Cindy - THAT is funny! Lavy, huh??? Yeah, I don't want this thread removed. Your pics are too pretty. I really wanted to add to that post, but figured the same as you. He'll just go away eventually and he's obviously not someone you can be rational with. Thanks for the tip on the outdoor kitchen :-) When I move back east in the next few years, I'll keep it in mind for the next yard. About your burner - have you seen those hotpads that are about 8" square and made of flexible silicone? You can get them at Williams Sonoma or a local specialty kitchen store. They're safer to put the hot plates on and they'd protect your side burner when you need to use it as a counter. I use them on my granite kitchen counters all the time. Just can't break from years of training that you don't put hot things on the counter ;-) If we lived closer we could have progressive pool parties - start with the Turboritas at my house and move to yours for dinner :-)

The only significant planting projects for this year involves both the iron abour in the front garden and the south alley garden. Both have been affected by the current pandemic situation - because the gardening service I was counting on to help with spring clean-up plus the digging chores related to these projects is not available this year so we will have to do all the work (slowly!) ourselves, plus most garden centres around here are closed or offering limited 'curb-side pick-up'. One nursery not too far away that I have shopped at often is primarily a production/landscaper supply company but does have a retail store - since I often am looking for something that they list on their site but don't carry in the retail outlet, I am used to going to the production yard to get what I want. They appear to have quickly modified their procedures etc. that they apply to their commercial customers to facilitate retail 'curb-side pick-up'. So I ordered via e-mail and we picked the plants up this morning without any problems. Two of the plants are the 'Emerald Gaiety' euonymus that I've used to try to cover the iron arbour in the main bed in the front garden. I should have planted two on the rear side of the arbour back in 2012 when I planted the ones on the front side of the arbour. The plants are finally almost covering the front of the arbour (the right-hand side has been slow to fill in because it is hotter and drier on that side....) and I hope the process will be complete by the end of this summer. BUT it is now noticeable that the rear face needs covering too! So that will start this year when we plant the euonymus we got today - I told them that the euonymus would be used on an arbour and asked for ones with long stems growing, and that's what they gave me! The second planting project involves digging out shrubs and clematis vines from the house side of south alley and replacing them with low-growing 'Biokovo" perennial geraniums. We liked the clematises etc. but we're trying to simplify work now that we are getting older. We will move the clematises to the arbour over the south gate but discard the shrubs. Some pictures: This shows the 'naked' rear face of the front arbour today: This picture from a few years ago was taken looking up the south alley towards the gate and shows what we will be removing on the house side - the fence side was cleared out to just ferns and hostas last year, which suit the shady conditions on that side. We liked the clematises on the house side but it is time to move on to something simpler.... What we bought today: Where we bought them: Now we just need some decent weather to work in the garden and plant this stuff...! Has everyone been able to start garden project by now?

Lois, my mom left a huge stack of granny squares! I assembled them into about a dozen lap robes and gave them to the local nursing home. That’s what mom did with the ones she completed. The nursing home staff was thrilled! Donna

Thank you! Full disclosure: I'm kind of a lousy painter. If I know I'm hanging my artwork in exactly the same spot post-painting, I don't bother to remove the picture hangers. That helped speed the rehanging of the artwork in a big way. I know, I know - that's not how the "pros" would've done it, but I'm ok with that. ;-) Gscience, I haven't been able to share the link to the product I have on order to do the inaccessible portion next to the vanity. It's called a "paint behind" tool, though - and looks much like a cake spreader. You can find it at the site that can't be named here.