Hey, maybe if we just do a new thread in both places, as "Spring Plant Trade 2013". Copy everything absultely pertinent to the event and go from there. I read some were unclear about it if they were not following it from the winter. GGG- I am told I am doing better than 99% of people who have this surgery, I am 'younger than most', healthy and active enough, the Ptherapist said he could they would have to put a bit in my mouth to hold me back. Almost, it is hard to keep me down, and I may be pushing it a bit. Mine is called a long segment fusion, illeac fixation, then from sacrum to T10. I also have a C5, 6 , 7 fusion that is over 15 years old. This surgery was a long time coming, the objective was a complete reconstuctive correction because of scoliosis, the spina bifida had caused a lot of my problems for 35 years, but the spine was collapsing, causing all the stenosis and nerve compression. Many problems, symptoms, affecting my whole lower body from armpits down. It was a tough pill to swallow, but it was not hard to decide to do it, the other options meant not walking, etc, eventually losing all function of my lower body. I was going to email you, but didn't see the option, hope your back doing better, maybe it would be best for just a smaller group. I would still be in, and have a friend who loves to trade, etc. she is just not active here. It is up to you entirely. I have been here about everyday, I'll keep checking in. :-)

Don't turn your back on those of us who have been doing this awhile. We WILL stick plants under your table, in your wagon or in your car if given a chance. Heck, we even pawn, I mean, donate them to people walking through the park. Tally HO!

I just bought a small electric food chopper and took it out of the box. The instructions warn, in boldface, in at least four places: "The blade is sharp; handle carefully." I couldn't help myself: I had to "test" it against my finger to see if it was true! ;-) I never realized that I had such a rebellious streak! Go for it, PKguy! Sue

Great thread. I've made many mistakes over the years. When I needed drapes for 5 very tall and wide windows, I thought I would save money by making them myself. I ended up buying 30+ yards of a synthetic moire on sale at a chain fabric store, along with drapery lining, and after making up one panel, found that even with lining, the light coming through the fabric made the color brighter and kind of gaudy. The bolt is still in an upstairs closet, and I found 96" crushed voile panels online that I like very much for about $20 each. Lesson: keep it simple. A couple of years ago, I hired a local designer mainly to help me choose paint colors and advise on accessories/tweaking. In the master bedroom, I had some custom green silk drapes that I never liked that much, and she talked me into spending the money to have them interlined and a printed fabric border added, along with custom shams with the same fabric. I had already spent $2000 on the drapes, and now I spent another $1000, and I still didn't like them. I took them down, and they and the matching euro shams are in the closet in the guest room. I put up natural linen-look semi sheers from target, and I like them better. Lesson: keep it simple, and don't throw good money after bad. We weren't using our formal dining room much, and the same designer suggested moving the dining furniture into one end of our large living room, and making the old dining room into a den and the old den into a home office, which was really needed. Since I wanted to replace the old LR sofa anyway, I moved the den furniture into the living room and had a custom ($$$)sofa made for the new den. It was not a huge space, and we tried to keep the sofa scaled down. When it arrived, the fabric was gorgeous, the style just what I wanted, but the seat depth was so shallow that it was not very comfortable. I had also slipcovered the old den chairs to go with the new sofa ($$). I ended up moving the new sofa to the living room, where it was more appropriate for perching ladies than lounging TV viewers, and now none of the colors I had chosen (with help paid for by the hour) for the LR and new den would work. Plus, the newly slipcovered den chairs (on swivel rocker bases, I love them) don't work that well with the old sofa color. Fortunately, I hadn't painted yet. Lessons: Don't buy furniture without sitting on it. Choose paint colors after you are certain of your fabrics. Don't let your designer talk you into stuff you don't really need. Keep your major pieces fairly neutral. The worst was the master bath update. I had chosen tile for the walls and floor, and the tile vendor gave me a couple of names for the installation. The guy with the higher quote was very highly recommended but I went with the other guy because he said he could also do some other work I needed done. Even though I had a gut feeling I was making a mistake. He did a horrible job on the tile, broke my toilet, and disappeared. I had to buy more wall tile and pay another contractor to replace it, and I'm still stuck with a bad job on the floor. Between the cost of doing the job, redoing the job, and buying a new toilet, I could have had the better contractor do the job, and replaced the vanity and sink as well, and upgraded to a better tile. Lessons: A jack of all trades might be a master of none. Go with your gut. Ask contractors for their license numbers and CHECK IT online with your state to see if it's in effect. I've made more, but these are the recent highlights, LOL. I feel better having confessed them here.