LOL! Carol, don't worry about Stella. In this house (according to her) it's all about Stella! Those two cats are still rolling around in the catnip, and enjoying a bite of it too, from time to time. I've got a couple of stoners here! I tried to hide the package from them, but they found it while I was at work and "spread the love" all over the office while I was at work. I swept it back up, but they'll probably be into it again today. Who needs cable when I've got Bump and Stella for entertainment? ((chuckle)) And the birthday goes on! This is sooo cool! Yesterday I received 2 great cards in the mail, one from Sue/suecirish and one from Andrea/appaloosa909. They both had some great seeds in them. THANK YOU LADIES!!! After this month, I kind of pity the seed companies. I don't think I'll be making a seed order for next year. I'm getting plenty of seeds from my friends here on the GW! Lol!..... Well, maybe I could make a small order, right? What's a gardener to do? Have A Great Day Everyone! -Dan

TGIF.....and I REALLY mean that! I got home from the GENESIS concert at 1:30am, and the alarm went off at 5:15am as usual. I am exhausted from the Tuesday charity event where I got to bed at 1am. Too much late night for me. Phil Collins wanted all the "old people" to shout last night...he had about 50,000 of us screaming. Too funny! QOD: Nothing but chores so far. Tonight DBIL is coming over for dinner (and to help DH with our master bath which is still not completed). I plan on crying a bit more over my beloved METS who are falling apart. Tomorrow I hope to get the scarecrows and such out on the lawns and get to the garden center for a few mums and pumpkins so that we can finished decorating the outside of the house for fall; inside is completed. Sunday we will chill in front of the TV to watch the JETS, and in between I will get some more cooking finished for the week. OK, gotta run to the grocery. I took this afternoon off as vacation. After some errands I'm going to take a nap! Make today count! Check in DeeMarie PS: I was invited to join a committee here at work for our holiday party. It will be attended by 40o people and they want an "80's prom" theme. I remember the 80's well but was older than my teens (ahem!!!). Any suggestions welcome. Not sure many people will dress up, but giveaways and such that people could put on might be an idea. It will be held in a huge hotel (Hilton or similar). Thx!

Well, you knew I'd have an opinion, didn't you? (Insert smiley face here..) The Christian celebrating of Christmas is relatively new, Easter being the highest of the holy days. The December dates for Christmas were chosen to coincide with the existing mid-winter festivals of pagan Europe, when the days began to lengthen again, and the seasons turn in the direction of spring. So the 24th (despite the fact that the actual shortest day of the year moves about a bit) reflects the moment when darkness begins to retreat, and the light comes back into the world. In my tradition, the religious season begins on the 24th (midnight), and ends at Twelfth night (January 6th). The more secular bits and the Advent celebrations start way before, and I think you should decorate when you want to, and when your family tradition says to. Some waves lap the shore, but some are tidal, and you might as well swim with them! When I was a child, we prepared for Christmas and began to celebrate through Advent - cleaning, shopping, baking, partying, that sort of thing - but we didn't put up the greenery and the creche until the week before, or decorate the tree until Christmas Eve, and we took it all down on January 6th. The youngest member of the household put the Baby Jesus into the little manger on Christmas Eve at bedtime, and the three wise men didn't get put in until the morning of the 6th. I brought those traditions along with me, until my DH finally said, couldn't we please start a little sooner? This from the humanist with Jewish heritage! So of course we did, but we always tried to put the brakes on the commercial excesses for which the children lobbied relentlessly.

Wait...Little G, Jase, MamaP and me are all April or (Aries) babies? Anyone else? Mine was April 4. When is yours Little G and Jase. Sorry didn't mean to hijack Alex's Birthday wishes thread.