OK in for a quick break for lunch, and to throw the ham in the oven 4 dinner.. Karma, the puppy has been pretty good today..but only when I am watching, lol. If I am outside and the garden gate is open, she goes over, looks at me, then I say 'hey outta there' and she goes. SHe's learning..thank god! It IS fun changing stuff around. I moved my dirt piles into the garden where I havent tilled yet, the 'new' area, lol. so she can't dig in them anymore, lol. New fence eh? Gotta keep that peeper out, lol. Hey Kylie, Karma's got a spring peeper! lmao! How is that going by the way, with that nosey ol' neighbor? CC it is supposed to be a high of 75 here today, then tomorrow 55, seems like the extended forecast says mid 50's to upper 60's for the next few days. Perfect working conditions. I dont mind doing it when it's hot, can always jump in the pool to cool off! Kylie, lol, I am trying to take pix, my camera has a mind of its own lately, and only works when it wants. I have a few so far, but I am gonna wait till I have more, then make a slideshow so I can post w/the whole time line thang. Karyn, If you were closer I would def come and help! I can't get enough. I used to help my mom all the time b4 she moved to PA. I did all her digging. Ugh, I havent even gotten mulch yet. I keep forgetting to call the town and see when they are putting out their free stuff. My luck it came and went already, lol. When you hire people to come work in your yard, do you watch them like a hawk? lol, I know I would be..I'd be makin sure they didnt screw anything up. Kristy, have fun fishing! Catch some monsters! And get that pergola!!!!

Dorothy, I never thought of it that way. Although, I have to admit that I enjoy watching DS deal with a two-year-old and it does seem like 'payback' (hee hee) for all the grief he gave us when he was little. So, I guess I'll get to enjoy watching him be on the adult side of the adult-teenager conflict one of these years. Paula, I remember that age well....."dumber than a box of rocks" pretty much sums up what most teenagers think about their parents when those kids reach that age. LOL Aren't you glad they outgrow it? You're raising some little gardeners too, and it reminds me of the old saying "If I'd known grandkids would be so much fun, I would have had them first." Isn't it just the most fun to share those home-grown pumpkins with the kids? I always get the greatest sense of pride from eating/using anything and everything we raised ourselves. And, you should be proud because your grandkids are learning early on just where their food comes from AND how they can be a part of the whole process. Mandy, If your mom says that your daughter's behavior is a little more "intense" than yours was, well, you know what that means.....it means it is your DH's fault because she got the entra fiesty genes from him! LOL I vote for having chickens. We have had them ever since we moved here and there's nothing better than farm fresh eggs. However, you absolutely must have a 100% predator-proof chicken coop and securely fenced chicken run or your kids' hearts will be broken when predators get your birds and your eggs. Every child that comes to our place is simply 100% fascinated with the chickens and their eggs. I know of at least one young boy who wouldn't eat eggs at all until he got to start gathering eggs at our house and taking them home with him. When I hear the name 'Felicity', two images come to mind. One is the TV show, 'Felicity', which was on in the late 1990s-early 2000s and starred Keri Russell in the title role. The other is the American Girls doll, Felicity. So, when I saw your daughter's name, those two pleasant images came to mind and now that you've described her, I can picture her in my mind and I see a darling and spirited young girl who loves to garden and who will, later on in her teens, give you every gray hair you have. I love traditional names too. Dorothy, Love the iron hand in the velvet glove reference. I think it is true, too. As long as those kids know there is an iron hand inside that velvet glove, the iron hand doesn't have to put in an appearance very often because just knowing it is there is quite a deterrence. You know, everyone, raising kids is a lot like raising a garden.....and don't we all know it! Dawn P.S. Mandy, I linked the American Girls website to show you their Felicity. One of our nieces had the 'Molly' doll when she was younger because Molly looked just like her and that was her favorite toy for years. Here is a link that might be useful: The Felicity Doll

Ah Tracy. I am zone 6, too. A few brugs survive and come back from the roots for me. My favorite double white does that. Charles Grimaldi seems to be pretty tough also, but there are several that don't. I have a tiny greenhouse I heat just for brugs, bananas etc-can't afford to heat the big one all winter, but never have enough room, so bananas and brugs come in the house too. When I run out of space, I take cuttings of the brugs I don't have room for and start a few immediately and store others in the fridge to start into growth in February. The new (to me, anyway) dwarf Cassie's Curls in the photo remains small and can live in a 10 inch pot. I suspect it will winter over indoors very well. Hang on to your Pulmonaria division and if you are interested in trying some brugs, we can trade when this heat wave breaks. I will send you details about how to get them going.

Woo hoo! How exciting for your son. I wish him well on this endeavor and hope he has a fabulous experience. I emailed by daughter, who replied today, but your post above answers many of her questions. She taught ESOL in Thailand for 2.5 years, staying on for an extra 6 months because one teacher cancelled at the last minute. She had a wonderful experience. She is now living and teaching in a private school in Arezzo in Italy and loves her job, teaches all ages, etc. Here is her response, though some of the info might be too late for your son, it may benefit someone else reading this. "As for the guy going to South Korea...it could be that someone quit halfway through the year. Who knows! It might depend on what kind of school it is - would he be teaching in a public school, or is it a private language institute? I know there are (or definitely were when I was looking a few years ago) lots of jobs in southeast Asia, and it's a lot easier to find work there than other areas, like Europe, due to demand. It does sound like he might be jumping into the job just because his girlfriend is leaving, but is that really such a bad thing? If he's not putting his degree to use, in my opinion teaching English in South Korea would be a better/ more enriching alternative than working at Best Buy! A good life experience, even if it doesn't lead to anything career-wise. It would be good to check out the school as thoroughly as possible - have they got a website? Are you sure they're a 'respectable' school? What kind of contract are they offering? Will they help him get a work visa? That would be one of the most important things to find out. Will they help him find accommodation, etc.? Can he get the email of other teachers working there and write them to get a firsthand account of what living there is like? How easy is it to get around if you don't speak Korean? etc." Terriks, I second Sherry's recommendation for Skype if you don't already have it. That is how we usually communicated with her. With the video, we could also 'see' her apartment and friends. Don't forget to start planning a trip to go visit him! - Elisabeth