when in livonia.. where i had a great MI peat soil ... i could GET AWAY WITH ... sticking a potted plant.. right into the soil.. and never looking back ... the MI peat was 'close enough' ... then i moved to adrian.. where it is all mineral sand ... if i plant a pot with VERY HIGH PEAT potting media.. in sand.. EVENTUALLY ... the sand will wick all the moisture out of the peat ... and once that happens.. peat can become nearly water repellant ... and eventually.. the plant will die.. and this goes from perennials.. thru conifers.. and into trees ... though if the plant is aggressive enough to grow out of the peat.. its a non-issue ... so for me.. its the DIVERGENCE OF SOIL TYPES... which is a killer ... so over the years.. i have found that PROPER PLANTING ... at the PROPER TIME [FALL/SPRING IN MI] ... allows near full bare rooting.. and removal of the problem media/soil .. and while the roots are nudie.. some root pruning if horribly root bound ... and then planting into the native soil ... the issue would be NO DIFFERENT.. if you were in bad clay.. with peat potting media .. the clay MIGHT hold too much water at certain times of year.. and the peat would only hold more .... and very often.. a plant that rots its roots in spring.. will not LOOK dead.. until the heat of summer ... burns all the leaves off it ... and then we have a hard time.. figuring out.. when it really died ... ken

Mo, what a great haul and great deals! I can't decide which item I like best but am leaning towards the Christmas plates, love the colours on them. Still love the beaded placemats but haven't found a good enough price - course I want lots so they add up! Nice that you got a variety of things and will be able to use them through the year. (I appreciate seeing your things in separate pics, makes it easier to see the details.) DD

Glad to hear your mom is hanging in there, Clare. Those old gals are tough, aren't they?? My mom is 88 and two years after open heart surgery, she is still on her own in the home I grew up in. This is such a rude question, but do you have any brothers or sisters who are fairly well off and who might consider buying you a ticket to fly out to see your mom? Sure would do you a world of good right now, but I'm not sure how you could ask, unless you get another sibling to broach the subject. I don't know how close you all are-- it sounded like you might be from your previous posts. We are so lucky that my dh found another job just before the big downturn, but are always holding our collective breath. Is your dh still driving you nuts or have you all settled into a routine? Because mine was still recovering from the surgery I mentioned before, he wasn't as agitated as he might have been and I learned to do errands out at certain times. I know the pickings are slim right now and we can only hope things will improve soon. I hope you can get even a day away from home to rest and recharge. Now that the sunshine has reappeared, you can at least find a little solace in the garden!

jannie hope you're getting better..it took me several trips going an alternate route before i had the courage to drive where i got rear ended seveal months ago... sue, when i worked for ma bell (in san diego) that was a common complaints..here, it's squirrels that do the most damage...you't think with all tech they could get a wire that didn't taste good! glad you're back... not much going on in mi..weds was b squish day. the rest of this week has been getting dh's laundry all done early. actaully he'll be closer to you next week. they're having a mini elevator convention at purdue u for 3 days. he and the head mechanic are attending...i probably could have gone but would much rather stay home with the cats than sit in a hotel room, lol...