enjoy the time before things get too busy. Pam, I hope you feel better. Don't eat too many cookies! Jcrowley, thank goodness no bifocals for you...I'd be walking into walls with them. Annie, you work so hard, I don't know how you do it! I hope all goes well with your dad. Best wishes to him. Ellen, I hope the party was fun Susie, jeez, feel better, soon. Good to hear Wendy is better, now let's get you there. Maggie, dentist - Yuk!!! You have a right to vent. SharonCB, recycling can be a PITA, and they're real sticklers around here, but at least you're helping out the environment. Gina, glad to hear you're keeping up with the lessons. I think I remember you saying you had hit a plateau awhile back. I bet you're back to kicking butt again. Teresa, enjoy your movies. Wow, that's alot Katie, sounds like the snow will be around awhile. Try to stay warm and dry San, my son is in NH and he said the snow is insane. I heard more Sunday night/into Monday. Boo-Hiss! Thanks again, all, for the hugs!

Anele, I know just how you feel. When I was young, I was cute enough, but never what you'd call pretty. I never liked my teeth either. My front teeth cross a little and are uneven and it's always bugged me. My parents didn't have the money for braces, and I've never had the money for anything either. As I've gotten older, I've gained weight, my neck has sagged to the point that I really have no neck, and I have puffy bags under my eyes. I started noticing that I looked just like my mother about 20 years ago and it scared me. I've always thought my mother was rather unattractive, and the older I get, the more I look like her. I get the "you look just like so and so" all the time. It used to be you look just like my daughter, niece, etc. Then sister, sister-in-law, cousin, and now aunt. I'm just waiting for great aunt. I doubt I look just like so and so, as much as both of us are probably non-descript. I am so non-descript that I am almost invisible. If I walk into a store at the same time as another woman, the other woman will always get waited on first, and I might not get noticed at all. It used to bother me, and now I just think I would be the perfect secret agent or private eye. I can go almost anywhere without being seen. I met a couple of high school friends yesterday for a day of shopping. One of them lives in our hometown and is still as cute as she was in high school. She made my day yesterday when she told me she saw a guy from our class that I barely knew and in conversation she mentioned that our group of ladies went to San Francisco this summer. He wanted to see her pictures, and particularly he wanted to see a picture of me. He told her he thought I was gorgeous in high school (I have no illusions; I wasn't) and when he saw my picture, he wanted to know if I was married, and if there was a chance my marriage wasn't going to last. lol I see that picture and think I am the ugliest woman in the group, so ugly that I wonder why my friends are willing to be seen with me. And yet, this guy didn't see me that way. It's possible he just couldn't really see what I looked like on a cell phone photo. And it's also possible that I'm not quite as ugly as I feel. Just plain. A blade of grass among roses. Still valued, just different. I'm going to give myself a break and try to start feeling better about myself. Do it with me, ok? You are a wonderful person, and I bet you are not seeing yourself as others see you. I love what graywings said about the female impersonators. I'd never thought of it before, but if a man can transform himself into a woman, just think what we could do! This post was edited by marti8a on Sat, Nov 16, 13 at 0:09

First, I want to thank the people who welcomed me to the group. I will try to check daily to see what's what... Is there some sort of order on the list of topics? It doesn't seem to be the latest message first the dates look to be mixed up... I did poorly in home ec sewing but found when my children were young I couldn't afford to buy much clothing for them. So, I felt forced to learn to sew better. Little did I know what a passion it would become for me. I am in my sewing room 8+ hours daily. Now, I am not always sewing or machine embroidering... lots of time spent on the ol' computer, I'm afraid. BUT, I have learned so much about and from the computer because of forums like this. It has been a Godsend for me and I can't imagine my life without a computer any more. My filing cabinet (old industrial 5 drawer)holds innumerable patterns for clothing. I still want to sew for myself making fun accessories and tops mostly since I live in jeans. I just purchased several patterns from individual designers that are unique but tasteful--IMHO, that is. I also wear aprons when in the kitchen and have recently ordered several retro-type apron patterns. I like the look and also the grease-spatter safety of my clothing underneath. I currently finished 4 tote bags made from nylon window screen. They were adorable and a garden center owner even offered to sell them if I'd make her some. No way... sewing is for pleasure now. Today I am hoping to finish a quilted table topper. All of these items are for my daughter and grans. I have pictures of the screen items on my desktop and am following the thread for downloading now. Hope to post pix but should it be under this topic if I do? Suzanne