sammy, someone threw a firework rocket into our garden during the New Years eve and it landed into Le Vesuve pot, burning the poor rose a bit. :) And electric shepherd is effective to prevent dogs from pooping in your garden, as once they touch it, they do not come close to it again (as it zapps quite a bit if you touch it). It is not very pretty as a fencing/hedge, as it is just a wire to which current is connected, but it prevents animal trespassing. melissa, the burn is not too bad, just some spindly twigs, but she is still small and generally on the tender side for here, so I hope for that toughness. My garden is a mess too, especially the parts that did not get weeded in the autumn, so now I have renegade strawberries and what not else all over the place and don't know where to start even. My baby plants look good though, still hard to say if I had any success with grafting tree peonies, but fingers crossed. :) Spring is a nice thought though, hopefully it will be an early and warmer one this year. :)

Thank you all for the Kudos. I'm proud to say I didn't have a meltdown after the party since everything turned out fine. Honestly if my hubby hadn't been so calm I probaly would have had a good l-o-n-g meltdown but he was the voice of reason. As for the Town Administrator, I have invited he and his wife for dinner this weekend; it's the least I can do! My children had a blast, igot to see my family from far and wide and everyone enjoyed the food so all is well in my sleepy little town. Here are a couple of pictures we took while setting up:

Oh boy, you can tell a seamstress wrote that one. Come on, Guys, we can surely add a few more. When you find a bolt end you LOVE on sale at the fabric store, and it's one you buy and bring home, inevitably when you lay out your pattern on it, it's shy about two inches of what you need.

ravencajun: Your experience reminded me of a story. I hope that you get a smile or two from it. THE BAPTIST CHURCH DINNER! A group of friends from the Cottonwood Baptist Church wanted to get together on a regular basis, socialize, and play games. The lady of the house was to prepare the meal. When it came time for Al and Janet to be the hosts, Janet wanted to outdo all the others. She decided to have mushroom-smothered steak. But mushrooms are expensive. She then told her husband, “No mushrooms. They are too high.” He said, “Why don’t you go down in the pasture and pick some of those mushrooms? There are plenty in the creek bed.” She said, “No, some wild mushrooms are poison.” He said, “Well, I see varmints eating them and they’re OK.” So, Janet decided to give it a try. She picked a bunch, washed, sliced, and diced them for her smothered steak. Then she went out on the back porch and gave Ol’ Spot (the yard dog) a double handful. Ol’ Spot ate every bite. All morning long, Janet watched Ol’ Spot and the wild mushrooms didn’t seem to affect him, so she decided to use them. The meal was a great success, and Janet even hired a helper lady from town to help her serve. After everyone had finished, they relaxed, socialized, and played ‘42’ and dominoes. About then, the helper lady came in and whispered in Janet’s ear. She said, “Mrs. Williams, Ol’ Spot is dead.” Janet went into hysterics. After she finally calmed down, she called the doctor and told him what had happened. The doctor said, “That’s bad, but I think we can take care of it. I will call for an ambulance and I will be there as quickly as possible. We’ll give everyone enemas and we will pump out everyone’s stomach. Everything will be fine. Just keep them calm.” Soon they could hear the siren as the ambulance was coming down the road. The EMT’s and the doctor had their suitcases, syringes, and a stomach pump. One by one, they took each person into the bathroom, gave them an enema, and pumped out their stomach. After the last one was finished, the doctor came out and said, “I think everything will be fine now,” and he left. They were all looking pretty weak sitting around the living room and about this time the helper lady came in and whispered to Janet, “You know, that fellow that run over Ol’ Spot never even stopped.”