Hi Penny and All! Another thing I like to do is what I call mudding my cuttings. I did it this morning with my Geraniums that I overwintered. It came from someone who probably could be called a master gardner. He wintered sowed directly to the ground and when he took cuttings or just plain old cut back plants he always mixed mud and put it directly to the cut area of the plant. We've all heard recently that in a horticultural educational area (Maybe Cornell? I don't know.) that plants have feelings. When I asked this gentleman about 30 years ago what he was doing he replied, "Have you ever been stung by a bee?" Followed with, "What do you use to take away the sting?" Well to this day I would still personally use "mud". He said that putting mud on the cut takes away the shock the plant gets and the cut heels quicker. It always made sense to me, and it now appears with the little knowledge I have of Gardening and those recent findings from a higher level he was ahead of his time. So I've been mudding for years. It also has another advantage, it brings back very early childhood memories :>) Jim

It sounds like you're setting some good boundries with your sister. You can love her, care for her, listen to her, empathize with her, etc. But don't get caught up in her problems. Set your own personal boundaries, and say things like "Gee I'm sorry to hear you're having such a rough time" and leave it at that. I have a good friend who sounds like you sister. 44 yrs old, still lives in an appt, shops constantly and doesn't have a dime saved. She had major surgery in Jan & called me in March bawling when she got a hospital bill for $10K, which is her part after ins. paid. She was crying so loud DH could hear. I just kept saying things like, "I'm so sorry you have this stress after having surgery" and "I'm sure you'll be able to work out payments with the hospital." I refused to get invovled or try to solve her problems. When I hung up, DH said "you know, you can give her some money, we have a little to spare." I told him, yes we have a little to spare because we live frugally, shop at Goodwill not Macys, eat at home not eat out, etc. I would not give her money because it would not have helped the problem at all. By the way, that friend is now out shopping with her credit card constaly. Every week she tells me about the new outfits she bought, or the new shoes, or the new craft supplies, new furniture, etc. I wonder if she's paid any of that $10K hospital bill? It also sounds like your sister needs to get a 40 hr a week job, or maybe 2, and forget about owning her own business until she gets her finances in order. She sounds like 2 couples I know, both own their own businesses and are going BROKE right now (construction businesses in a down economy) but neither couple will even consider "working for someone else." Sometimes you have to do what it takes, not what you want. Good luck!

We moved into a neighborhood of 1960s-70s colonials. One of the many things I liked about our house was the black slate foyer floor. A new friend came by and mentioned that "that slate is really easy to remove" and she had just put new large-format tile in her foyer instead. 12 years later and I still prefer my black slate. The other thing I wouldn't and won't change is the kitchen curtains. The kitchen faces the street and includes a breakfast nook, so we need some curtains, but I don't want to block the view altogether. The house came with cafe curtains, as well as an upper tier of curtains (not a valance) for the larger breakfast nook windows. They are somewhat sheer, maybe translucent is the word, which I like: it's like looking through lightly-frosted glass so I can see if someone is walking by the house without really being able to see who they are. The little ruffle probably dates them the most, but given that they are otherwise plain it's cute. What I'd really like is a toile pattern, but I just can't find a fabric that is translucent, without being "shiny".

K-4 I attended in California and it was great because there was a communal room in the middle for the kids in 3-5 grade. We'd sit in there and a male teacher, who had brown curly hair would play his guitar. I loved singing the songs together. We read from the Lippincott series books and I can remember the diamond pattern on the books. That's the place where I was being bullied so much I was afraid to walk to school by myself. What was my mom thinking?! But one day, she sat behind me and grabbed my braid and held on. I sat perfectly still and took what she dished out. Never bothered me again. I think it taught me a lot. I may have gone too far in the standing up for myself arena. We also went on field trips to the marina/wharf and looked at all the sea life. That instilled a life long love affair! That same school had a free summer school and it wasn't the kind that was a punishment. You could learn ballet, or it had book clubs, or all kinds of things! You signed up for it at the end of school and no one left without something fun to do for summer. 5-6 grade I got to go school with my younger sister, and my only sibling with whom I ever was able to attend. I stood up to her bully. She had some kid pouring milk on her sandwiches and poking holes in it. Until I said no more. I was leaps and bounds ahead of all of the kids at that school after my other school in a different state, they did things like put me in a very select program to do things like memorize the Gettysburg address, and I could go to a State Legislature meeting. That school instilled my love of law and it's one where I've done many things in my lifetime, unofficially. Many of my friends are lawyers. I liked the bathroom which had a communal sink and you pushed the lever to start the water with your foot, but it was circular, so it looked like a sprinkler system. It was cool. We had field day and I'd never done that before. You'd get two tickets for cokes (not soda, not colas, coke!!! even if you wanted a sprite) for the day, but by the end of the day, if you hadn't already gotten both, your second one would be a "suicide", which meant whatever was left all mixed together. Team work was fun, but so was sprinting the 100 yard dash and doing well on my own. Loved it there. 7-8 (the year after I left here, it changed to middle school instead of junior high and they combined 5-8 grade) I attended a small school with really great teachers, one of which everyone loved! that sang to me every day. In band, we would goof off in class before it started by singing and playing our instruments to Rockin' Robin. It was fun and when I tried out for cheerleading, I made it past the teachers, but didn't want to go on to the next level and try out in front of the students. Quickly changed my mind. I found out about juvenile diabetes since Pam had it, and she'd leave class to give herself a shot on occasion. She was a cheerleader at our high school. And a flute player! Our principal looked like Abraham Lincoln. Our flirty Vice Principal came to school with a black eye one day, saying a tree branch hit him. No one believed him and it was rumored he was "the other man". HA! We were probably completely off base. Poor guy. 9-12 we had ugly gym shorts, but those one piece deals were lying around in the locker room, so it must've just changed when I got there. My brother's class had had a smoking hall inside the school, but when I got there, it was outside the lunchroom in a spot that now has tables that always look abused. My son is in their marching band. His academic school is across town. Anyway, it was a great school and I learned loads, but the scandals were that my junior class English teacher was a Playboy bunny, and the janitor ended up being a cop at the end of the year. I don't think drugs were rampant there? I was never asked, or saw anyone with drugs, but he arrested people. It was a great school. I think my junior year was the year we won State Championships in every area but football: Academic Olympics, band, track, volleyball, basketball, and baseball. Maybe more! Mookie Betts graduated from my high school.