gottagarden wrote: "My "lawn" is simply mown green weeds. If I used weedkiller, I wouldn't have anything left." Same here. I have Bermuda grass with wild grasses, perennial weeds, dandelions, and in a few spots, white clover. I think dandelions and clover are so pretty and they attract pollinators in the spring when they are blooming. I do fight to eradicate the Goat-head stickers though. (grrrr). The wild rabbits "plant" the seeds in the yard when they come down off the hill to browse. Once in awhile I have to dig them out. They were all over the back yard when I first bought this place. Too many to dig, so I spread weed and feed for a few years until they were gone. My chickens fertilize it so I don't need to anymore. I would LOVE to grow Eco-lawn. Very pretty. Looks to be a cool-weather lawn though, so it might not do too well here, except in spring. Now, I can walk barefoot and sit in the cool grass in the summertime. Grass is nice for star gazing on pleasant summer nights (another country pleasure - no city lights, so the stars are clear and bright). I enjoy mowing. Love the smell of fresh-cut grass and enjoy keeping it cut neat, although I am not a neat freak, so I don't fuss over it. It keeps the yard much cooler in the summertime and my family has croquet matches in the summer, especially on Easter and the 4th of July. What would croquet be without a lawn? And it just so happens that I love the color of grass - green! I brought some St. Augustine grass with me from Louisiana years ago and am now trying to get it established in certain areas. It is doing well down by the fish pond. It is not supposed to grow here because of our cold winter temps, but it does fine. Has to be watered in dry years, but otherwise it does fine on its own. Wouldn't grow in the back yard on the hillside though - too dry, but nice in the partial shade down where I grow my Tropicals. Easy to dig out if it ever invades the flower beds, unlike "devil Grass" (Bermuda) Hiss, Hiss ~ Annie

Of course, there are people who are naturally rude. And there are people who are tired; who are stressed over a family member's illness; who are simply preoccupiedby how their child may get home from soccer practice. And there are people who simply are not good at their jobs. Let's deal with them when they may be encountered. These are the exceptions, not the common rule of everyday contact. And if these are one's common everyday contact, there may be another problem entirely. It sounds as if the issue may be respect. When it comes to respect, however, there's a simple and basic truth: respect is never given away, it's always earned. No one is "entitled" to respect. And the first step in earning respect is to always give respect. That means in one's dress, manner, communications and habits. For example, one certainly doesn't earn or give respect by being in a bank for a mortgage wearing a tank top, shorts and flip-flops, now do they? For those who are young and/or look youthful, congratulations! You will be the envy of your peer group for years to come. If you want to be taken seriously, then be serious. Earn respect by giving respect. For some at least, earning respect is as simple as courteously giving it to others through how one appears, presents and conducts oneself. For example, when was the last time you said "yes, mam" or "yes, sir"? This discussion seems like a lot about a little. It seems like something that would be discussed in an affluent region of a developed nation and no where else. Only a thought.

Same here with the frustration and depression to be moved in but not really "finished". And knowing that will actually take years since we did all the work ourselves and I'm totally burned out. And yet I've been doing this for a year now and I struggle to turn the "builder's brain" off. That being said, the SO proposed this spring when we moved in, so I've swapped "builder's brain" for "marriage planning" and suddenly I have a whole new hobby to keep me busy. I of course, feared that I was replacing one obsession with another and post-wedding would likely find myself doubly-depressed...only to realize that we're gung-ho to start our family so we're pretty much going to never stop and just be bored again in our lives. Which is kinda terrifying too.

Usually the owner of the money gives a pot of money now, or makes regular payments over a period of time, to usually an insurance company, in exchange for a benefit that the insurance company offers. The insurance company agrees to begin paying a specified amount to that person, beginning at a certain date and, often, continuing for the rest of the person's life. Or, at a lower rate of regular payout, to include a surviving spouse. However ... some people found that the original owner of the money often died within a few months of beginning to receive the annuity ... and that was the end of the contract: the full amount paid was kept by the insurance company (except for the small amounts paid out). One financial advisor that I knew had a client over 80, with no dependents, that considered buying an annuity (i.e. was in the process of being sold an annuity by an agent). He, cancelling another appointment, travelled some distance to meet with the two, and when he asked how much of a benefit there would be if the lady died in a couple of months, was told that there was no such provision in the proposed agreement. Many people who were much younger than that lady, when considering a proposed contract, didn't like that idea, so there's an option available for the original purchaser to have a provision in the contract where the payout period will be for his/her life but, should s/he not live long after the payout begins, the annuity will continue (at a reduced rate) for a 10, or 15 year, or other length, period. The rates that insurance companies offer regarding annuity payout lebvels usually bear some connection with current interest rates. When rates are high, often the rates of payout offered by annuities are higher than average, but usually not comparable. When rates are low, as they have been lately, payout rates offered are usually low. The reason being that the insurance company has guaranteed to make payouts at predetermined levels, but don't have certainty as to how much they can earn on the invested assets in the meantime. The insurance company doesn't give a guarantee to make a level of payout that is going to hurt them in the end. In the case of life insurance, the owner of the policy bets that s/he's going to die prematurely, when some non-employable dependents require an income for them to live on for a number of years, but leaving no one to provide it. The insurance company bets that the buyer of the life insurance is going to live to an advanced age, paying premiums throughout. The insurance companies are the ones with the actuaries. In the case of an annuity, the buyer is betting that s/he is going to live for a long time ... collecting that annuity payment regularly through to, say, 104. And the insurance company bet that s/he's going to die before they've paid out a bucket of money in total to that person. And if they're covering a spouse, as well, or have given a guarantee that they'll continue paying for, say 10 years, even if the owner dies a month after payout begins ... the amounts of the regular payout the the company is willing to offer is lower. As their risk is greater. I confess to a bias against insurance companies' practices, largely because they marketed whole life insurance policies for ages, telling ofthe great value in having some value build up in the policy over the years. But, in order to collect that "extra value" ... ... the owner of the policy pretty well had to arrange to be alive and dead at the same time. For many, who want to spend some time learning how money works, and are not going to get all bent out of shape if the value of theri assets drops for a while when there are corrections in the equity markets, I think that they can likely do better investing on their own, if they do it skilfully. For quite a long time, I said that no one cares as much about your money as you, so it's wise to learn how to manage it well. But in recent years I've changed the tune somewhat, to ... no one cares as much about your money as you ... except some folks that would like to shift some (most? all?) of it from your pocket ... ... into theirs. Your job is to keep that from happening ... unless you get good value in return. Enough for now. Good wishes for making themost effective coices, given your circumstances. ole joyful