I hope we don't have another frost here in Love County, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. One of my "old farmer" neighbors, who passed away last year at the age of 97, insists that he remembers snow falling in Love County a couple of times in May, although I couldn't find any official record of it. Another, who is a relative whippershaper at the age of almost-88, does remember freezes or frosts in early May. There again, I haven't been able to find any official record to back up his memories. I don't use pesticides, insecticides or miticides in general either, Susan, but the fire ants get completely out of control if I don't treat the lawn once every 3 to 4 years. For a long time, I tried to go it organically, but there is no organic product that is effective on fire ants, and, believe me, I have tried them all. Over the decades we have tried every chemical fire ant product too. Some of them seem to work for a few years after introduction, but seem to lose their effectiveness over time, which tells me that the fire ants must develop resistance to them. For several years now, we've used Over 'N Out (I think that's the name, it is in a blue bag.) with great results. The only real pest I had major trouble with last year was stink bugs on the tomatoes beginning in August. They are a huge problem and ruin the fruit so that it is inedible. I am going to watch for them this year and try to stop them in their tracks before they multiply and get out of hand. There's not much (organic) that works on them either, except hand-picking them while they're small. Being in a remote, rural location, we have every bug known to mankind, but at least that means we have a good population of beneficials and they help with the bad bugs. I always have a billion lady bugs and I love them. Praying mantids are not my favorite since they eat everything, good and bad. You'd think with all the caterpillars we have here that we'd have an abundance of parisitic waps, but we don't seem to. Dawn

- Go to the library and check out "The Millionare Next Door". Best book ever written. - Saving money, being thrifty needs to be on your mind when you plan your week, month, life. It is not so hard and actually fun most of the time. I go cheap on somethings like tv, home electronics, but paid more for a very nice home in a great location. Buying a Toyota van vs Dodge because you get more miles out of a Toyota. A 2000 sq foot, 3/2/2 home vs 3000 sq ft home. - Never pay to rent a video/dvd. The local libraries have become the new blockbuster and it's free, same with books. Never buy them unless you see them at a estate/garage sale and then only if it is not available from a library. - Estate Sales - Sometimes, if you are early, you might find something useful. I have saved a ton of money buying my lawn equipment/tools at these things. But beware, estate sales sometimes/usually are overpriced and the auction companies that run them sometimes have stores on the side. They bring that stuff and put it into the home to sell. You have to be patient and careful. Resist the urge to just buy something "because it is cheap". I got a brand new Sony Triniton 37 inch, brand new, 100 dollars. The owner was a doctor and was downsizing his home. He was just like me and great guy to chat with. He rarely used it and even helped me get it home. Weighs 250 lbs, wife and kids about killed me because it is not the latest flat screen for 1200 bucks. So what? Great picture, great sound, easy to fix, last another 5-10 years. They learned to like it. - Extended warranty - I buy them for my major appliances. I found HD is a bit cheaper than Lowes. But a 5 year coverage for any major appliance is worth the cost. Sears - seems a bit too expensive when compared to HD or Lowes. Sears was an icon growing up but bad management has killed that place. I think they will be bought out by some Chinese company soon. - Major appliances - go with a mid range, quality, non-imported brand, Whirlpool is my favorite and has never let me down. Korean brands cost more to fix same with the European brands. - Craigslist - I got a lawn edger for 30 dollars, new in the box. Took me six months of waiting, but it showed up one day. Also, I usually, unless it is a real bargin, wait a day or two before calling on CL. That allows the seller a time to get beat up or ignored and the price comes down. CL is a great place to pick up stuff for your home. I have never been burned and never pay the asking price. I would furnish my entire home if my wife had not stopped me. I would not buy a matress used, and the couches are "hit or miss" so I stayed away from them. But bookcase, desk, chairs, dinning room table, bed frame, dresser, all off CL. Be nice, polite, but brutal and honest with the seller. Know what you want to pay before you show up and really look the item over. Remember, stuff on CL is one step away from a garage sale or the curb. That stuff is like the city bus "if you miss one, the next one will be along in 15 minutes". - Yard - Never buy new tools, mower, etc for yard work. Visit garage sale, estate sale, CL. Mow your own lawn. You can get a nice self-propelled mower that makes it a snap. If you can downsize the yard size to reduce the time mowing watering etc..that is a great idea. - Home - Big "blood sucking money pit". No two ways about it. A home is a 1 year old that never grows up. So plan carefully, very carefully where, when, what you buy. Bigger is not better. Location is the most important factor. Don't buy a "fixer" unless your husband is a GC and even then, why tie yourself to a home. Americans for the last 50 years have been "house poor" and now the housing bubble has killed many a retirement dream. Use your ceiling fans, take a quick cool shower if it is hot, turn down the heat after you go to bed. - Real Estate Agents - When looking for a home use 5 or 6 of them at the same time before you go with the one you like. Treat them like they are "last years Christmas present. You will have to be smarter and know everything about the area you want to buy in before asking them any questions. - Single story, CBS, Brick is great. 3/2/2 is the classic size. - Tires - You have to call around. I don't recommend the cheapest tires since you could get killed. I usually go with Goodyear and the local Goodyear store since they always give me great service. But not all the stores have the same prices. This one is the best price and great service. With your car you have to be careful with the service. You should be able to do your own oil change using the synth. oil but be careful the first time. The quick lube places use cheap oil and the synth oil is worth the little extra cost. WM usually has it on sale. - Banks - Credit unions usually have free checking and are more friendly. - Debit Card - Don't have one, can't see a reason to get one. Two credit cars for my entire life and only charge items over 50 dollars to get the points. Cash in the points for gas card or Macy card. - WM vs Target - Target stores seem to have nicer kids clothes (young kids), but WM has cheaper prices on food, dry goods. It is all about how far of a trip to save gas. I mix and match food with WM brand and national brands depending on the items. - Utilities - Check your a/c/ furnance and know when it was serviced and by whom. Ceiling fans can save you some cash and they make some very energy efficient models, not sold at HD or Lowes. - Online - Free shipping/tax free (FLorida, for now anyway), makes it a bargin. Amazon seems to be the best for most of what I buy. - Garage Sales/Estate Sales - you can go broke saving money so don't buy what you don't need/use. I am amazed to see how much junk people buy in their lifetime. You see it at Estate sales. Tons of china, dishes, household items, tools etc.... - Get yourself a good AM/FM portable radio, Japanese brand, from the 70's. All new radios are Chinese and junk. If you have a natural disaster that is going to be your lifeline for communications. I see these radios all the time at garage sales, estate sales, very cheap. If you see one that has a SW PB band that is a big plus too. - Natural Disasters - The best advice I heard was "most homes are just a week away from starving". Which means we all just have about a weeks worth of food. When you see quality brand can foods on sale, buy some and stock up. It will save you if there is a major disaster or even a minor one. Food prices really jump. I live in FL so when hurricane season approaches I get more canned food, buy some bottled water (that kills my sense of saving money). - Bottled Water - Waste of money unless for emergencies. - Starbucks - Been there twice in my life. I make my own coffee in the morning. - Coupons - Sometimes they can save you money but look closely and if you use the product without the coupon maybe it is worth the buy. - Part time job - I have had part time jobs for years and it really saved me some money. The big plus is you are working and not spending so it all adds up. Life is a game. I like playing the game and saving money. I'm cheap, but I have friends that are much cheaper and we all enjoy our lives. The idea of owning the latest I phone, I pad, computer etc...never appealed to me. But if that is you, cut corners elsewhere so you can have those toys. Good luck! -

Jane, I am very familiar with orchids that need to be winterized indoors....in fact I have several. I was surprised when a friend gave me what she called "garden orchids." Apparently they grow outdoors and to zone 5. I've been having difficulty finding a whole lot of information on them. They were given to her also by a friend of hers , here in KY. I checked in with her to try and get more information. This is the link she sent me, so I suppose I will go with the information it holds. http://www.phytesia.com/en/cultivation-how-to-grow-hardy-orchids.php?genre=1&PHPSESSID=46e9ccb9fb8ab1f29d0a0b28bc6106f9 Learn something new every day! Thanks! Denise

Hi Lavender, I love your characters and the promise of this story. You've got a nice start with writing it. If you were writing in my category (young adult) you'd have a REALLY good start. Every genre has its own set of expectations. When writing for teens and young adults you'll almost always find short, snappy sentences. You'll also find a lot of new sentences that start with transition words like so, and , or but. That's what you've done at the beginning of your story. However, this isn't a novel for teens; it's a Victorian romance. Romance readers, and (I think) historical romance readers in particular, seem to like a more formal, wordier style. The words you choose and the way you structure your sentences can help establish tone and set the the story in the proper era. I played around with the first few paragraphs to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, but I'm no victorian romance writer so -- if I were you, I'd consider researching a few popular novels in the genre to get a better idea of what readers might expect: She would be coming to his classroom that afternoon. Henry Lastname set to putting things right, shelving a book here, straightening a pile of papers there as he tried to think about something, anything else. His opportunity to teach had come at the grace of a wealthy neighbor. Despite being born deaf, she’d thought him a bright child and had paid for his education. The chance to find books, to learn to communicate with others like himself, to establish a career as a teacher, it was all more than his family could have dreamed for him from their small tenant farm. Henry inspected his classroom with pride. He’d done well for himself, had gained the respect of the headmaster and the entire community. He knew he should be satisfied, but memories of the farm often crept in as he graded papers and settled petty disputes between the students in his charge. The lovely way the sun rose over the hills in the morning, the brilliant colors as it sank in the evening, and his horses -- how he longed to have his own horse again. Some days it was all he could think of … when he wasn’t thinking about the girl. The way she braided her lovely blonde hair around that pretty head of hers seemed to fill his own skull with all manner of indelicate thoughts. The yearning to run his fingers through those braids was chief among them. He reminded himself, yet again, how inappropriate this would be. Not only was Clara Lastname a student, she was also the daughter of an influential mayor of a nearby city. He was so involved in pushing away his thoughts that he jumped when he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. I hope you can get the idea from my pretty pitiful effort, lol. I don't read a lot of this genre, but I do read a lot of aspiring writers' works. You have a big head start on a lot of them. You have a nice way with dialogue and, even in this first chapter, you've already established the most important thing in romance writing -- chemistry. These two are full of it! Figuring out the voice of your story is all that's holding you back. I hope you'll accept my advice in the spirit it was intended. If I didn't think you had the ability to take this story to another level I wouldn't have bothered chiming in. Lavender Lass, you've got a good story to tell and the talent to tell it. P.S. A word about marketing if you don't mind. Just like there are genre expectations in the writing of the book, readers have expectations about the way a Victorian romance novel should look. Pretty women in beautiful dresses (and a bare chested man if you can find one) seem to be the norm. You might want to take a look at canva.com In just a few minutes I was able to put together this: To Share A Dream With You