Clint, I think things are changing....everywhere! We had a high of 50 yesterday and last night it dipped into the low 40s! The western part of the state was under a freeze warning...our last freeze dates for the state are typically mid April. Today is forecast to be a bit warmer than yesterday but the cool is supposed to hang around for a few more days. The good news is...some rain might actually fall at my house this weekend! lol Can you belive with all the storms that blew through here Monday night, we didn't get more than a heavy sprinkle for a few moments??? Mercy! We need rain, rain and more rain! This drought is playing havoc on all living things. I read the earth got an ever so slight tilt on it's axis...wonder if that might be a factor? Anybody know more about this? We sure haven't had "normal" weather patterns here. Maggie

Happy Thursday! Got part of my plant order picked up from the post office today. I was panicking thinking they shipped everything - too early for the whole order. I've ordered the oldest type of roses that deer don't like (hopefully same with rabbits). Got 4 Salet Moss Roses (pink) and 2 Apothecary (dark pink) roses. These are the old prickly stemmed roses that smell like heaven. At least today and tomorrow until late afternoon the rain is taking a break. I have to plant these now. When I'm not ready in the garden of course. It's okay because they are foundation plants - pink roses along the east side of our house where we're having our sitting area built up and terracing the sloped side a wee bit. The last pink rose bush and the 2 dark pink I'm thinking of planting down in the vegetable garden area where I've started my herbal garden while in the trailer. I want to build that up into a sitting garden over time. Just taking a break for the moment. Just washed out and reinstalled all the batteries on my outdoor solar lights (new last year for the trailer life). I'm glad I had the sense to bring them in and tidy them up in the fall. Things are not cheap anymore - these are those newer white light ones. For the moment many are in use to mark off the terracing for the east side garden. It's just dirt, small rocks, lots of roots from ripped out old growth lilac gone wild, sumac and weeds starting. I feel so sleepy hearing the billion frogs in the wet areas calling for mates, song birds fighting over nest areas and signing at the top of their lungs. But the sun is sheer delight. I'm taking photos of my progress on the gardens. Eventually I'll get them posted in a blog that I'm hoping to do for my garden adventure around here. I've picked up rhubarb that is growing and current bushes/vines?. Grapes too but not sure where to plant them. They are supposed to be planted now - judging by the speed of light they are growing at in the hall. They'll hate me when I plant them outside - I know. Wow, I can see the golden eagles over the fields outside - guess they're sizing up dinner. The trees still appear barren. A couple more weeks I expect to see buds. I'm glad to read the posts. I guess it's slow because everyone seems to have so much to attend to right now. I'm still working on drinking my water and desperately fighting the urge to nap. I'll take that as a sign to fill my water bucket now and get those roses in the ground. Enjoy your day...I need light and fresh air. No a/c here - still wearing a light winter coat outside...the wind bites. Chat later, All my hugs to everyone, Peggy

Good Friday all, TGIF!! This has been a long week at work. I have been filling in for two who are on vacation for the month of August and I have been juggling. One more tough week and it will seem like I am on vacation at work when they return to doing their job!! Donna, your project sounds fun! Did you do the design work yourself or have someone help you? I love remodeling projects! Jan, don't be so hard on yourself! We are allowed to be as long-winded as we want here without judgment! What did you and DH do for your anniversary? Patty, good to see you here. I miss you since you went over to Facebook! Hope your meds are doing their job. Please don't stay gone for so long! Marci, sounds like you should be thinking about retiring! I really hope this school year goes well for you. When I am stressing I try to remember my favorite mantra "Be here now" it reminds me that I need to focus on the right now and not on one minute from now or one minute ago, etc. The other thing I do when I am obsessing is something our good friend Raeanne told me once: "Throw your troubles to the ground and let your spirit soar" These sound simple but for me they really work. Try it. Now!! LOL Let your beautiful spirit soar today! Raeanne, I am thinking of you. Good luck tomorrow I know it's going to be a smashing success! I hope we get another youtube of the event - especially the horse-drawn wagon. QOD: What are your weekend plans? We may have Bill affects here so I am kind of praying for some rain so I can stay inside and get some housework done! Also, I will be making a batch of my zucchini relish.

The awful addiction to nicotine is not just a physical thing. It's a lifestyle thing, too. I smoked from the age of 14 until I was 55. I loved to smoke and I did it to excess. Both my parents smoked, most of their friends and relatives did it, everywhere you went people smoked. I remember a couple of physicians I went to over the years sat there and smoked in the exam room with you - ashtrays brimming with butts! I remember at the indoor theater that you had to view the screen through a cloud of smoke. Hospital visiting areas and grocery stores had ashtrays. Every place I worked up until the 90's allowed smoking at the desk. Then I had to have cataract surgery in both eyes. I was suffering from considerable smoker's cough and was so afraid of suddenly having a coughing fit right when the surgeon jabbed the scalpel in my eye that I stopped smoking and took up snus. (It's like snuff but you don't spit.) It took a while for the cough to subside but it did. So I continued with the snus until just last year, where I finally got off of nicotine completely but I'm still suffering from the habit of having something in my mouth so now I have the nicotine-free herbal mint pouches. Yes I admit I have a problem with addiction but hey at least I'm finally off nicotine. I say whatever it takes to get off the cigarettes is a good thing. I used to suffer such bad bronchitis for weeks if I got a simple cold. I can't remember the last time I had it since I quit. What gets me is that people who smoke have no idea how much they smell like an ashtray and I didn't realize how bad and offensive I probably was too until I stopped smoking. And even though I'm sympathetic to those who still do it and can't stop, I hate being around cigarette smoke now.