I've been off work for a month and a half and I feel awesome about what I've managed to accomplish. I've been on a cleaning and purging binge, which, while still incomplete, has resulted in four carloads of donations to St. Vinny's, my old car finally getting donated, an almost humorous surge in our trash and recycling output, and five boxes of books waiting for me to drop them off at the library later today. Closet by closet, room by room, I'm managing to cull an amazing amount of things which are no longer useful to me. Of course, I'm about to embark on a trip halfway across the country to bring more stuff into the house... but these are meaningful, quality items, and Steve assures me they will either prove useful, or be given away. Steve's mom's estate has finally been settled. Later this week I'm flying to Atlanta, renting a truck, unloading a storage locker, and driving his heirlooms back to Wisconsin. I've managed to make arrangements to stay or visit with no fewer than eight people on my way back. (Including Jan & Robin.) It'll be a fun 4 or 5 day adventure... I'll be driving no around 3 hours at a stretch between visiting people. I'm still not sure on all the arrangements. Scheduling is a little tricky. My friends all have their own lives, and I'm counting on them not only being available, but being so in a sequentially convenient order. We'll see how it works out, but it should be an adventure! Oh, I got to see a local resident critter close up yesterday. Yes, they're supposed to be nocturnal, but they will move around in the day if they're cold, hungry, or if their house has been disturbed. Plus, I guess it's possum mating season, so he/she might have been looking for a date too. Regardless, rabies is exceedingly rare in possums because of their unusual body temperature, so I'm not worried and just enjoyed watching the little bugger. He almost came to our patio door before he noticed the dogs and I looking at him, then he toddled off to the neighbors. Isn't he cute?

you guys are great!i cherish laughter above all so this has been a hoot. for serious, we find trash can lids too flimsy for big digging projects/holding dirt(like bulb trench planting; for that, we use large thick mil heavy plant pots), but great for small amounts of dirt.but they are way too flexible to carry an armload of plants; for that, i use my ubiquitously useful rectangular bins (Rubbermaid, box stores; about 28"L x 20" w x 12" H). best, mindy www.cottonarboretum.com/ and christin, can i put your photo on the tools pg. i'm doing for our website? That is just BRILLIANT.

I have used a child's snow sled for about 4 years to carry hay to my horses. It does get a little heavy with a full bale and my land is not level. I usually break the hay bales into several flakes. I pile the flakes on the sled and secure them on with the elastic bungee cords that have the metal hooks on each end. The hooks fit nicely on the edge of the sled. That way the flakes don't fall off. The one I have been using is the tabogan kind and I also bought a round one to haul rocks from the field to my yard to use for edging the flower beds. The sleds are so handy for lots of things. Judith

Well, I didn't want to be a nurse & I don't know about being a rescuer (whether in fights between friends or family members). And I don't think I had the urge to fix objects either. But my history includes a father who is a bit obsessive-compulsive, & definitely leans towards hoarding, so maybe I got a bit of that. LOL And hubby has a little of the noted tendencies & likes to fix & make things; i.e., furniture. I guess dear old dad is a fixer too. I know he took my broken Yellow Bird blow dryer from the trash in the 70s or 80s, fixed it & kept it. If I'd had known he could fix it, I would have wanted it back! LOL