wow these all sound like awesome baskets! i got my basket from Vina and wow! i am floored and don't quite know where to start. there were ladyfinger cookies, chocolate marshmallow eggs, chocolate truffles, and adorable chicken statue for the garden wearing red galoshes lol, a really cute test tube vase for the window, a chili pepper (which i am going to convert to a christmas ornament for the veggie patch section of the tree ), soap shape dlike a garden fairy that is too cute to use, a picture book of here comes peter cottontail, eggs filled with candy, all nestled in gold ribbon and wrapped in pictures her kids colored!!!! so cute and what a great idea. there were also bleeding heart plats, an adorable bunny shaped tin filled with seeds and a cool blue and green shell bracelet (and i have the perfect hippie skirt to go with it), and a red peony!!! i think the easter bunny probably got a hernia carrying this to my house LOL. ooo and a flower notebook and a cute card signed by all. thank you so much and tell billy and taylor i loved their coloring. i am smoothing one of them out and hanging it on my office door :) little dog came home safe and sound-- exhausted and extra dirty, but better than she usually is after one of these excursions. thank you all for your support! and now, for bingo! bonnet lamb quack tulip Bonus word 'cause it's friday: columbine* Bonus word becasue little dog came home :): polliwog for those of you who missed it, the person who gets the most bonus words gets a prize too :) how are the bingo boards? anyone close? i need to go through and mark all the lists i have. hope everyone has a great weekend :)

Thank you!!! I always enjoy your snag posts. Wanda in South Texas Here is a link that might be useful: The Bee Hive

Is this your first trip to Paris and or London? If you have three weeks, I would certainly plan to do more than Paris, especially if I had not been to Europe before and was not a frequent traveller ... you can do a lot comfortably in three weeks. Let me start off by saying though, I really would not go to Paris in April. My first trip as a "grown up" was April in Paris, and I just assumed it was a good time ago (isn't there a famous song?). The song is probably just because the guy needed two syllables. April in Paris is usually cold and rainy. I have been there a dozen times on business and 4 times for pleasure, and I much prefer June or September. I totally understand the spring break timing. I am confronted with that every year too ... it seems you either go skiiing, go to the beach, or you have to go somewhere off season. Drives me crazy. But I truly believe April is suboptimal, and I had to say that upfront. One of the best things about Paris is just strolling about, and it is much nicer if it is green and pleasant. If this is a once in a lifetime trip, I'd do it in June. One of my favorite places in the world is the Bagatelle, a small tulip garden in the Bois du Bologne. In April it will be barren. So will Giverny, a great day trip to Monet's home. Okay so I have said my piece on that and will desist! The Georges V on the right bank is steps from the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elyssees. Over the years it had been flagged as a few different brands, but it is currently a Four Seasons. I tended to stay there on business, and while it is excellent, it is not my first choice for leisure. I don't really like the Champs Elysee ... it has large, modern stores on that section .. and I would much rather be based on the left bank for leisure. My fave is La Lutetia, but I just looked it up and it is closed for renovations. I also like the Hotel Montalambert and Relais Christine, both left bank. Do note that both cities are very pricey as I am sure you know. Moreover, unlike American brands, rooms are typically very very small and often cannot accommodate a third person. Lastly, try to be very specific about the actual room and get photos. Many hotels are in older buildings and the rooms are anything but cookie cutter. One person can have a fabulous charming room and the other a dump. But in my mind it feels much more Parisian to stay in an old building! So keep that in mind when looking into alternates. As far as an itinerary, I would try to take the full three weeks so as to maximize the bang for your buck on flying over there. BTW I just read about a new all business class airline into Paris that, for business class, is quite reasonable. If you don't want to spring for a flat bed seat, fly during the day, land at night, and get right on the local schedule. Avoid caffeine, drink lots of water, get sun and exercise and you won't have any jet lag. I would consider flying into London (frankly between Gatwick and LHR there are so many flights and carriers that you can usually get the best deals). I would consider excursions to Stonehenge and Bath. Then I'd take the Chunnel to Paris. No one needs to tell you what to see in Paris! Outside of Paris I'd consider train trips to Versailles of course, and maybe to Chartres to see the famous cathedral and have dinner. If you are going a full three weeks, I might throw in Belgium and do an open jaw, flying into one city and out of a different one. I like the Hop on Hop off buses, tacky though they are, because they give you a quick lay of the the land. I usually research the "36 hours in" or "three perfect days in" articles in advance, to get ideas about what Id like to do. These are from the NY Times and periodicals so more timely than guidebooks.

Jan, glad you're doing well! I hear you about baking supplies... I'm glad I had huge pantry reserves when this craziness started. The trees are looking like they're as giddy about the prospect of going outside than I am to put them there, LOL! I'm very new to hydroponics. The Krakty method just seemed the easiest one to set up, no air pump or anything. I ordered 2 hexagonal planters from gogrowplanters. I got them from Amazon because I have prime, so shipping is quick and free. I called customer service on he gogrowplanters website, and the lady, Cindy, is absolutely phenomenal. She explained everything. Amy, I hear you! I feel like I'm sharing my house with 2 mutants, lol. Laura, great to hear from you! Yes, I've noticed you typically don't have as many high and lows in Annapolis than I do in Havre de Grace, although we're not even two hours apart. Ken, glad you're doing well. Your post brought back flashbacks of groundhog day, and you made me laugh out loud with the frost roulette, LOL ! Mike, it's so good to hear from you! I hope you feel better, and that your mom is ok! I know with absolute certainty that my trees would have been rotted dead 5 years ago, if it hadn't been for you, your UNWAVERING patience and all your kind advice. I'm very proud to consider you my friend. To each and every one of you, gimme pictures! Let us all live and travel vicariously though everyone else's pictures, LOL! Hopefully this won't last very much longer. It looks like they really want to open the country back up. Fingers crossed! God bless, Atheen PS: I got my Covid stimulus direct deposit yesterday. Make sure you check whatever bank account you have the IRS to wire your tax refund to the last 2 years, and if you never gave them one, make sure you go to https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus-tax-relief-and-economic-impact-payments and put your back account in there!