Hey Jerry! The funny thing is that I use the gritty mix and they still died. I am not sure how long they can dry out for before a next watering. I can't get it right. I either may have let them get too dry and then when watered, the roots were dead before hand. Or, the temps were just too cold at 55 degrees and the mix that cold with moisture did them in. I hope I get it this year. Yours is very very nice. My ZZ plant did great in the same enviroment along with all my other plants. I think it would of been too cold for my Jades, even with any type of watering they would of required, so I kept those warm and under lights last year and they did great. Mike:-)

Susan, Ha, yeah, I guess I must have reeled him in. :) Thanks for everyone here, I learned enough to pass on now and I sound halfway like I know what I'm talking about, I think. lol I guess I'm not the only one without many butterflies from what you say. Now it's supposed to rain for the next few days. That will at least make the plants grow from last year and the year before, but it won't do much for the ones that are already jammed in their containers waiting to be planted out. I was going to dig sod today but...RAIN! I can't wait for those southerly winds to come our way. Ha, I complain when we go straight from winter into summer, and now I'm a little mad that it's not warmer. Ha. Sandy, I think you're right about him liking the butterflies! Just today I had a BST eclose and he put it outside. He loves releasing them. I knew that he knew what those and the Monarchs are since I raise them here to release, but I didn't know that he actually knew those other things. Nice! Gee, I'm surprised to hear you say that you haven't seen any CW's yet. I guess I just assumed that everyone south of me had them by now. Yeah, I wouldn't doubt if it will warm up before long and be warmer than I like it to be too. A person just can't win, huh? ;-) I hope that you and I can get all our perennials in this year because I usually end up with the dilemma of rushing to get everything done all at once and yeah, it's tiring. My back suffers for it, but I keep pushing myself. I figure it probably won't get any better (DDD) and I'm trying to get it done asap. I'm far from wheelchair bound but I don't think any time goes back that it doesn't hurt. I've worked out a good system of laying down two mats on the grass in front of the flower bed I want to plant or the sod I want to dig. I sit down on the one for awhile until I can't reach of the stuff, slide over onto the other mat and then move the mat I was just on over to the other side of me to slide on after I get done with the section I'm just starting. It works out pretty good for me. Now if only I could afford to hire someone to do the push mowing, I'd be set! :) I know what you mean about the never ending job thingey. Yep, suffering at night is something I'm familiar with and wish I weren't. Sorry to hear that you're in the same boat. The butterflies are worth the work though, and I'm sure you probably agree. :) Miss Sherry, Haha, yeah, me too! Now I guess I can move on to the next lesson. :) Btw, I feel like I've learned a lot from you on the forum and wanted to say thank you! tdogmom aka Cal Sherry, aka Sherry, I guess both of our hubbies are good learners then. :) Sometimes I wonder if they're testing us or something when it seems like they aren't listening but actually are. Ha. That's a funny story about yours giving his 'expert' butterfly talk at the nursery. Hee hee. That's good that we aren't the only ones passing on butterfly info. I think I end up talking about it to whoever, even strangers on the street. :-D I never know who will take it to heart and who won't, so I have to tell everyone because I have to have hope for them all. You can't predict who will actually make a difference, so I say educate as many as possible. You're familiar with that. :) I sure am glad that you and others are willing to "take a chance" on people who come on here. You could have all ignored me that first year when I felt like a fish out of water when I found Monarch cats here, but you were so willing to answer questions. Thanks to you and others I raised 70 that year and 500+ last year. I've become a milkweed nut and have about 250 plants here counting the ones in the ground and the ones in big pots. :-O Wow, just think of all of the 'paper towels' who have absorbed the knowledge that you've passed along! ;-) It must really give you a sense of satisfaction...keep up the terrific work! bernergrrl, Yes, I think my hubby is pretty sweet, and I'll tell him that you said that...it should make his day. :) That's great that yours has been listening too. It certainly is exciting, huh. I don't know if I have a lot of butterflies right now. I think when my milkweed, butterfly bushes, and coneflowers are blooming is when I'll have a lot. I didn't realize that there's a lot of difference from one zone to another either. Hopefully it won't be too long before you and I and others start seeing more butterflies. I'm going through withdrawal. lol It sounds like you've seen quite a few. Yay! :) Ha, you definitely sound like me with the thinking in bed. I almost drive myself bonkers. Ha. Cathy

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's so great to hear from others who have gone through the process. We are building a house out in the country, as well. We are planning on doing the back up generator (we are in wyoming) so it's nice to hear that it is worth the extra cost. We are not putting in a basement (the water table is too high on our property) but I do have some concerns about my laundry/mudroom. I don't know the dimensions but we ended up stealing space from that area to make our master bath even larger. In the end we are doing a stackable washer and dryer but that will leave me room for a big closet for coats, as well as, a smaller closet with a doggie door for the cat boxes. We will also have room for a bench/cubbie unit. I've worried that I will hate the stackable washer and dryer (I'm short and with 3 small kids they will be used alot) but I thought I'd appreciate the extra storage. The mud is ridiculous here but we've been living in a mobile home on our property for a year while we built so I'm hoping that just the extra space (3 kids, 3 cats, 3 dogs in less than 1100 square feet now) will help me look past the mud that will be inevitable for a long time. We are afraid to pave our road because my hubby worries he will just tear it up snowplowing with his tractor in the winter. And it's true that gravel is cheap (relatively) and can make a big difference. We are doing a playroom in the bonus space above the garage but otherwise our house is just one level - thank you so much for sharing.

I think this will be the first Easter we haven't spent with our kids ever. I love when we all go to Mass together on Easter morning. Our son is 38 today. Our daughter turned 33 last Friday. Our precious angel granddaughter will be 1 on April 25. I don't think we will be together for any of it. It makes me so sad to be apart from them but it's what we have to do right now. I am very grateful for skype and video calls. We skyped this morning with our son and our daughter and grandbaby. Chase blows kisses, says dada and mama and has a heart melting laugh and smile. I'll be watching mass on tv Easter morning and will thank God for the many blessings in my life. Happy Easter everyone, whatever meaning it has for you and however you celebrate it.