I went to one of my favorite nurseries to buy pine bark mulch in the form of small nuggets. They didn't have any because they didn't get any in this year because they didn't think that it sold well enough last year. But, but, but... So, did I just go home? Of course not. I bought plants. Perhaps this was their plan from the beginning. Because I have ordered an unconscionable number of roses this year by mail order, I did not buy roses. I bought two Dianthus, 'Eastern Star' and 'Neon' (and it is). I know only one Dianthus that really grows well here and that was a pass-along plant (not to me and unnamed so I don't know what it is nor how to get it) but I keep trying and the tags said that they bloomed all Summer. We'll see. I also got Liatris 'Kobold', Phlox 'Shortwood' , Iris sibirica 'White Swirl' (I think) and 3 flats of Impatiens. They said that the impatiens had been treated to prevent mildew while they were being grown but that the treatment could not be bought by the public to continue the protection. I buy Impatiens every year for certain large pots. I cannot imagine being without them. I hope I don't have to learn. Every year I think that I will cut back on plants and every year there are more. This is not even the tip of the iceberg. Others purchased by mail order are, for example, Rhodea (an evergreen shade lover), Thelipteris kunthii (a fern that is supposed to keep growing throughout the Summer), Hellebores 'Joseph Lemper', 'Jakob', 'Winter Moonbeam' and others, Alstromeria ('Tangerine Tango' for my sister and one for me) and on and on.Then there are the roses; 'White Cap', 'Pax' (Vintage), 'Mme Isaac Periere', 2 'Pope John Paul II', 'Devoniensis', 'Eden', 'Young Lycidas' (lovely perfume), 'Mlle Cecile Brunner', 'Mme Alfred Carriere', 'Darlow's Enigma', 'New Dawn' and then there are those that haven't arrived yet. And yet, the 'Blanc Double de Coubert' that I planted years ago looks better than it has in years as do the number of buds on the 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' and 'Ilse Krohn Superior' (alfalfa really does work!) and peonies new to bloom are budding so it IS worth it even if the Mlle de Sombreuil' did die. Cath

The website I am doing is completely free. If you want to have your own domain name, which I did...you can buy it by going to http://www.netfirms.ca/ A domain name of your own...you choose its name and then, for $10 a year you can keep it and no one else can have it. I have my site hosted by Weebly, a company in California, as you will see their name at the bottom of the website pages. I love it as it is so easy to use. I have never taken any courses with computers but have been easily able to set up my own website. I have a friend who looked at quite a few free website building sites on the internet, tried out a few and chose this one as it was the most user friendly. So, I figured that since she used it and found it easy to use, I would also use it. On Weebly there is no limit on the size my website will be able to be or number of pictures it can hold. I upload regular pictures from my computer, I think the largest it will accept is between 4 - 5 MB in size .... but, if my picture is larger in my computer, I just shrink it a bit first. You will know if it won't take it...it will take forever and then come up with error. Shrink the picture a bit and upload again. No reducing it to email size is necessary. The site uploads very quickly. Brenda

Four fantastic shell-looking coasters arrived in the mail today. THANK YOU BEV! The batteries in my camera need to be replaced, so I'll have to describe them to you all. The tops are made of fabric with lots of shells in it, and the bottoms are sky blue with poofy clouds mixed in. They are all shaped like shells, and Bev quilted the shell lines into them. They are just too cool, and yes Bev, perfect! Now, how did you ever know I'm a beach addict? LOL! Either tomorrow or Saturday I'm going to have to go to the grocery store and pick up the ingredients so I can mix up some pineapple sunrises and use them! Thanks Again Bev!!!

I know that it is basically painting with coloured wax, but other than that I just found out about it recently. Does sound intriguing, doesn't it?