"the structure of that plant is not good" As was said in The Honeymooners -----> To the moon, Ken! I believe you just told me my shrub is akin to the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. :( ... it has been pruned for shipping and handling. You got that right! This thing is pruned ALL OVER. I'm going to have to get some close up pics of it. I asked the woman at the nursery why it was so pruned and she said to keep all the branches at the same length because some shoots were growing way too tall too fast and they wanted the bush to have a uniform appearance all around. Be honest, is my bush doomed to be fugly? There are pruned branches throughout this bush. I hate seeing them. Oh, and when I kept expressing concern over the pruning she said hun, you won't even notice the pruning, this bush is going to grow so fast and so big that this pruning will NEVER be noticed. She was adamant about that. I don't want my bush to be structurally unsound. Is it still wind tolerant? When you say it is structurally not good, is that from a structure point of view or an aesthetic point of view? "you inspire me with your drive and ambition to learn.. and that is why i always take the time to try to make you think about the next step .... you remind me of someone.. 20 years back.. though i didnt have the WWWeb to make learning easy" Your mentoring is priceless to me and no doubt to everyone on here. I love that you take the time to help me because you know more than just about anyone I know. Did you have someone who mentored you that taught you a few things on the way or was it all trial and error? Oh and Gardengal, thank you for putting things in perspective for me. You're right, that large root system is to be admired, not criticized. The fact that the bush was growing so well in spite of them growing beyond the pot means they did indeed take good care to water and feed it. I am very grateful for that. Whaas, I love your Forsythia pics. They are beautiful!

Well the taste was sort of bland, but that happens sometimes with the first tomatoes and we had gotten alot of evening storms as they were ripening, so hopefully the next fruits will have a better flavor. I'm still thanking the heavens for that rain. Everything had gotten so stressed but now is looking quite lush. Now if we can just keep getting those showers so I won't be spending all of my time attached to a water hose. The zukes and squash that I had such a hard time getting established are producing and I love knowing the tomatoes will be coming in on a regular basis now. Whooo Hooo! Finally some payoff...... big blooms and 'maters!

Yours were not the only weather bones making complaints. I told several people that this was not going to be pleasant. We had a forecast of over 1/4 inch rain today, getting icky tonight. Well, it was about 35F, raining, soaking everything thoroughly after lightning and thunder and a good bit last night. Next thing I know that rain was WHITE! Over half an inch of white rain later, it decided to get "clear" again, and now it's coloring up again. IT IS APRIL darn it! All my daffodils are lying face down in their beds! Now that I think of it, I might go bry my head in my bed too!

Cathy - Thank you for your nice words, I hope to meet you one day since we are almost neighbors. Annie - Thanks. You still have time to get yours done, I am looking forward to see everyone's surprises. Sue - Thank you. It is good to know that we all like the Polish pottery. I think the design and colors are winners. Thank you Nancy for letting me know that I am not the first one with broken pieces...next time, I will be super careful. Thank you Riverrat for all your nice comments. The first picture is all the items wrapped in Valentine's wrapping paper. Collenoz - No, it was not insured since the UPS man told me it was safe I didn't think necessary. GWlolo - Thanks. I am relieved that the other items survived the shipping. Thanks Compumom. Lars - Thank you. You do have the right idea about the cake plate, now that you said I remember seeing them with petit fours. It will also look good with cookies, brownies or bars. I think the Polish plate is the size of a pie plate. I thought the red knife look different and was good with the Valentine's theme. Silvia