Electric bill: regardless, right now I'm feeling it's worth it since after that horrible ice storm we were back on line in less than 24 hrs, despite being on a sparsely populated rural road 1/2 mile from the end of the line while our neighbors in more populated areas on a different company didn't get power back for 3 days . . . But yes I basically understand it and my health insurance (like CTLady we are self-employed and have to get our own.) My homeowner's insurance is one of my next projects, so right now I'd have to say I'm not too clear on it. White plastic fences: Our neighbors (who have NO sense) put them in and expected them to keep the horses in. The horses learned quite quickly that a little bit of weight against the fence would break it, but it took 6 or 8 escapes for the owners to learn. So while the aesthetics are not what I prefer, the practical aspects for farm use are nil. The same neighbors cut down every tree (and then planted saplings that are dwarfed by their huge house) and not only stripped and sold the topsoil, but dug a dangerously steep-sided pond just so they could sell that soil as well. By preference & for personal use, Mac, though I do dual platform for work. I use a cell phone for my convenience (ordering take-out as I'm leaving town to drive home) and to communicate with my husband at his shop and at craft shows. One thing I like about our landline, that in an emergency it will tell 911 my address if I can't, whereas my cell can't. Crafty: Not in the usual sense. I'm a wood turner and plan to learn to weld this winter so I can make garden trellises. Pack rat: I prefer the term cluttered, but yes I am. But my closets & computer files are pretty well organized. Books & TV: I read a lot. I've enjoyed '3 Cups of Tea' and 'Born on a Blue Day,' both biography/memoir, and in general read lots of garden & plant books & mysteries. TV is often evening background noise while we're reading or web cruising or when I'm too tired to do other than just veg. I'm quite jealous of all the pets (some great photos!) We are catless currently due to the danger cars present to pets on our road (the house is only about 15 from the road.) We have many more voles than when we had cats. Eventually we'll be further away from the road, and then we'll once again have cats.

LOL i know i havent seen him around, i did email him, he said he's around, but nope, i don't see him, that ol red necks hiding in that corner, taking notes!! probably tryna make this a better place!! LOL then come out and tell us how to do that!! LOL but ya know, its just a little dull here without him!! LOL just a little, **big grinn** he's just an onery one!! i just love that!! **big smile** ya homeschooling was a huge step for me, especially with how tabor gets on my last nerve!! LOL and talla mirrors me, LOL so she squashes my last nerve and grinds it into the ground and all, but now when i feel that, i just calmly hug her and say something nice, that's very hard!! LOL tabor is adhd, his is concentration, so we had him on the different meds, and they just werent working, so finally i said no more!! and when we took her out, it was only fair to take him out, her's was because they wouldn't do anything for a boy biting and picking on her, she was terrified to go back, so we said to h** with it. and tabors was to take him off all the meds. so now it works great!! i give them sleepy time tea, and it calms them down to concentrate. works perfectly!! man i'm good!! LOL **huge smile** going to go get pic of my garden that is growing in now!! LOL ~Medo

EG, I have RLS and it's extremely annoying. We don't smoke any more, I quit about ten years ago and the husband hasn't smoked since way back in the 70s, but he snores and makes all those....ahem....OTHER noises that old men make, and has to get up eleventy-zillion times a night to go to the bathroom. I, on the other hand, nap on and off all night and the only way I seemed to get any sleep was to have the TV going, turned really low. That kept him awake. We finally decided we sleep better alone and he moved to the spare bedroom. Of course, we're old ferts so sleep is more important to us than some other things might be *g*. Now we have the two puppies, who have decided they like sleeping with me at night and napping with Grandpa in the afternoon. They're small, but boy are they bed hogs! They want to cuddle up close, and they are so darned warm I'm sweating half the night. I bought some more 2x6x8' lumber today, over Mr. Husband's dead body. He just doesn't get the love of gardening. Anyway, I'll be out constructing a couple of new beds as soon as it cools down tonight. I've decided to only build three, two for raspberries and one for asparagus. I have about ten 4x4x5' fence posts from the old fence, so I thought maybe I'd use those for the strawberry bed. Maybe build two beds about 4'x4' each instead of one 8-foot bed. I think I have enough scrap lumber to make them tiered, which would be nice. I wish I could make all the beds twice the depth, but it's getting too $$$ Granny Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Ladies may I join you in this discussion? I am a young healthy looking 62. And today is my first visit here after looking up adrenaline I sure understand better now That's what I have going on MY NATURE'S PACE MAKER.working. Adrenaline After a stay in icu heart recently everyone finally agreed i am mot crazy.it was.my heart. The docs installed is a device catch my heart acting badly is a heart tracker like halter monitor. Under my chest muscles on top of my heart. I can cause it record what just happened.. iam write with excitment because your stories are all so familiar. These stories for me begin after mitral valve repair. 7 years ago. Basic problem ..unless the doc sees the heart behaving badly they deny the problem. All this time we never could catch it Last doc said bluntly if we dont see it didnt happen. You must to er Well recent at 230 am it woke me up, just as you have described. I went directly to the er They caught the serious thing! Arrithemia and more then two days in icu. Now meds have slowed my heart from 70 to 52 while docs decide what to do. Last night I realized I was having an adreilin rush. The same rush I went to a neurologist for help. Over a year and half. Often it also affect my skin. Goose bumps crawling feeling all day long! Well have I got news for him.I was not crazy about that either. my gp I visited last month just to say. I know you don't know what is wrong but I still got it. Knows too I sat in neros office two months ago ,,,same thing. I said dr i just want you know ME when I end up in er..and i need you. well it was er straight to icu. Home now with electrical issues. Last last night meds have my average at 52 bpm.it woke me. 2 3 am. I use my tricks to get back to sleep.as soon as felt sleep coming on the stomach feeling spread. It woke me up heart pounding.sweat .out of breath!!! Happened several times . then checked average heart rate on my Garmin. 48. Average 48 so i was probably lower. Maybe 45! My natural pace maker kicked in every time sleep lowered bpm and I was short on air. Natural pace maker? Adrenaline can't wait to see what was recorded on my device Thank you body! Now I think i know what as going on for long time hidden from doc view. Electric shock adrenaline style