I usually don't have a problem with DH, because he is a plant nut also. He doesn't mind having some common plants around, but he goes for those weird ones. The more difficult they are to grow and the stranger they appear, the better he likes them! He has an old friend, that is a Botanist(PhD) and when I go along on visits to his garden, it's like being in a foriegn country, where no English is spoken! We went to a Big Box store(the Orange one) early Sun AM to obtain some potting mix to finish? my Spring ritual, "Divide-the-Plants", for my Garden Club fund raising sale. DH went along to load.(They don't provide that service, anymore). Found some Hydrangeas that I had been wanting for a year or more. His only comments were; Do you really need that many and where on earth are you going to plant them? I only purchased the best 2 of the 5 in stock, even though they were extremely reasonably priced. Looked at the JM's, but selection was VERY limited and price was astronomical! Very likely, the vendor will be taking those home, after the planting season is over. I have grown and sold those in the past and would have been very embarrassed to quote a price that high, even to a stranger!

Suzy ~ My apologies for not "getting it". I take things very literally...I suppose it comes from my line of work ;o) I do think it would be a very good short story, though. Reader's Digest, perhaps? She lived a double life, dangerously close to the edge. Will her sordid little secret come to light? She left work early that day, making sure noone saw which direction she was heading in. As she traveled to her destination, she wondered aloud if she was doing the right thing. Her heart told her one thing, but her sensibilities told her another. What a prediciament she had gotten herself into, but what could she do? She finally arrived, and with her nerves and senses tingling in anticipation she got out of the car. She looked around, hoping she wouldn't run into someone she knew. After all, what would they surmise she was doing there? She walked with a steady stride to the front doors, hesitated, took a deep breath, and entered. She continued walking until she reached her destination. A smile of satisfaction came across her face. "Hello, my darling. I've been longing for you, to see you, to hold you in my arms.". With that, she picked up the treasured 3-quart Tramontina braiser and made her way to the front of WalMart, thrilled with her newly found acquisition.

I would not likely accept that kind of help. I would find another solution before letting a stranger follow me home. Take the parts out of the box, maybe. When I found myself with a box too big to fit in my van (a ping pong table), I called a neighbor with a truck to come get it. I don't depend on the kindness of stranger, but I'm grateful for some good neighbors! I would be more likely to offer help than accept it, but even then the need would have to be evident and a situation where I knew I could safely meet a true need. My friend went to a lot of trouble to help a woman motorist who had run out of gas on one of our local streets. My friend hunted down a gas can from another friend, filled it and took it back to her. The "stranded" woman was local (had local tags) alone (no kids w/her- that might matter to me), professionally dressed and driving a Mercedes. I was surprised that my friend went to that much trouble. Given the details, I would have assumed the woman had a cell phone and AAA/roadside assistance and let her solve her own problems. If I ran out of gas, that's what I would do. I would turn down help if someone stopped.

Ha. That is cute. And a great shot of it. Its amazing what people will dream up.