Afternoon coffee break (besides it is raining) So I've gotten most of the driveway garden cleaned out and we ordered our composted manure this morning from HD. They will deliver 3 pallets on Monday AM. Half of one pallet is for my next door neighbors but the other 150 bags are mine. te he! (6,000 pounds!!! maybe I won't have to lift weights next week. LOL) V, I'm so sorry I missed the mating dance of the Whooping Cranes on your front lawn. That must have been amazing to see!!! And those Ivory billed Hummingbirds were here also. They stopped in to feed at my fuchsia that are in full bloom hardening off in the driveway. ~~ So you have 32 pots of perennials and shrubs? Hmpff... You think I need an intervention. I think I only have about ten perennial pots around here not 32. Jeesh.... T wow, you really scored with those wood chips. Fantastic! Your DH is too funny about the lawn but I completely understand. In this household I'm the kurmudgeon (sp?) who doesn't allow heavy equipment on the lawn. Doug would be over the moon if I told him to just drive the trailer up the hill whenever he needed to move it. How long do you think it is going to take you to move all of that? and do you have the curvy beds all laid out? Photos please? Eden, bummer about the weather there. We were able to get quite a bit done between the two lines of rain squalls that came through today. The only problem is that Doug decided to use the leaf blower to blow out the gutters and then blow off the patio. The only problem with this scenario is that the windows to the dining room were all open at the time so now the dining room has to be thoroughly vaccummed and dusted before company arrives tonight. Everything in here is covered with a layer of silty dirt. Grrrr.... I did ask why he didn't close the windows and he said it never occurred to him. Hmmm... I think Doug needs to dust and vac for a bit because that would probably tweak his memory the next time he uses the leaf blower and the windows are open. My very favorite Dougism to this day is the time someone asked how often we dusted to keep the house so clean and he said that we didn't need to dust because it never got dirty. Yes, he really did say that and mean it. ROTFLOL! ~~ Do be careful of that vaccuum. They tend to get cranky during the spring cleaning season. Mary, it sounds like the concert was a huge success but emotionally draining. What a wonderful tribute to your friends. I'm glad to hear you were able to catch a few extra 'z's' this morning. Hi Babs, thanks for checking in and for letting us know you've heard from EP. Glad to hear all is well with her. So Sue, did you get a lot done outside? and has the foster arrived yet? You must have been a happy camper that your Mom changed her plans and you have the weekend to garden. ~~ When is the Tony Advent lecture there? and do you have to be a member to go. OK break is over and I need to get motivated to get a few more things done before 5PM. Oh yes, I wanted to ask you guys if anyone grows Hakonechloa 'Albo Striata' and if so has it behaved itself in your gardens over time? My patch of it in the driveway garden was very well behaved for the first three years but last year it started travelling and it now looks like it wants to migrate to a different state. I'm going to have to dig the whole thing up and prune and replant it. Later all, Deanne

He has said I was over-protective but that was when Brittani was here. He told me I needed to let her spend the night with her friend. Well, you know how that ended up. That was the second time I let Brittani stay with her friend & then that happened. So I have never trusted Travis' judgement since then. I don't hover over him because I'm too tired much of the time & wanting a break from the boys. That sounds bad, but it's the truth. As soon as he tells me "I'll stay with the boys while you grocery shop" I'm out the door. Or if he starts playing w/ them I look at that as my chance to do the dishes without interuptions. I wouldn't have even known he left the boys out in the store if he didn't tell me when he returned. He tells on himself because he doesn't realize the things that he does are dangerous. He's very smart about somethings & totally dumb about others. There's one area that he thinks about constantly...the bedroom. I told him I wouldn't have sexual relations w/ him until he saw a counselor. He looked up a phone number yesterday. It's been a few days & he'll be desparate by next week. I know this isn't healthy for a marriage but I'm not into him at all when he is so careless with my life. Those boys are my life.

Yes, what 'spectrum'? There was nothing 'wrong' with my son. He had no disorders. (I think they have created all these dysfunctions & disorders to make excuses for obnoxious, unruly or bizarre behavior. I believe there are truly disorders, don't get me wrong, but I think parents are too quick sometimes to label their kid with a disorder to explain away bad behavior) When I was growing up, I remember one or two kids (both boys) in grade school that clearly had hyperactivity and had trouble behaving or concentrating in school. They were very disruptive to the class. That's two kids in 7 years of grade school (K-6) and I'm not sure either of them was ever 'diagnosed' with ADD or ADHD, but I think one should have. Fast forward to present day and there are probably several kids in each class in every school that are 'diagnosed' ADD/ADHD or some other 'disorder' and many are on medication. I think it's outrageous when a parent insists on medicating a child because they don't want to be patient and 'parent' the child. My SD's BM tried for almost a year before she moved away to get doctors to diagnose her daughter ADHD and prescribe medication to 'calm her down'. We've had SD with us for almost a year and even before when we had every other week, we never had the behavioral problems so bad that we thought she needed medication. We used behavioral modification techniques and old fashioned consistency and viola, she is 'cured'. I'm not knocking anyone that has a child that is truly ADD/ADHD but I do think it is over diagnosed and it's shameful if a parent chooses to medicate a child that needs nothing more than consistent discipline and patience.

pbrisjar... The home we'll be remodeling is similar in size to yours... in fact, smaller. Do you have a decent amount of property? My guy got a 12x24 shed, complete with 3 windows, a garage door, and a regular door. Now granted, this was given to us and we just paid to have it shipped and moved into place (maybe a grand or so). DH is doing the rest of the work to retrofit what he wants. My point is, they have a ton of these things on craigslist. Maybe you can find one to put on your property to have him use as shop. Our garage was turned into a bedroom/music room so our laundry will now be in a mini extension/shed that was built onto the house by the renters. It butts onto the old laundry room which will become part of my kitchen. Hold your ground on this one. And if it helps... we orginally had planned to build a glorious bedroom/bathroom/laundry room extension. DH had a meltdown and we decided to go with the existing footprint. It'll work... I've conceded enough... and I'm going to hold firm with what I know will work for what will essentially be my space. It's ironic... yesterday I was helping him with plywooding (new word) the shed walls. He started talking about running electric, layout, etc. I said, so you're going to do what it takes to make it functional for you? And he said he needs a work and then hobby space because he enjoys it so much. I pointed out... how then can you look at me and say "what's the difference if you get an electric or induction cooktop or why do we have to move the stove... can't you just have a counter to the right and none to the left.. it worked for me?" I said... cooking/baking... my space... my hobby... my enjoyment. He stuttered a bit and then got real quiet. From the tone of my post... I guess I"m still harboring some resentment over all his reactions thus far... sorry guys... I've had a REAL rough couple of weeks.