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Lynn, what a loving gesture. While your plant is still housebound, you can repot it, and set it outside on nice days to start getting it hardended off. If your soil is warm you can start to prepare the place you want to plant your hydrangea. I always use the Old Farmers Almanac as a guideline for when to plant and this year they said March 23 would be our last frost date. Personally, I think they may have missed it, but it's not the 23 yet. We shall see. I have planted out a lot of hydrangeas that came from florists and most did ok, and bloomed in the year following. One thing that I have found is that they seem to prefer very sandy soil. And the more compost you give them the better they fare. The one thing they don't seem able to tolerate, at least in my yard, is clay soil. I have a few patches of it and while other things don't seem to mind too much, those hydrangeas really don't like it. I guess they like to be able to wiggle their toes-and who doesn't? Anyway, I hope you are able to save your plant, in remembrance for your loved one. But in case this little plant just isn't strong enough to survive, you could also plant another hydrangea in his memory, and it too will serve as a reminder of what your FIL meant to you and your husband. ANd like I said in the beginning, I think it's a wonderful gesture on your part. Cheryl

"It can be done on a small scale and without much effort." Amen! It floors me how little time and effort it can really be. I just came in from outside, putting in onion sets where they will be accompanied by flowers and ornamentals later in the year. Intermingling veggies and flower gardens is so easy. I am planting onions and lettuce (sweet mesclun mix) in intervals, waiting a week between each planting. Last year I didn't plant as many onions as I am going to this year. This year I am planting 18 onions a week (3 varieties). Even though I didn't plant as many last year (I planted all of them at one time as well), I still have a few hanging in the garage from last years crop. The only things that I am not interplanting this year are things that the bunnies like. They will stay in a protected area. I still have lots and lots of bell and jalapeno peppers in the freezer as well as some AWESOME fresh tomato sauce from my bumper crop last year :). For me anyway, there are several reasons that make veggies a joy. I enjoy the flavor and diversity you can achieve growing your own. I enjoy the time spent and the results obtained. As stated before....store bought doesn't hold a candle. I also get immense pleasure from sharing the bounty with friends and family. I didn't "put anything up" until last year. I won't can things....canning scares me :), everything is sooooo HOT!! LOL, hot pans, hot glass, being scared of not doing it right and poisoning myself and hubby :). BUT I also learned last year, how many things you can freeze and keep that way. It's a very satisfying feeling putting that stuff in the freezer and knowing that I won't have to pick it up at the grocery store this week. Some of the lovely colored lettuces make a really pretty addition to flower gardens as well. It's also very satisfying knowing that we have not had to buy an onion since early last year. My goal with onions is to never have to buy them again.....Awwww, I don't know how to explain it.....it just makes me feel good all the way 'round! Kristi

Well, he's already at it. My father is a bit of a nut, and even though a realtor friend who toured the house the other day told him not to do certain things, he already has. He pulled off the dark paneling. The good news is that it was easy to do and he's a great plaster guy. For him painting it would have been harder than fixing it. Oh well. He wants to paint the cabinets, so we'll see how that goes. I told him to keep them in place and just polish up the hardware. It's nice stuff, really, and my realtor friend said people like that stuff (again, the mid-century thing, which I had never heard of). He's a hard guy to stop, my dad. After we had an accepted offer on our house, he kept insisting that I fix the nail pops. Two days before closing he was still insisting. He and my mom watched the kids one night - I came home to a house that had the nail pops fixes. Ugh. I do have a little note regarding THIS wall. The right side would match the left side, had that silly TV framing not been done. We're knocking out that framing, taking the mirrors out of each side, and making each side of the fireplace mirror each other. I should mention that this house is about 5 minutes away from my dad's and my houses. Working on it is easy, but we still do want to get rid of it. It's just keeping my dad - the biggest perfectionist I know - from going nuts.