Morning, Tiff..I know what you mean. Dh goes to work, comes home. I serve him dinner, he takes the dog for a walk then sits in front of 'his' tv w/head phones until bedtime. Plus my family and I had an argument, so I no longer call them, or accept their calls. And winter is just, plain depressing. Going on a week w/o sunlight. It seems the most exiting thing I do is go to the grocery store and doctors..and the docs isn't very entertaining..I despise going. I ended up taking most of my TC's and potting them in a hanging basket..several stems broke, so doubt they'll produce more flowers this year. See what boredom does??? End up doing stupid things like repotting budded TC's!!! Tiff, can you, your dh and dk's move w/your mom? Please understand I'm not trying to nosy myself in your business, just a suggestion. You do need others to talk to. Adult conversation, or at least people who enjoy plants, kids and any other hobbies you're into. There are many here who like talking to you, so if you ever feel blue, sign into GW.. :) Marjie..I didn't know you had twins..Oh you poor thing.. :) Twin babies? Oh Lord, when do you find time to think? God bless you, girl. How old are they? Ha, your Sadie sounds like our dearly departed, Mastiff, Sam..Forget tennis balls..they lasted two seconds..when dh took Sam to the woods, Sam saw a cute dog playing w/his tennis ball. Sam ran over, stole his ball and chewed it to smithereens. The owner laughed, but his poor dog lost so many tennis balls because of Sam. I bought a bag of tennis balls for the man, or rather his dog to replace those destroyed by Sam..lol. I love Labs..How much does Sadie weigh? Is she high-strung? I worked as an asst vet. When it was time to spay Black Labs, 'not so much neutering males,' the females needed extra sedation. Their breed was so much fun to work with..lol. j/k. Labs are extremely intelligent, loyal AND beautiful.. After surgery, Labs couldn't wait to see mom, dad, brother or sister, ready to take them home. lol. Yep, rubber rings last longest. Even w/love to chewy-teeth dogs, and mid-extra large breeds. Sam had a rubber, U-shaped band called Pull & Tug..One toy he couldn't chew to pieces. lol. Marjie, if you're serious about running away, I'll go along. As long as we can bring our pets, children and plants! We'd have to buy a couple buses though. More like five. lol. Hey JoJo..wow, a chicken named Hawk hanging around you..You should go to YouTube, seach for chicken sounds..Wonder what Hawk would do?? lol. How nice. What a lucky chicken!! AWWW, why are the other chickens pecking on her? Are they plucking her feathers? Funny she hangs with the dogs..maybe she thinks she's a canine...lol Poor kitty..wonder what's going through his mind??!! I can imagine..no wonder he seeks a higher level. lol. JoJo, only the best for our feathered/furred family, right? Bet your zoo pets are as spoiled as ours..lol. Don't blame you for investing in a jeep..Can you imagine trying to haul all that food in a Fiero? lol. I don't know much about quail. How do they behave and what do they eat? Are they in or outdoors? I remember you said you got a new turtle..how's he/she working out? I forgot, is he/she a water or land turtle? 3 dogs..wow! lol. Does your gecko have an English accent like the commercial? lol. The gecko commercial is one of a few I don't mind watching...makes me laugh. JoJo, I know you addressed to Marjie, but I too bred Betas. Wasn't it amusing watching the male spitting a nest for babies? But, poor moms. JoJo,, what type of plants are you looking for? Wow, you wake before the roosters..lol..Toni

Not to defend the judgeâÂÂs decision, but you would expect that at least one of the judges would be familiar with a rose that in 2002 received an âÂÂAOEâ award. Than again it is a bit much to expect judges to grow or know all miniature roses they judge. They depend on the American Rose Society to help keep them informed on the latest rose data available. In this particular instance, âÂÂDoris Morganâ appeared in the Aug. 2002 Rose magazine Rose Registration column, listing its bloom size as large (1 in.) 17/25 petals. If this is the latest information available on the rose, how can you actually fault judges when they come across a miniature rose 3 üâ in dia. and an official ARS publication state it should be only (1âÂÂ) in dia.? On the miniature Rose List published on the Garden Web (GW) âÂÂExhibition and Judging ForumâÂÂ, lists bloom sizes as per hybridizers information. Growing seven âÂÂDoris Morganâ realized the size indicated in the Rose magazine was incorrect, compromised and listed it as medium (1 ýâÂÂ- 2 þâÂÂ) open. In reality it should have been rated as large 2 þ+âÂÂ, which I would have, but an actual size was also indicated. Here is a situation where a beautiful rose with excellent form, would be the ideal candidate classified as Mini-flora, where bigger is considered better. It was suggested in a post on the new GW âÂÂExhibition and Judging Forumâ on 4-27-04 regarding the new Judging Manual. That since the new guidelines (P 50) one-bloom-per-stem miniature, state if a blooms size is typical of the variety (10) points can be awarded. If the bloom is smaller or larger than typical it is penalized. Why not just utilize the actual bloom sizes hybridizers list on IRAR official registration form, as criteria in determining the size of a miniature rose bloom? Being that the ARS National Chairman of Horticultural Judges does not monitor the GW âÂÂExhibition and Judging Forumâ was mailed in May 2004, a 16-page document on my views on the âÂÂGuidelines On Judging RosesâÂÂ. This was but one, of the many questions I asked him to please respond to. Ron S.

Have no idea about the collie breed, only labs. lol At first read, it sounds very much like old age arthritis, but I don't know how old collie's usually live to before experiencing issues. My oldest boy, soon to be 11 no longer comes upstairs at bedtime, and seems to have alot of those type of days you are describing. While I am not going to my vet, I've had 3 old labs before Lowell, so I know the pattern all too well. If you are knowledgable about the breed and are comfortable, I think a call to your vet (assuming you have a longstanding relationship) to just let him/her know what's going on, and some suggestions of how to keep your dog more comfortable - meds. One thing that I do for my guy when it is particularly bad is give him either ascriptin (aspirin with maalox to coat the stomach) which was ok'd by the vet, or tramadol from the vet. I use my own judgment to assess the pain level after he's awake and had breakfast. I take him out and see what's what for the day. I always start with the Ascripton as the Tramadol is a true rx pain med. I wouldn't suggest doing this if you're not well versed with your dog's breed, or haven't been a dog owner for a long time. Let your vet be your guide. I totally agree about the cost - my late 13 yr. old girl was on 13 meds a day before we had to put her down. I told myself at that time that I would never again pay or provide so many meds to a dog. It's tough because you want to keep them going. I think if you visit the vet, one med you will be offered will be Deramax or similar med for arthritis. The are ridiculously expensive even with the coupons and checks back. I spent a small fortune on my girl. I look back and it makes me sick that the pharmaceutical cos. have now invaded pet care. I found that the Tramadol (less expensive) worked better and cost less JMHO. I always use the lowest dose and work upward should the stiffness persist. The lyme titer is smart. What most vets do not tell you is that the vaccine can give your dog lyme disease. We only do Advantix with yrly lyme titers. Treat if necessary. No lyme vaccinations for our guys. Its so tough watching our best friends age. I hope it's nothing serious, just the natural arthritis that can come with aging in some breeds.

I've been so fortunate to have TWO great mothers-in-law. The first was such a delightful and special lady. We had a lot of good times together. I only regret that I HAD TO divorce her son (psychopathic) and I don't know if she ever knew why. My therapist was puzzled when I brought it up!! I hated losing her in that mess. She was so special and I take every opportunity to tell my children about her. An amazing lady! My second MIL was a lovely lady who was so kind and loving. I wish I had had more time with her - not so much as the first one. She was so sweet and dear - I know we would have been great friends if we had only had the time - she passed away several years ago. There was NEVER any attempt by either of them to run my life or interfere. They were just gems. And I'm going to do my best to be that kind of MIL. My son married two weeks ago - to a lovely, wonderful girl who is so good for him. I am so happy with her and hope that our relationship can be as positive as the one I had with BOTH of my MILs.