Groan!!!! Wait, could that joke be classified as a Boner Groaner? Elia

Does anyone have any ferns or astible??? I just realized that I now have a shade garden!! I completely forgot that the north side of my house would be shaded...I got so used to having all full sun. So I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE some ferns! Anyone have any? If not, anyone know a good local source? I'm looking especially for the taller ferns like Ostrich Fern or something similar. Remy, I am SO EXCITED for my Butterfly bushes!! I did order a couple on bluestone, but trust me, I've got LOTS of space now. Plus, I got a different variety, so it's all good! Thanks so much! Tracy, I must confess, I am no good at cuttings. Propogating is on my list of things to learn though. I'd love some cuttings, but I can't promise I won't kill them! Valerie, what do you mean by broken iris? Am I clueless or what??? Glen, YAY! More grasses!!! Oh and keep the euonymus away from my pool area. I've got a raging scale problem that I can't seem to get under control and I had to cut down all my euonymus around there because they were so diseased. Anyone know any good, organic ways to get rid of scale other than soapy water or safer? OK, so I updated my trade page including adding pics of the irises that I have available.. Here is a link that might be useful: Tara's trade page

We used to play croquet all the time when I was little. I found a link that should help you. Here is a link that might be useful: The World of Croquet

donaleen - you said in your blog, "i walk a couple of times a day but am afraid of falling and of someone bumping into me." My mom broke her hip a few years ago (at 90), so ended up in a rehab place for a few weeks. In this very nice facility she had PT/OT twice a day. The therapists told me more than once that the biggest issue with older folks and a bad fall was regaining their confidence, and I think this applies to younger older folks too. So, 1) your anxiety is perfectly normal and 2) it will get better. As for the associated aches and pains, I think that is par for the course too. Think of them as sprains, which is probably what they are, and realize that sprains often take longer to heal to comfort level than fractures. Have you read any Dick Francis? He usually writes about English horse jockeys. Being jockeys, they regularly fall and break something, or sometimes (being in a Francis mystery) they get beat up by the bad guys who break something for them. His jockey characters, who need to get up and ride again, often choose to go without a cast for exactly the reasons you cite. They're terribly heroic in their pain, but according to Francis, the end result is more satisfactory if you happen to be a jockey. For the rest of us, the cast makes more sense, but Francis is a fun read.