Thanks for sharing that Ron. I did not know any of those stories. They all touched me, and they made me think of many other stories there are out there. I travel a lot on my job and in pursuit of my other passion in life; trout fishing. I see men and women in uniform in almost every airport I travel to, but I particularly see many on my trips to Charlotte. Some of these folks are going "over there" (or getting ready to) and a few of them I've met were coming home. I never go by without letting these people know that many people here at home, whom they have never met, care deeply about them, worry for them, wish them a swift and safe return, and thank them for their service. I hope these people never ever want for their fellow Americans respect and concern. And I hope that if you are reading this that you will reach out to these people when you see them in your own life, shake their hand, thank them for the job they do, and let them know in some small but sincere way that you care. You'll be doing that person and yourself a great deal of good in the process.

Dieter, I will continue to be on the look-out for my periwinkle. :) Jeff, I just returned from a trip around town checking out different nurseries and I found one that I really like. It's called Columbus Flower Market and they had loads of nice looking perennials. I especially was appreciative of their shade loving perennials. I bought a couple of heucheras (amethyst mist and green spice). They had another that I loved the look of...had a peach colored folage to it, but I moved on to other plants. ;) I bought a couple of strawberry begonias that she assured me grew in her own yard and returned. I was not so sure about that, but thought I'd give it a try. I bought an evergreen shrub I've been hunting...fragrant sarcococca (sweet box). And I bought a holly fern. Now I may have to return for one of her beautiful painted japanese ferns and great expectation hosta, which is one of the most beautiful hostas to me. She had lots of other choices there as well, but I figured I'd gotten as much as I could handle getting in the ground for now. Especially since my Frankly Scarlett daylilies and tea olive keep looking at me with such a forlorn "don't forget about putting us in the ground soon" look. Thanks for the tip about the Jemison nursery. I rarely get north of montgomery but it might be a nice little excursion to make this summer before I go back to the classroom.

We won't go into the why of this lifestyle change as it's none of my business so let's make sure the 1985 is not going to be a major money pit. Have you checked out the flooring to make sure it's solid and hopefully not pressed board. Look underneath the bathroom toilets and the kitchen sink for water damage. If the floors are not good sub flooring there will be major problems there. I'd hate to see you get up in the wee hours to go to the bathroom and fall through the floor. Do your homework regarding the different types of surfaces in your MH and what it takes to get a coat of paint to stick. Most of the surfaces in these older MH's are some form of plastic. Not properly done paint just peels off. What you want to do can be done but just do your homework so that you don't have to spend money later removing it and doing it over which would be much more costly. How about the roof. Check the ceilings in all rooms including closets for water stains and also go up and check the roof for problems. Why buy someone elses problems? Good luck.

Oh doggone it! Sorry you missed it. We, DH and I got home last week from our first cruise, 5 days on Carnival Inspiration. I must say, I did enjoy myself. BUT, my DH, who is NOT a people person, Just kept walking around saying to himself, me our friends, "Worst cruise ever!" He is such a party poop. I just went ahead and enjoyed myself, joined in a lot of activities, and really had a good time. It was on the 4th day that someone told him I was on stage and they were showing it on the tv. He finally caught it just before we debarked. On the cruise we did hear the sad stories of how air flights are cancelled and everyone said you must plan on flying the day before your cruise to make sure that doesn't happen. Better luck next time, Kathy G in MI