Lindac: Here is another whole new attitude on Snow I recieved in an Email. This went around a couple of years ago too. A lot of you probably have seen it. Winter in Pa. Dear Diary: Aug. 12 - Moved into our new home in Pennsylvania. It is so beautiful here. The hills and river valleys are so picturesque. I have a beautiful old oak tree in my front yard. Can hardly wait to see the change in the seasons. This is truly God's Country. Oct. 14 - Pennsylvania is such a gorgeous place to live, one of the real special places on Earth. The leaves are turning a multitude of different colors. I love all of the shades of reds, oranges and yellows, they are so bright. I want to walk through all of the beautiful hills and spot some white tail deer. They are so graceful; certainly they must be the most peaceful creatures on Earth. This must be paradise. Nov. 11 - Deer season opens this week. I can't imagine why anyone would want to shoot these elegant animals. They are the very symbol of peace and tranquility here in Pennsylvania. I hope it snows soon. I love it here! Dec. 2 - It snowed last night. I woke to the usual wonderful sight: everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white. The oak tree is magnificent. It looks like a postcard. We went out and swept the snow from the steps and driveway. The air is so crisp, clean and refreshing. We had a snowball fight. I won, and the snowplow came down the street. He must have gotten too close to the driveway because we had to go out and shovel the end of the driveway again. What a beautiful place. Nature in harmony. I love it here! Dec. 12 - More snow last night. I love it! The plow did his cute little trick again. What a rascal. A winter wonderland. I love it here! Dec. 19 - More snow - couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work in time. I'm exhausted from all of the shoveling. And that snowplow! Dec. 21 - More of that white s**t coming down. I've got blisters on my hands and a kink in my back. I think that the snowplow driver waits around the corner until I'm done shoveling the driveway. *^-#*ole. Dec. 25 - White Christmas? More freakin' snow. If I ever get my hands on the sonofaWitch who drives that snowplow, I swear I'll castrate him. And why don't they use more salt on these roads to melt this crap?? Dec. 28 - It hasn't stopped snowing since Christmas. I have been inside since then, except of course when that SOB "Snowplow Harry" comes by. Can't go anywhere, cars are buried up to the windows. Weather man says to expect another 10 inches. Do you have any idea how many shovelfuls 10 inches is?? Jan. 1 - Happy New Year? The way it's coming down it won't melt until the 4th of July ! The snowplow got stuck down the road and the s***head actually had the $$lls to come and ask to borrow a shovel! I told him I'd broken 6 already this season. Jan. 4 - Finally got out of the house. We went to the store to get some food and a ***damn deer ran out in front of my car and I hit the bas***ard. It did $3,000 in damage to the car. Those beasts ought to be killed. The hunters should have a longer season if you ask me. Jan. 27 - Warmed up a little and rained today. The rain turned the snow into ice and the weight of it broke the main limb of the oak tree in the front yard and it went through the roof. I should have cut that old piece of crap into fireplace wood when I had the chance. May 23 - Took my car to the local garage. Would you believe the whole underside of the car is rusted away from all of that damn salt they dump on the road? Car looks like a bashed up, heap of rusted cow muffins. May 10 - Sold the car, the house, and moved to Florida. I can't imagine why anyone in their freakin' mind would ever want to live in the God forsaken State of Pennsylvania. ----- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.10.13/1912 - Release Date: 1/23/2009 6:54 PM

Hi Nancy, I can't imagine to know what it's like to have a step child or grandchild, but I do know what it feels like as the mother of a child who is not the biological child of my husband and his family. My husband's sister clearly shows her favortism, and has no problem doing it. I get so angry!!!!! Yes, my son does have his moments where he can be obnoxious, trying, although never disrespectful, but he has been through a lot in his short little life because his father and I are not together. He is not spoiled, and is taught to be responsible - a very sensitive little guy. On one occasion after my husband's parents gave him an especially large gift of money (that was exactly the same as given for the other kids), my son and I together wrote them a thank you note for the gift, showing our appreciation for their acceptance of my son just like the other grandchildren. HOWEVER, when my SIL show clear preference for my other childrens' company, and says on the phone "Say hi to the two kids for me" (I have 3 kids!!!!), I feel hurt VERY deeply for the sake of my son, who is an innocent recipient of this treatment. I never tell him things like this, but I know he knows. It's so rude! Just think of how YOU would feel if your biological grandchildren happened to become step children and the family there treated them with less respect than their own. Wouldn't you heart just ache for them? I am an adoptee. Thank goodness that there are people like my parents who pray to God to be so lucky to take on another person's child! It's the same thing. You really have to accept that oldest granchild as your own. You could gain a wonderful companion. :)

Hi Cordova Mom & XAMSX, I understand what you are saying and believe me, I do NOT want to walk, but my husband is freaking out and has me freaked out. We didn't go into this with a "we'll see what happens and pull out if we have to" ideal, we really want the house. We understand we signed a legally binding contract. We didn't put a contingency because of two reasons: 1.) we were told by our agent and the listing agent that they would not consider a contingent offer and 2.) we did the math based on what we would both make off of our houses (after checking comps, paying commission, DOM, closing, etc.) and with those figures we figured we could suffer with 3 mortgages for a few months, knowing that our houses would sell. Also, as an extra cushion we originally asked for a 100 day settlement period, we got a 75 day. Avg. DOM in both our neighborhoods was 30, no more than 60. Our inexperience obviously shows as my house is not going to sell for anything close to what we figured or what comps support. I can't even get any calls on it!! Fortunately, DH's house sold in less than 24 hours at full-price; unfortunately, prices in my neighborhood have dropped dramatically in a short span with a glut of new homes on the market. They are currently selling for $30k-$25K less than they did even in the Fall. I will make about $30k less than what we thought. As I said, we are obviously very inexperienced with this whole process and our agent is a new agent w/no experience either. 3 doofuses = holy crapola!! I have been very frustrated with our agent as well...she really didn't "do" anything for DH's house and it sold on it's own which I'm definitely not complaining about; however, mine has been a disappointment. I have asked more than 1/2 dozen times to have a correctly spelled listing, a good, solid description and better pictures (w/o raindrops on the lense; daylight in the pictures instead of darkness would be nice too). I have asked them to put me on different sites, my realtor.com listing shows the picture of the closet! She is late too everything, doesn't do what she says she will and "too nice" to other agents rather than being aggressive in getting answers. I'm just overly depressed and frustrated. I feel I have DH in one ear and my desire for the house in the other.

The trouble with lists of frost hrady and dry hardy plants, is that they vary so much from area to area. Where my parents-in-law live in the wimmera, their sandy soil and lower rainfall means plants like lavender and rosemary will die if they aren't watered, whereas mine are never watered and do extremely well here on my heavier soils, colder climate and higher rainfall. My echiums, which are listed as 'frost sensitive' have been frosted many, many times and are growing like crazy things. I love them. As for trees - the five acre front of my block is planted out to about 1000 decidious trees. I love them at any time of the year. The silver birches look great in any season, as do the ornamental pears, with their shiny red bark. How would you ever enjoy the twisted limbs of the Scotch elm if the leaves didn't drop off once a year? We mulch with straw and manure. The large groves of birch trees were not watered through the drought and did very well. We are slowly manuring and mulching every tree. The ones we have done are growing like crazy and need very little attention. As for water - we don't get town water, so supply our own. I use it however I want to at whatever time of the day I want to. If anyone doesn't like it, come here and tell me face to face. (...and I will squirt you with the hose ;-) You want to save some of the planet's resources? Stop buying pre-prepared food in multiple packaging. Buy 'whole' food only and make your own. My absolute top plant for dry, un-mulched, un-manured sandy, clay soil? Ornamental grapes. They look good in winter too. Finally, I have lived, worked and gardened in every outback, stinking hot, dry and impoverished place in Australia. We moved here because of the climate and rainfall and I intend to plant, water, manure and mulch whatever I damn well please. If that offends anyone, as my nephew would say - talk to the eyeballs. Or try gardening in Paraburdoo without watering, mulching or manuring anything and see how much fun gardening can really be! Robyn