Jk, WOW, what a transformation!!! I love it all! I've been gardening on and off since I was about ten and planted my first carrots and radishes in mom's flower garden. (47 now). Its funny, this post had me thinking back over the years and how the gardener in me prevails through obstacles. my ex, hated anything growing, i'd plant a tree, he'd pull it out. gardening was the only thing my mom and I could discuss without a full blown fight brewing. when i remarried, we lived in a townhouse, got permission from the apt manager to rip out two horrendous hollys on either side of front door, and plant little beds there, which i loved. when we bought this house 8 1/2 years ago, I dug in like never before. had expanded the beds considerably in two years. in these past 8 years, my health has taken a hit a couple times, and the gardens always show that. this spring, after fighting some big health issues, i'm going back out to play in the dirt, and do whatever I can. I miss my flowers so much. It's a fresh start for me as there is nothing left in the gardens at all, save a lonely half dead azalea bush, a couple daffs that missed getting dug up last year, and a whole slew of weeds, though the beds did get completely cleared out last year for the makeover, so not as bad as they could be. I've got to do some major frugal gardening, so almost everything I'm doing is coming from seeds, which I pretty much always did anyway :D some of those seeds have been started in the last couple days, and I see this week it's supposed to warm up to upper 50's, so you can bet I'll be out there doing whatever I can do. Gardening is ever revolving, the history of your life shows in your gardens. The one thing I will always have growing is my forget-me-nots. My neighbors are all older, and the one across the street used to sit on her porch and just stare into the gardens out front, said she loved to see the forget me nots blooming. she's now in a nursing home, and i've planted some forget me nots in a pot for her, if they bloom this year, i'll take them to her. gardening is what I love to do and come what may, i'll do what I can. My dreams of the garden as I used to want it, will never come true now, but that doesn't stop me from having what I can have. I know without my flowers, my life is just too bleak. this place, GW, is a real picker upper for me, I'm glad I found my way back here after two years of being gone. sally

"Shake and Bake" refers to the nickname given to the state of California, which it is not only named for, but it is the state flower for :) California is often referred to as "Shake and Bake, USA WELL DUH!...lol, FANNA WHO IS Hysterical laughing at herself for FORGETTING THIS FACT about Callie! See I am afraid to TRY any Poppy for breadseed because what if someone sends one they THINK is safe and it isn't? JASMINE, I ACCIDENTLY TYPED THE WRONG NUMBER! All is WELL it WAS Margos I was working on and since I believe I meanted the gift she gave me it was clear it was just a slip of the finger or brainwave or something along those lines..... Lisa I stayed up last night til 5:00 am or would that be stayed up this morning til? Oh well, which ever that is what I did. It is just a matter of me bring ODC and can't stop until I feel HAPPY with the results....lol!!! WOW you all are sending in some REALLY REALLY good stuff!!! Wendy, thanks for my GIFT...I will be on a CHOCOLATE high tonight, haha! That was so sweet of you to think of me, thanks again. I am actaully taking a breather at this minute to eat supper then I will get back to the seeds. :) Fran I will go ahead and post #11 thread!

Christine, You don't think people are often fibbing while "cooing" as Marcolo so aptly described it? You're just kidding, right? Of course some (many?) people are faking it! They fib in real life when confronted by the need for comment on someone's new reno project, so why not on here, too? (In my old-fashioned, uptight, rigid upbringing that's why one never asks anyone over to look at your house or admire improvements to it. This is intended to relieve your guests of any social need to imperil their mortal souls with a polite lie. The point was dissected (intensively) a few months ago. Many posters demanded that guests who didn't lavish praise on their host's dwellings be judged rude beyond redemption. It may be an age thing, or maybe regional differences. But truly, being put in the position of being expected to always comment favorably leads one, inevitably, to fibbing.) I'm not saying all praise here is false, or even faint, but a lot of it is, I'm quite sure. If you've posted your finished kitchen, you're expecting to be praised here. No one with any adult comprehension about social interactions misunderstands the expected/needed response. When I praise something here, I really mean it as I don't have time for - and there's no social cost - to skipping the rote praise on-line. However, when you post with a question requesting help to figure something out, then I think you need to graciously receive any comments anyone cares to offer. And recieve them at least as graciously as you anticipate responding to praise at the end of your travails, i.e at "The "Reveal". Even if you (privately) think the comments and suggestions are completely useless and off-base. You asked, it's offered, you say thank you. (And then ignore it, or mock it to your pet gerbil if you like.) In responses to queries, I try to be tactful, but that's mostly an attempt to make my response be useful by not being rejected out of hand because of hurt feelings. It takes precious time to respond thoughtfully to so when I ask a question I feel duty-bound to receive that gift of time with respect. (Even if later I mock it to my pet rabbits, who are very aesthetically sophisticated and regularly jeer at kitchens displayed here without large, hop-in coolers for lettuce.) L.

I have AMD. I have the wet version in my left eye [required/and may require additional treatment] and the dry version in my right eye [requiring no treatment but continual observation in the event it changes]. Luckily, this struck me at a very advantageous time in medical research. There's a relatively new [and successful] treatment for AMD called Eylea. AMD is actually actively bleeding tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye. Eylea injections stop the bleeding. Instead of losing all the sight in the eye...with vision turning to a black blob...you may only lose a very small area of view. I have what I consider a small grayish circle where I've lost vision...and my right eye compensates. I've adapted very well to this loss but the one side effect that is more annoying to deal with is the loss of depth perception. I continually watch where I put my feet when I'm walking in strange territory. In any case...I can tell you with a surety...having thoroughly researched this malady...as well as having discussed it with several expert medicos...that blue light does not, has not and will not...in and of itself...cause AMD. I am an inveterate reader, writer/ researcher. I don't own an iPad or similar reading tool but I rarely go to sleep at night without at least 2 hours of book reading [in bed] under my belt. And...yes...that can cause eye strain if you don't have proper lighting and the font is very small....but it will not lead to AMD. I do, however, spend a lot of time reading/writing on my PC. That, too, will/can cause eye strain if I don't have the proper lighting and I don't increase the font size to an easily readable number. But, again, it will not cause AMD and no blue light has caused me any harm. If you have some other disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure...or physical impairments such as cataracts, a detached retina or other ocular damage...or you take daily doses of aspirin or are/were a smoker...these may contribute to AMD. Actually, probably the biggest contributor...segregating those mentioned above...is old age. Like most body parts...our eyes do wear out in time. Your doctor, as Snidely mentioned above, is equipped to advise you where these issues are concerned. I, personally, inherited the genetic predisposition for AMD. I have no other contributing factors other than I am in mid to late 70's and I've used my eyes excessively throughout my lifetime for copious amounts of detailed work and enjoyment.