EarthLy, The box has been FOUND!!! "Dear" son had picked it up with the rest of the mail earlier in the week on the way to his babysitting job. Since he picks up three boys after school, he had put everything in the trunk of the car so there would be room for the boys. Thank you for saying something. What wonderful surprises you sent, too, my friend. First of all I do love the Hershey's chocolates that you sent. But my gosh!!! What a HUGE chocolate covered caramel candy bar you sent. I've never seen one so big. Gotta love it! Did you make the zuchinni relish? I opened it up right away and tried a little bit on a teaspoon. It is sooo good. Thank you for sharing! I will be taking the hot chocolate mix to school to have on my break. It always tastes so good in the wintertime with a little piece of candycane in it. Such a cute little bag you put it in, too. :) I am just thrilled with the purple sensation allium and double narcissus bulbs that you sent! I don't have either one of them. Even though we have snow, hubby says the ground is still soft so I can still go put them out. The ceramic Christmas candles are absolutely darling, too. They are so cute! One with a Santa, another with a gingerbread boy, and the other with a snowman. Then on the other side of them one says Happy Holidays, another says Seasons Greetings, and the third says Merry Christmas. I have already put them out on display in the front sitting room. Lastly, I just adore the sunflower sharing bottle. It is way cool! To me it is a very meaningful gift from you to me that I will always treasure and have for a memory of you. Maryanne, you are a gift and a treasure to me and to others on GW. I think others would agree with me. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and sharing. Mellen

Hey Annie, Is the trip to CA still on? Gotta be, right? FWIW, I'm used to country driving/small city driving and I drove in Orange County with no trouble. (Preferred it to what I'm having to get used to in Baltimore!) Also, Laguna Beach and Crystal Cove are unbelievably gorgeous. You can escape to nature in half an hour/an hour while you're there. You'll be fine. You might even like it. 8^) Just wish I could meet you there. ~Amanda P.S. LOVE the wedding story and pictures! Michigan... Texas... apparently they're the same! Here is a link that might be useful: Irvine to Crystal Cove

I'm here, a2g! TG, good news on the jaw thing. It sounds like your guy is taking a careful approach. Also love the doors! :) raee, sorry you went through the abscess experience, too. It seems it's not as uncommon as one would think! Great news on the leaves. I put out a call on Freecycle for people's bagged leaves. Specifically mentioned I wasn't volunteering to rake their yards, but could keep more out of the landfills if it were already bagged. I gotta pick that up, but at least my new garden bed will have a strong leaf layer! And sorry about the deer. They've done some damage here, but mostly kept away I think because of my dog. Now that she's gone...? (Shhhh! don't tell 'em) cal_quail, glad HD is stepping up, at least with the plumber thing. I wonder if they care about this stuff, or if they continue to recommend these (dumb) companies? I've been working hard on my newest garden bed. I'm going Hugelkulture and it's coming along nicely. One of my goals was not to buy anything for it. I didn't realize that was a goal until I started thinking about the lasagna layers. Anyway, I've got the wood from OCD reuse center purchases (and have enough for 2 more beds) and am starting to collect the timber (junk wood) to put in the bottom. I was seeing all kinds along the road, when my neighbor took me to two woodpiles he has, which for some reason he's not using. Aged wood won't pull the nitrogen out of the soil as energetically. Plus, I've been bringing home 5 gallon buckets of coffee and tea grounds to compensate for that. I have pictures, but am working off old phones. (No $$to take my old phone to the repair place, to consolidate probably lost info onto the old SIM card, to transfer it to the new phone I've had for 3 months now.) It is my hope to be able to go back and post some pics appropriately. BTW. Anyone remember the generic Blutooth pin for the Motorola Razr phones? They were extremely popular, so I'm hoping. :) I've tried the most common ones, but so far, no go. If I can figure that out, I can transfer a bunch of pics to my computer. These phones have lost the capability to email pics, and one just can't take 'em anymore. When do those abilities expire? Grrrr... In the meanwhile, here's a picture I'd sent to my sister of my latest adoption (last August), Buster. He's put on a few since meals are regular:

Leela - the rmt is an acronym for my business. I'm from the Skagit Valley originally, so Mt. Baker and all the North Cascades are my favorite places. In fact, I've never set foot on Mt. Rainier (too crowded), although I have skied at Crystal a few times. TG - Thank you for the anniversary wishes. With wife's birthday falling on the 9th and Valentine's Day and our anniversary falling on the 14th, most years it's all rolled into one. I have success! The second piece of trim with leg for the closet cabinets actually fit this time. Making a second one was a blessing in disguise because I was not completely satisfied with the shape of the leg on the first one and I tweaked it a bit. It looks more pleasing to my eye now. I also got the counter top glued up yesterday and will start sanding and finishing it today (if I can finish my work and stay off GW long enough, that is).