Whoo-hoo! This is ONE of my side projects I started in the middle of March. We only own part of the pond. The majority of it being on our neighbor's property, so I can only clean up so much, but what little I can do is already making a huge different. My initial plan was to plant bamboo along our side to create a natural fence & hide the eye sore. However, due to my increasing yearning for a garden (accompanying the fact that I can't find any bamboo to dig up without getting in trouble), I have decided to remove all of the brush, weeds, trash, pine saplings, & whatever else is buried in there to make way for my garden. What you see here is the result of just me & my two hands...& the occasional fire. This post was edited by LullabyF360 on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 21:07

I think so, Rich - my "Seeds I Have" file has become a ridiculous 64 pages (single spaced) long. And I just placed another order during Gardens North 50% off April seed sale (almost missed it - got in the next to last day, I think). Guess I better get busy! Even at the apartment, I managed to start 133 containers. Not all of them have germinated - there's always a percentage for me that don't - but the ones that have will be headed to the new house, along with the dozen or so potted plants I brought with me from MA. I have a really nice beach plum I grew from WSing; have to research where to plant it here so it will survive - it took me nearly 5 years to get one of the seeds to germinate; I don't want to lose it now! One of the great things about this place is that I finally have the space to do different things - my classic herb garden (I'm looking into doing an actual designed one, like maybe a knot garden), tropical-esque near the pool, vegetables, and plenty of room to extend ornamental beds. Can't wait!

Hi back at you all! Regarding Cinco de Mayo tables, if anyone else wants to do one along with OA and myself, let's look at that first week in May. Luvs, yes, it really is a week-long reunion . . . and it's wonderful! I'm the oldest of nine "kids" in a very close family. I'm also the executor of an inherited trust fund designed exclusively to fund annual reunions for my immediate family. My parents are eighty, in good shape and, of course, they come as well. They live in Florida on the Gulf most of the year, but have a summer place in Michigan where we were all born and raised. Six of my siblings still live in the area. So, with the trust fund money, we rent an entire small resort on Lake Huron in Michigan every summer for a week. It's actually just a group of wonderful cottages with our own private beach. Each family has it's own cottage (small, cute, very clean but not fancy by any means). And, since it's private and gated, our children (and now 2 great-grandkids) can safely run back and forth with their cousins. BTW, my folks have 23 grandkids, although by now they range from 31 down to age seven. Our aunts, uncles and cousins are invited for cookouts or afternoon visits, but this is really just a week for my immediate family, our spouses, kids and grandkids to get together by ourselves. It's a wonderful week, and more so because we all get along so well. No family feuds or bad apples . . . thank goodness! My job in organizing it, other than paying the bills for the resort, food, etc., is mainly planning day outings, golf outings and family dinners. We all eat together every evening on long picnic tables under the trees out back. We spend our mornings visiting back and forth, shopping in the little resort town nearby and golfing. Afternoons are always spent on our beach. We have a huge bonfire every night and take turns making appetizers to pass around, being a family with a number of chefs and a LOT of foodies. Yikes, I got carried away talking about it, sorry. It's just a special week each year that we all look forward to a lot.

I get some things already mentioned like the white balsamic vinegar, chocolate chips, cereal & the tall bottle of pure maple syrup (it is a good deal but we have to use one half shelf in the fridg just to store it). I also get the mulitgrain baking mix that I use for pancakes, occasionally the cornbread mix, dried fruit, coconut oil since I read about it on here, some herbs & spices. I love their moisturizing cream in the white pump bottle with the hot pink label. Tried their toothpaste, but the kids & husband don't like it. Their graham crackers, BBQ sauce & honey wheat pretzels, as they don't have high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. My son likes the red pepper spread with eggplant & garlic.