George, Congratulations on your success with the tater onions. The certainly did size up well and look great. I love your description of our "planting window" as a narrow slot. I think that is true every year, but this was the worst spring I've ever seen for staying cold/wet and seriously delaying planting until the heat was breathing down our necks. I alternate planting bush beans or black-eyed peas with my onions too and it has worked well here. Thanks for providing the link too. Dawn

After sleeping on it and re-reading and re-reading and re-reading the letter we received 1000's of times, DH thinks maybe, maybe they haven't put the lien on our house yet. Maybe. Here's the letter as written, and I have to say it says some sad things about the schools here in Garland if this writer was educated here. The grammar reminds me of those bogus emails from people overseas wanting to share their money with you if you just give them your bank account number. "If amount due is not paid on or before February 25, 2009, please contact the City of Garland Revenue Recovery Department because a lien has been placed on the property described above and a $16.00 Lien Filing Fee will be charged. A lien gives the City of Garland the right to hold the property as security until the amount due is paid. In addition, late payments are subject to 10% interest compounded annually if not paid on or before the due date." They switched tenses in the middle of a sentence, to say the least. This letter just doesn't make sense to us at all. We've received no prior bills or warnings for this tree trimming they say they did back in December. Cross your fingers that this is just a poorly worded letter warning us that they will place a lien, but haven't yet. Sally

I talked to her. It went pretty well. She seems to be in the same boat with her kids. They are having a real hard time with dad's new relationship. Her son is taking it the hardest because he was really close to his dad. The kids were still adjusting to the divorce (it was final in May) and then BM moved in with him in August. She said he hid it from his kids on the weekends they came over, which explains why she kept leaving SD at her mom's house in the beginning. When she suggested that the kids needed counseling because everything was happening too soon, he told her that SD & her sister had gone to counseling and were just fine. (I don't know if they really believe that or are in denial that SD is having a hard time too. She's been a mess over this) She said it didn't sound right at the time, that SD and her sister must really feel abandoned. It was funny that she said all the same things I've been complaining about. She says that every Monday, at least one of her kids misses school from being sick from eating junk food. She says the kids tell her they stay up all night playing video games and watching movies. She had the same concern over where everyone is sleeping, since she knows the house has only one bedroom. I really tried not to criticize BM but she has already given BF's ex the same attitude she gives me. The impression I got from her is that she is a very mature person that is only concerned with doing the right thing for her kids. She says that BM doesn't like her and that her ex has actually called her to apologize for BM's attitude toward her. It went well. She took my number and said she'd like to keep in touch if we ever have concerns. She said her kids only go there two weekends a month and she tries to be as nice as she can toward BM. She says if BM doesn't like her, she might not be so nice to her kids. That's pretty much my philosophy too. She also reassured me that her ex hasn't been drinking for a couple of years. (she may not know that BM is a party girl and he may have partied with her, but I don't know for sure and I'm not going to throw that out there without proof) I didn't tell her everything because I think it would come across as me bashing mom and that's not what I wanted to do. She is just as concerned about the same things and that was basically what we focused on. There were no bombshells. No bashing either.

cynic's comment on my comment made me think. Of course I wouldn't expect my parents to cancel a night at the the opera or expect to be invited to a business dinner they were hosting...but we have always been welcomed in their home... because, well, it's our home too; it will always be our home. Our family is close knit and would always include other family members. I don't think it's about being spoiled; I think it's more about your family dynamics. When we have relatives come in town everyone always go over there to see them... not stay away to give them alone time. I have a feeling your son would have totally understood if you were busy with something else (like a church function or a wedding, etc). I just don't think he thinks your entertaining a grandson should be something that he would be excluded from or made to feel he was interrupting. There may be more to the story, but I doubt it. It would be like if I called my mom and told her I'd be close by and could I coome by to visit and she implied it was a bad time because my brother was coming over that night... I would be like what? ...That makes it a good time, not a bad time? I really wouldn't understand. Again, family dynamics are different but I hardly ever see a reason to exclude family members, especially your son from his own house when he is coming in town. Heck, even if you were having a work dinner party, I'd invite him. Inclusion is almost always better than exclusion. Even amoung friends and even when people think they want to be alone. Bottom line, it never feels good to feel left out especailly amoung family and espiecially when you could have easily been included. Alone time is nice, but unless you're lovers, it's not needed at someone else's expense.