I finally made it out to Cicconi's and it was only a half hour drive from my father's in Colts Neck. I spent 3 hours wandering greenhouses and kept forgetting where I'd left my cart. I had 3 things I needed from their availability list but ended up with more than 3 plants! In one of the back houses was where I found the Hakone Beni Kaze grass whose internet photo grabbed me but the mail order prices for a 3-5 inch pot didn't. It's still a visible plug inside the quart but I'm leaving it in the container sunk in the garden to grow on and baby for the next year. I'm hoping I have it good light condition to achieve the burgundy, red & pink coloration in Fall but with enough shade so it doesn't shrivel up. Cicconi's prices for gallon perennials were almost on par with some other places but they had a great selection and people were extremely patient and helpful. The prices for good size plants compared to mail order, tops-lopped-off little starters were great and you get to actually see a plant in its natural state when you buy and growing the first year. Got more Asclepias Incarnata (they were out of Tuberosa-the Monarchs will have to deal with it), NY Ironweed, Heuchera Amethyst Mist, Pink Jewel Fleabane (after I saw a Spring Azure testing the nectar right in front of me), a huge Sedum Vera Jameson (funky succulent, not like its photos but a facinating stunner) and some Sweet Basil since my little seedlings won't be "Pesto sufficient" for a LONG time. The 2 Lamium Purple Dragon I got from Gasko's are fading quickly without growth or flowers while another $3. Lamium 3 times their size I got at a roadside plant seller on northbound side of Rt. 35 (south of the light at Costco in Hazlet) is flourishing and blooming its head off. I always saw this roadside place too late in zipping traffic to stop in but was keeping an eye out for it last trip up that way to Lowe's & Dearborn. I also got a Eupatorium Rugosum Chocolate (terrific burgundy tinged foliage & can't wait for fall white blooms), Buddleia Red Knight (in huge shrub pot since nowhere really to put 5'x5' plant in full sun), Salvia May Night, unknown electric blue/purple Salvia, Curly Parsley for Swallowtails and a few six packs of annuals for mostly shaded garden. Total only $36. for all that and they're doing very well. I didn't have to make a stop at Dearborn for anything and they wouldn't have any plants I got at roadside plant seller anyway except for Salvia May Night most likely. Early Saturday morning before food shopping I stopped in at Colonial Nursery on West Front Street just east of Middletown-Lincroft Rd. in Middletown. I never knew they existed until finding them listed as retail vendor for some national supplier. They had 2 year old Dwarf Goatsbeard for $9.95 that was 3 times the size of mail order gallon I got last fall and more than a foot tall/wide Astilbe Fanal that was a nicer shade of burgundy/raspberry than I perceived from online photos. It's not a huge place buy neat and clean with a good selection of plants not everyone carries in such pristine shape. The Fanal looked washed out and rangy at Cicconi's and price was the same. Next year I'll have to make it out to Cicconi's earlier in the season to look around when things haven't gone through a withering heat wave. I probably don't "need" much more to fill in what I can at my father's but there's always a chance I'll see some perennial between now and next year for which I could find a place to plant. Used quite a few annuals to fill in where I was too confused or rushed to decide on perennials to fill out a few new beds. Particularly short on spring bloomers. Maybe next year after a full year in the ground I'll have more time to enjoy all these beauties when I don't have to baby them until they get established. I was never so happy to hear thunder and lightening as last night thinking "Yippee...I don't have to worry about watering at 5 AM" expecially before getting started on cooking/straightening house for Father's Day celebration. All in all, I've maxed out on plants for my first year's attempt at gardening. I dread having to transplant the last few containers of annual seedlings I started myself. What was I thinking listening to people who said "It's a snap!" compared to being stretched out on the ground trying to tease apart tiny roots and then getting them placed just right in ground soil...to say nothing of watering with droplets so they don't dissolve into the ground? What a riot but good learning experience. Boy, do I feel lucky to live in Jersey!

The vivienne files has a lovely aqua and black capsule wardrobe, Maire cate! I am decidedly not a size zero, so you may well be Impressed at the number of garments in the bag :-) I am not a roller, I tried that method once or twice and it was a hot mess to get things out--- any time you want an item you have to completely unpack and repack. If I am staying in a hotel longer than one night I unpack almost completely, hanging everything and putting other things in drawers. But I usually use the packing cube thingies from Eagle Creek and ebags. I will use a medium or large zippered packing bag for all my slacks, another for all the tops, a small cylindrical one for undies and socks, another for scarves, etc. that way when I want a shirt I can just take that cube out and not disturb everything else. I put these cubes in drawers as is unless something would benefit for being hung up. Alternatively, if we are going on a trip requiring a lot of dressing up, I will pack complete outfits individually in those space bag thingies. That way I have not only the clothes, but the stockings, shoes, jewelry, any special underwear, etc. in one package. Those are the bags you ziplock and then roll it up to,squeeze all the air out, then unroll it to lie very flat. It's amazing how unwrinkled clothes are when packed in those space bags!

I see others have been doing the Black Friday Online like me! Boy, have I saved tons of money today. Amazon has the best prices so far when I comparison shop. Plus free shipping. Okay, here's a newish product for me. The Ped Egg for dry and cracked heels. I have a pumice stone I usually use in the shower, but when I'm pooped I don't do it, which is a lot of the time. So I get out the Egg and it shaves off any dry skin and the feetsies are back to total softness!

I didn't see that any of you have ever weighed your purse to see how much extra weight you might be hanging on your shoulder. I know my purse is WAY too heavy, but I can't seem to pare down the "ingredients". I just weighed it and it is a tad over 5 and a half pounds. My job is not in the same town I live in, so I feel that I need to be prepared for all contingencies, LOL. I do have a wonderful organizer (actually, my purse is so large that for a while I had TWO organizers in it) and I can always lay my hands on exactly what I am looking for. I know my Kindle adds weight, but still less than the book I previously carried around pre-Kindle. Just this weekend, I decided I would clean out anything unnecessary, and you know what? I couldn't think of a thing to remove. Very few articles of my clothing have pockets and I'm "fluffy" enough so that I don't want any extra bulk in that area anyway.