Whee - next year is already here. In So. Cal., we are busy, busy planting our early SPRING crops - getting the early cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, bok choi, garlic and onions in while the weather is still mild and the tiny plants have a chance to harden a bit. Our temps rarely go below 50's, but still need to plant cool weather lovers now. My snow/snap peas are 2 inches tall, and garlic about 3 inches. I think my winter crops are much easier to grow, because the soil doesn't dry out as fast as in summer heat, and we don't work as hard trying to mulch or find shade on an as-needed basis. Still - I'm running my old compost shredder to start new piles brewing, and pruning back over-growth that is providing too much shade with the sun now getting low to the south. This type of gardening fits my lifestyle a bit better. I doubt that I could do it where seasons are intense but short, even though I wouldn't mind more natural rainfall to help with the watering chore, and dealing with acid soils might be easier than sandy, alkaline ones - dunno tho. Our present water shortage - and 3 day rationing schedule - is a bit worrisome, but I still love it all. Bejay

Sometimes American college sweatshirts and tshirts can be fun gifts. On a funny note, I once asked some people in Japan what they would like for me to bring fo them? They excitedly explained that they had never smelled a skunk, and could I bring them a skunk smell sample? So, I went to a hunting store, bought a small bottle of skunk-on, or whatever it was called. Even wrapped in multiple plastic zip locks, it seeped odor, so I froze the vial of oil inside a small bag of water, then placed that inside a closed thermos flask. I delivered the vial and a small stuffed animal skunk without incident. My friends greatly enjoyed anointing the skunk and sharing the experience. I do realize that i would never ever be able to bring that thru security now, can you imagine the stink homeland security would raise : )

I've had two but not at the same time. The first was from Germany and worked out good. She was a real part of the family and we continue to keep in touch with her. She was here in 2001 at the same time as the terror attacks. I know that was a very scary time for her family in Germany. The other was from Brazil and was here in 2005. She was a nightmare and ended up going to live in another state. This was her goal all along. I found that most are from fairly wealthy homes which is why they can afford to come here in the first place. With the German girl, she told me that it cost her parents $18,000 alone for the program costs. She said that this covered her program in Germany (the one she pays to come here) and the program costs for the U.S. It also covered her airfare and her week long introduction course in New York. It did not cover her spending money. Her parents gave her $400 per month. We did not receive any money, but we knew we wouldn't. Also, we read thru many bios and picked the ones we thought would be a fit for our family. The info provided to us had written recommendations from their teachers, parents etc. We did have to do a little bio about our family but I will say that the one from Germany told me that if she would not have accepted us as her American family, then she would not have received another chance, in all likelihood. I wouldn't tell you not to do this because there are great experiences out there. I will say though that if something doesn't seem right, do not hesitate to get the kids out of your home. Also, when it didn't work out with the Brazilian girl, I demanded that they move her out of our school district. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

I got news for you. There is no little man in the back room in the White House cranking out dollar bills. Seeing that is not the case, of course we will owe it back to the IRS, with interest! Please understand (I don't care what the politicians promise you...)there is nothing free. Geez, if they didn't need the money, why did they take it out in the first place? We ARE in a deficit, people. To help you understand: This rebate is like getting a loan from the bank. You get the money NOW, but you will have to pay it back & you will probably pay it back in triple amount. The government earns interest on that money, so all the interest lost in a year will have to be paid by the people. Oh wait, we are going to pay CHINA back, because we DON'T have the money. We will borrow it from China. Then we'll pay them back like mortgage payments, in triple amounts. I would prefer to see GOOD paying, SECURE jobs in the US. STOP outsourcing & STOP importing. I think that if people would know that good paying jobs are coming with good benefits (Freagin Healthcare!) you would see a surge in the Economy like in China. Hmmm, did I say China? They must be laughing at our stupidity & greed. It's common sense, people. Please don't be naive. The politicians will do anything & promise you anything in the election year. Some of them are promising things that they will never be able to deliver to their constituents. But people want to hear all the good things that "an inspirational" politician will give them for free. Get a grip. A little story as to what happened to us in our state in the Governor election year. We got $200 in a rebate check from the state (we have a state tax additionally to the Federal taxes). People were ecstatic...We had to pay it back in all sorts of taxes WITH INTEREST in the following years. It was one of the worst things that the governor did. IT got him re-elected. Everybody was excited when they got the checks, but I don't need to tell you about all the cussing at the governer in the years after...