Hey T2D, So - you did manager to somehow rid your garden of woodchucks? You don't need to tell us how that was accomplished, but I bet that's a huge relief that plants can actually grow now. Good thing they didn't molest your new orange roses. Your slope area - is that the one you showed in a thread about converting a perennial garden to have more shrubs? I remember you had a sloped area with a nice assortment of mature shrubs. If you changed that area I'd be interested in knowing why, since that is the exact look I am going for. I have not attempted a mosaic but that is a great idea. Are you going to try it? It would be relatively simple: just prep a sand bed, gather an assortment of stones, and arrange/rearrange to your heart's content. In addition to natural rocks, leftover pieces from a place that makes kitchen countertops would be really fun. You could have marble or whatever else suits your fancy. Relaxing in the garden. Huh. Doesn't that seem like the last thing we get around to? :) We're getting better about that too. Our main seating area in the garden now has afternoon shade thanks to maturing trees, and we hang out there a lot more often now. Speaking of goals - I've had a pile of mulch on the driveway for so long I think it's in our Google Earth pictures. But yesterday I shoveled up the last of it and swept the spot clean. Whoa... it feels odd to have it gone. Of course I need more mulch now but we can enjoy the clean, empty driveway for at least a little while, can't we?

As if the lack of permits & inspections is not bad enough, in some regions there is absolutely no required certification for some contractors. By example; In the state of Ohio a Commercial & Residential Plumber is required to complete a 4 year state approved apprenticeship and take a written exam to receive a "Plumbers License", but if one wants to work solely on single family or multi-family residential structures that do not exceed 3 stories in height or have more than 4 living units they can get a limited "Residential Plumbing License" directly from the county or municipality where they intend to work. To make matters even worse, in many counties and municipalities they simply do not have a licensing procedure whatsoever, and sadly, in those areas that do require a "Residential License" the procedure is at best a joke. In many cities one can go to the courthouse and declare they want to be a "Residential Plumber". The will then be required to produce a state tax number, a liability insurance policy and if they intend to hire 4 or more people they must have a workmans comp insurance policy, then pay a flat fee in the order of $125/annum and voila', they are a "Residential Plumber". The truth of the matter is that many of those people have absolutely no prior experience or training and most wouldn't know the plumbing code from the morse code, but who cares, the city doesn't require any permits or inspections anyway. Many cities have adopted a permit program, but are they really intent on checking your home for proper installation or safety? The answer here is NO. If the truth was told they have adopted permits and inspections for two reasons: 1. The permits & Inspection fees are a cash cow for the city. 2. When your new construction, remodel or addition is completed the inspector can flag the tax assessors office to come and upgrade your assessment for tax purposes. In recent years, as a result of the shake up in the banking industry in regions where they do not have strong code enforcement many banks have now hired their own code inspectors and they will not write a mortgage until the structure is signed off by their inspector. If you live in a region where they do not have good code enforcement I would suggest you discuss your concern with your banker and they may have an inspector that will work with you. The downside of using the banks inspector is that many GC's and subs will argue that the banks inspector does not have the authority to require changes. To that I would respond, if your work doesn't pass the bank inspector, I get no mortgage, and if I get no mortgage you get no money, simple as that.

I met my husband when we were 12 years old...March 25, 1959. He and his brothers and sisters moved to Texas to live with two uncles, because his parents died. One brother and two sisters lived with an uncle in a town about 7 miles away and he and his brother moved to my town. We had a very small school and two very handsome boys entering school was a big deal. All of the girls were crazy about them. They had blond hair, brown eyes, very tan, beautiful white teeth smiles. :sigh: I was such a tomboy...I wasn't very girly. I had braids that went to my waist and I rode my horse every day after school. He came to visit me, because I had a horse. ;) I didn't start dating him until I was 16, although I was crazy about him when we met and I used to write about him in my diary every day, but since he never talked to me, the only thing I had to write about was what he wore to school that day. When I was 14, I gave up...had other boyfriends. He asked me out when I was 16, and by then, I was over my infatuation with him, but I went anyway. We ended up dating for 3 years, married at 19 and almost 44 years later....still married. One child, born 15 years into our marriage.

Wow, some of these take me back! And make me question ... :? It always irritated my Dad when we measured distance by time. "How far is it to Charlotte?" "About three hours". "I didn't ask how many hours, how far is it?" "Well I have no idea how far it is in meters, but I know it takes about three hours to get there!" (Dad was a stickler for accuracy.) Growing up in NE Ohio, we had pop, and chipped-chopped ham, and shopping carts. My mother would say "outten" the lights. Living way out in the burbs, we went "into" town, unless we went all the way to where the tall buildings were, then we were downtown. Curious about THE Puget Sound. We sail, and everyone we connect with says things like The Chesapeake and The Neuse. Maybe because the bay/river is left off? If I said I was going to Chesapeake, that's a town in VA.