The last few years I have had quite a lot of seeds, but they were mostly the basics that you can get at Walmart. This year I started trading and WOW!!! I got so many different varieties of seeds that I am just dying to see bloom!!!! Most of the perennials will be potted up until fall. That gives me some time to decide what I am going to rip out. My parents bought a new house but have gone with a "desert" kind of theme with a lot of rock so I am going to have to sneak over there (they don't currently live there) to see where the sprinklers are and where I can sneak some in. My neighbor does have a small space that he would like some flowers in so I may take over that as well. There is a new lady who just moved in across the street and I am planning on bringing her some (she is a bit eccentric and I can only take her in small doses). Hmmm, where else can I stash some?

Sorry everyone, I have been on hiatus for a few weeks here, I got busy and very sick for a while, but feeling better now. Anyway to answer some more questions, I do not have any daughters, both are boys, and a cabin would be nice, but not for the reasons we are talking about. Things have been going pretty good for a while here,my wife and I had a couple of talks and she seems much more receptive and willing, she even admitted that maybe there is a problem. However, this week there was a set back, nothing big, but frustrating none the less. My wife had a bad day with the kids on Wednessday and blew up at me for some pretty minor things. It all started because we were talking about going to my friends Holloween party in a few weeks, we were told there were no bedrooms left to spend the night. One of my firends was pretty upset by this and I stated that I don't think he ever got a room to sleep in anyway. This maded her irate, and I said well i certainly could be wrong, that didn't matter. She yelled at me for 45 minutes and then acted like nothing was wrong, very typical for her. I asked her why she was so mad, and she said I was wrong, I told her that I already admitted that I am wrong and what else did she want. She then started berating me for anything she could think of, she was mad because I was supposed to ask my mother to see of she could babysit for the first weekend in November for the holloween part discussed earlier.. This is my mother's birthday and she always goes up north, my wife knows this, but I went ahead and asked if that was what she was planning to do. My mother told me that she probably would be going up north, in her language that means don't even ask, I have plans. So, I stopped there and left it alone, according to my wife I should have asked anyways and that I tip toed around the situation. To me there was no situation, my mom said she would probably be going up north as she always does. The thing is that my wife does not want to go to this Halloween party anyways, and has expressed this numerous times. I told her that she is not required to go and I am fine going by myself. Then she started yelling abut how I don't tell her all the details she wants to know, I am meeing up with some friends this weekend that I have not seen in 6 months and for fun we are going to a haunted house. My wife want to know why I didn't tell her the time and how much it cost ahead of time, I told her, I didn't know all the details right away and I asked her, do you tell me everything including how much you spend. She looked at me and said no and nothing else. I asked why are you so upset, she said she had a bad day and is just venting, I told her that she can vent anytime she wants, but then tell me about your day, don't attack me on a personal level. That's just not appropriate. Then she jumped back to the original argument about who sleeps in the bedroom at our friends house and says I'm always defending people when she has something to say. I told her I was not defending anyone, I merely thought that our friend never slept in a room. After discussing it with you I admitted that I am wrong. I could go on and on, am I missing something here that my wife is trying to tell me. Because I feel like I'm banking head against a wall. One minute she admits there could be a problem, the next minute she is yelling at me about situations that involve either my family or my friends. If this were her family or friends, there is never any arguing. I'm sorry, I'm just venting , feel free to comment, if not thanks for listening. Regards,

Big question---what does your spouse think of the idea?? If he's open to it then explore the possibilities. Consider how you could use the house. As a close by "get away" it offers a big yard, small pool, and lake access. Great things for a family with 3 boys. It wouldn't be too far away if you did have a kids ball game to attend. Owing it would allow for the option of you parents relocating and living in it, or perhaps just staying there part of the time. Or, you might find after living in it part time that you like it so much you want to move into it as is or do a sensitive addition. Or, you might find that after owning it for a while that 2 houses are a pia and decide to sell it! You could do any, or all, of those things while you owned it. But you can't if you don't own it. So should you rush to buy it? NO. Like any real estate purchase look hard before you leap. We had our 2d home inspected BEFORE we bid on it. That gave us a good idea of what was needed and how much repairs/renovation would cost (of course there were many surprise problems) and if we really wanted to pursue it. I checked county records re sales prices, taxes, easements, etc of it and surrounding homes. We talked to the neighbors. We also looked at at least 6 other places after discovering this one to make sure it was a good choice and value. We went from my husbands long declared "I'd never own a second home" to his "Honey, what would you think of buying a house on a small lake and oh, by the way I paddled by one for sale today" to buying it in less than 2 weeks. Now it has been 2 years (and lots of renovation) and every time we are out there (frequently as it's only an hour drive)I comment on how glad I am we bought it. Besides the lake, I love its bright contemporary feel as opposed to our traditional in town home. The lake house better reflects me and makes me happy so I understand your falling in love with such a neat mcm home. In summary, if after you both think it through and are interested, look carefully, come up with an estimate of repair/remodel costs (x1.5 to be realistic!), figure out how much you are willing to pay/market value considering those costs then go for it. If you can't get it for a realistic price walk away. If the condition turns out to be too deteriorated--walk away. Either you'll get another opportunity when no one else buys it or you can console yourself by thinking about all the negatives/ impracticalities/second yard to keep up/ etc. that you missed. Let us know the outcome. PS- If you don't buy it you should suggest they list it on the mcm website Lottaliving.com to help it find an appreciative owner.

Devil's advocate here! While I'm saving for my gas range (high-end pro-style brand TBD) in my new home, I've been using an induction "hot plate." I understand that this isn't quite the same as a full on induction range or cooktop, but how can anybody actually like this? I've enjoyed the quick cook times as long as the pan is in contact with the surface, but if you like to flip your pans, forget it. If the pan isn't in contact with the burner, the burner shuts off, just like it's supposed to do. You can't flame with it (separate lighter, torch, or matches) and you have to buy extra stuff if you have non-induction ready cookware. Not a fan. I'll stick with gas. Yes, it takes more to clean, but it's not a big deal in my opinion. And definitely worth the superior results. There's a reason why chefs use gas, and this adventure with an induction cooktop shows me why.