I'm in the San Francisco area and we are not in the drought that has plagued So. Cal., but our rainfall was lacking this year and drought is predicted. If my native plants are correct, they too think that drought is on it's way. I have tons more seedpods on plants this year than in previous years of normal rainfall. My Dudleyas were huge in the past years with 3-4 flower stalks. This year, they only grew to medium size but had 8-10 flower stalks. The redbud has so many seedpods you can hardly see the foliage. My theory is that the production of so many seedpods is to ensure the survival of the species when rain returns Many plants also bloomed earlier and have started to go into summer dormancy earlier. The plants think drought is coming and that's good enough for me. wanda

I've purchased several tops that are appropriate for my worklife (they're knit, but they are one step up from casual, but not too businessy). Liked almost all except for a couple that were just a shade off from what would've been perfect. I think twice before ordering nowadays because of the return costs, as Cynic posted, and just the general hassle of packing things up and getting to the P.O. I haven't bought anything except clothes from them in a long time, altho I do keep an eye online on handbags, cuz I've been looking for "just the right one"! The merchandise is certainly of a higher class (cost, obviously; quality, I can't speak of) mixed among other stuff now. Apple products, many lines of high-end bags (not just Dooney/Burke anymore), a lot of electronics. Between QVC and HSN years ago, I've spent too much money on return-postage alone, so I'd rather spend time driving to stores near me for the hands-on test.

Exactly, Lowspark. And you have to be honest, I think. If the man in that Carolyn Hax article had said, "We care about our grandparents, but we care more about having what we consider the 'perfect' wedding," I wouldn't have cared much for his values, but I would have valued his honesty. Though I'm with Gellchom and Tally Sue - his going on about being creative and special don't sit well with me. What I hear more often from people planning destination weddings are justifications. "It's a vacation for everybody," even though, as others have written, it's not much of a vacation if someone else chooses the date, time, destination, and companions. "I know that everyone we're going to invite can afford it," even though the people who say this are simply judging from the size/quality of the guests' house, car, boat, clothes, whatever. "Everyone would have to travel, anyway," even though hotel accommodations in one's hometown are likely to be less expensive than in the romantic resort destinations that are generally chosen for such weddings. (Plus, many families and groups of friends will provide accommodations in their own homes if the wedding is held in the home town of the bride or groom or in the town where they currently live. I know my own circle of friends did this for one another's weddings, and now does it for their kids' weddings.) And when you travel for a wedding, you're likely to stay over just one or two nights, not the longer period that most destination weddings seem to anticipate. I can understand a destination wedding like Scarlett's. If these few friends are the only ones that would have been invited to the wedding anyway, no matter where it was held, and if they could all manage to plan a vacation together and Scarlett and her husband got married in the process, that sounds great. The people who were hurt by not being invited would have been hurt no matter where she held the wedding, because they wouldn't have been invited anyway. Lowspark, I think what people having a reception in the groom's hometown have on their side is tradition. Even if they all lived in the same town, the groom's side sometimes holds a reception for the new couple if the bride's family doesn't choose to invite as many guests as the groom's family would like. Maybe a reception following the destination wedding will become tradition, as well, though (at least to me) it would feel like dividing your family and friends by income (the people who have money go to the destination wedding, the poorer people must content themselves with the home-town reception) rather than by closeness to the bride and groom.

Well, I'm currently watching two shows - Castle and Game of Thrones. Castle's a light series, but Game of Thrones is very intriguing so far. It feels like a mix of ROME and LotR, with more political backstabbing than either one. The politicking between the characters and different houses is definitely a staying factor for me. The level of detail that went into the opening sequence is amazing. The actors' names have their characters' house sigils next to them. On the map, each house's stronghold cities have the house symbols on buildings. Also, the wooden bar carvings throughout the opening sequence tell Westeros' history. Once again, I spoiled some of the future events by while reading wiki articles in an attempt to keep the multitude of characters straight in my head. TBH, now I am more curious to see the events play out. I'm also looking forward to the upcoming novel ;)