I had six new plants that started as tubers. Planted them along a fence and they get 5 hours of sun per day, plus the heat off the wood fence is a plus. . This is their second year with slow start due to the bad NW Spring, too much rain and little sun, but last year they all performed beautifully. I had blooms into October. We'll see this year. One plant didn't come up, but the rest are growing. My old gardens got about 7 hours and I had 20 plants. All did beautiful. Key is to deadhead old blooms and water regularly. Don't stress dahlia or they will not due well, like overwatering or competing with weeds, and not desdhesding. Happy growing!

I joined Facebook a few months ago and like it a lot. I've re-connected with a lot of people who used to be in our church, and a bunch more from college and law school. These are people I always liked, but we grew apart over time, as people do. I probably wouldn't sit down and write them an email or a letter or call them, but Facebook provides just a bit of contact. I'm interested to see their kids and hear a little about their jobs, and I like the odd comment about something interesting in their lives. This is about the right amount of contact for a number of my cousins, too. I am fond of them, but we really only see one another at funerals. I like seeing a little more of them on FB. I don't send food or hugs, I take lots of quizzes but post few of them, and I block posts from anyone who plays "Mafia Wars." I have things set to be pretty private, too. I also love the "Six Degrees of Separation" aspect, where you discover that an acquaintance from work knows your kid's friend's mom.:)

I have a dream that someday everything in my home will have its own place, that that place will be known to both my husband and me and that we will regularly recognize that something is not in its place and we will return it to that place. Meanwhile, we live in too much clutter, which makes it hard to clean. We are almost caught up with the laundry pile, which means that I will be able to clean the bedroom soon. Later this week, I hope to be rid of all of the dish gardens I made last fall, freeing up the desk surface in the kitchen and giving us back a third of our counter space. THAT will really help it feel less cluttered and will allow me to really give that kitchen a good shine. I keep trying to organize my family room so that all of the things I want to keep within reach of my chair are both accessible and out of sight. Well, THAT's impossible! LOL! But sorting out what needs to be there and what I really should be able to get up and go get from somewhere else needs to be done again. If I could get all of those things done, I could dust or wipe everywhere, vacuum the family room rug and the lino floors everywhere, then MOP. I have been meaning to mop for the past nine months! The foyer, halls, kitchen, and family room are all Forbo Linoleum and I really need to give it a good cleaning. I have no idea how people who live in those big houses do it all. We have 1675 sq ft. I hate even having to wash two toilets! I still have that one kitchen cabinet door and some baseboard moldings to sand and stain and poly and install from the kitchen remodel of three summers past, and then I can call that project done. I still need to hang a few pictures in the Library and the foyer. The Library's french doors need to be sanded and stained. They were bought used off of Craigslist and I tried doing a "facelift" on their muddy-looking finish and found that removing the stain and starting over was a better choice. Then there is the new baseboard moldings for the foyer, two halls, kitchen, and family room to paint, and walls in the halls to paint and ceilings in the family room and halls to paint. Ceilings definitely have to be farmed out to someone without degenerative joints in the neck. A paid painter. To give myself credit, I have managed to recaulk the bathtub, change the bed and bath doorknobs, get a used kitchen counter off of Craigslist and fit it to cover the washer and dryer so that things no longer fall behind them, researched my next remodel project - the bathroom - and purchased the vanity from Craigslist, got the garage half straightened, got my garden trug put together and filled with dirt (will plant veggies tonight when it is cooler), planted porch planters and backyard planters, started on the trimming of the backyard overgrowth, and organizing of the patio! I just wish I could move like I used to move. I was up half the night with leg pain because I dared to go to both Lowes and the hardware store yesterday, then work on the patio! This getting old stuff is no fun. Back when I was working and before all the remodeling started, I had a nice older lady who came to wipe everything down, vacuum, mop, and clean the bathrooms every other week. She was worth every penny. She retired because her own aches and pains were getting to her. Hey Steph, Chris, and others with similar problems, what are we going to do? DH is already doing more than his share and bringing home all the bacon these days, too.

How food is served, what is served, etc. is a bit of a touchy issue for me. I think, like everything else, different people have different lifestyles (and probably different histories). No big deal. Just as different families handle finances, discipline, decorating, and everything else differently. I really appreciate that attitude. That's the way I feel. When I'm invited to someone's home for dinner, I appreciate whatever they've done. If it's different than my own personal tastes, then I just appreciate the adventure of experiencing someone else's family culture or lifestyle. The reason it's a touchy issue for me is this: And some of us feel if you have company over, you should offer plenteous food, lots of choices, but leave to the guest which items they want to eat, and in what quantity. Just different styles That's the way my MIL feels about it, but without the "Just different styles". I've known my MIL for 30 years, and every meal I've ever had at her house offered lots of choices, tons of food, buffet-style, everything was delicious. I deeply appreciate all the effort she puts into all her meals, and they are always wonderful. But she just can't seem to accept any other way as appropriate for guests. When we were a young married couple, we almost always invited my inlaws if we had some type of special occasion or dinner. Sometimes I did a party with a theme, or served just one special entree, etc. It always clearly upset and embarrassed my MIL that I didn't have lots of choices and tons and tons of food. She tried to make up for my deficiencies by bringing lots of extra food. I'm not talking about dinners for her extended family, in which case I keep to their customs if I'm the hostess. In all the years I've known my MIL, her special meals have all been for family, no dinner parties with friends. And that's fine. Special meals involve 3 meats or more, all her regular every day homestyle vegetables dishes (mashed potatoes, peas, fried okra, etc.), served on paper plates. Basically the same as her every day meals, just more of it. And that is fine. It's wonderful, and I never have ever thought she should do anything different than that, I've always just been happy to eat it. I just wish she didn't see a special meal with only one entree, one salad, one fruit, one starch, one vegetable, and one dessert, plated and served on china as an offense against my guests. Like azzalea said, it's all good. I will be happy if you serve me on paper plates, hopefully you won't care if I serve you on china. I will be happy if you serve me mashed potatoes and peas, hopefully you won't care if I serve you marinated asparagus and fish with a garnish. I will be happy if you serve me 10 choices, all of them plain and family style. Hopefully you won't care if I go to a lot of trouble and expense to create that one special entree for you. I could go over to someone's house, step over the toys and the laundry that needs to be folded, eat hot dogs and chips that they plated on paper plates and have a wonderful evening. So I guess it just astounds me to meet someone who thinks you shouldn't invite someone over unless you're going to have 3 meats, 5 vegetables, 2 salads, 6 desserts, and deviled eggs and serve it buffet style, in a house that's immaculate. Whew! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!