Thanks! It is not on that table permanently. I moved it there to chop and get pictures. Otherwise it sits in a nice sunny windowsill for the winter (can't exactly leave the poor thing outside). In the summer it's put outside as soon as it's warm enough and then it absolutely explodes in new growth. I think that to prevent the leggy growing in the future, I'll pinch off anything that starts to sprout or grow inside. It does get good light, in a SE facing window - but I suppose not enough for the new growth to be thick and compact. I really debated waiting to trim, but in the spring it needs new dirt/repotting (like you said), and I've read that repotting and pruning at the same time is a no-no. And I didn't want to wait to prune till mid summer when it's madly growing, since I want the whole growing season to go towards helping it bush back up. I'm crossing my fingers that (somehow) spring comes early this year! This post was edited by cfox248 on Sun, Mar 2, 14 at 16:17

Hi Melissa! By Saturday evening, we only had about 2 1/2 inches, but by Sunday morning, the rain gauge had overflowed! And I'm pretty sure that if I'd been able to have dumped it when it got full, it would have filled up again. Then another 3/4 inch on Sunday.... Our next door neighbor has rolls of carpet out on the driveway, and several people I work with in Rochester had flooded basements. We got lucky... kinda... well, actually we just got it out of the way 3-4 years earlier. Our entire basement flooded that year, on Memorial day, and we ripped out shrubs, tiled the west side, and put in new gutters and a new heavy duty sump pump. So, this time we did have a little water come in the bathroom window, but it barely got the edge of the hallway carpet at the bathroom door wet. The Red Cross was going door to door to assess damages yesterday. It's been quite an experience. And I know what you mean about hostas to go in the ground. Actually, I've just made the deal to buy a house in Rochester, and I've got pots of hostas that I've been putting off planting because I knew I'd be having a new place to plant them.

Susan, The last I heard a couple of hours ago, they said there was no indication YET that the oil slick had reached Lake Oologah. I understand the water intakes pipes are lower in the lake and the oil tends to stay on and near the water surface, so they think it may all work out OK. Everything is improving everywhere upstream here as our creeks and rivers are falling rapidly. UNFORTUNATELY they are falling because all their water is rushing downstream to Lake Texoma where the news is worse by the hour. Everything around the lake is virtually closed down. The floodwaters are expected to begin overtopping the dam tomorrow, and the water should reach its highest point of 641.5' on Friday, unless additional runoff pushes it even higher. Everyone downstream from Lake Texoma is in dire straits--the Corps of Engineers opened the flood gates today to release what water they can while they still have some control over it. They intend to leave the gates open even as the dam is overtopped, so much downstream flooding will occur. All the lakeside businesses are hurting. Campgrounds have shut down right and left, Marinas have done what business they can even as their buildings and boat ramps become flooded too. Restaurants, bars, hotels, etc. are all affected. Some will only lose income from folks who DON'T come to the lake because of the flooding. Others, though, are losing not only income, but buildings and furnishings as well. Tough, tough economic losses. I don't know how many farmers, ranchers and residents are in the downstream path of the rising flood waters from the Denison Dam, but Grayson County, Texas, and Bryan County, Oklahoma, have been warning people to move to higher ground (to the extent that they can move) for days and days now. I also am not sure how far downstream the flooding will remain a problem. The Red River still has a huge amount of territory to cover after it flows out of Lake Texoma. It flows along between Oklahoma and Texas and then, briefly, between Texas and Arkansas before it turns south and flows across Louisiana, where it eventually empties into the Atchfalaya and Mississippi Rivers. Of course, along the way there are several other lakes that serve as flood control reservoirs, but I don't know if they can hold all the massive amounts flowing out of Lake Texhoma for the next few days, or not. I am afraid more flooding may continue to occur downstream. Tonight we are staying home and doing nothing since it is sort of rainy. They ARE still having the fireworks show at Lake Murray, but you can't park anywhere near the lake to watch the show because the ground is soggy and they are afraid everyone will get their vehicles stuck in the mud. So it is a quiet Fourth of July for us. I am just grateful we are high and relatively dry (well, we're dry as long as we are inside the house) and wish the same were true for everyone else. You know, to a certain extent Lake Texoma caught a lot of people by surprise. It has been so low for so long because of the prolonged drought that I don't think anyone paid much attention to it until mid-week of last week. At that point I think the lake was approaching an elevation around 630, and 640 seemed UNTHINKABLE. The elevation was in the 612 to 618 neighborhood at this time last year, I think, and it takes a huge amount of water to raise the level even one foot. How quickly it changed! Dawn

Disasters always bring out the best and the worst in people. Supermarkets and other larger stores have employed security guards to prevent looting, which is probably inevitable although we haven't heard of any. On the other side of the coin however, is the story of how a neighbour rescued somebody's pet galah (bird) - the only thing to have been salavaged from the wreck of their home. Or the story of the business owner who sacked all his workers because he couldn't afford to pay them, and they all, to a man, refused to accept - and have promised to stay on and work for free for a month to help out. Then there's the woman who has accommodated a young man unable to get across the river to his wife and family. She also has a family of 4 Vietnamese people who arrived in Australia less than a month ago, do not speak English and didn't know what to do or where to go when the water entered their home. There are many such stories, very heartening indeed. I have mentioned to a few people that I've posted this thread, and they have all been united in their gratitude for all the kind thoughts and the donations that have been made. They have asked me specifically to say Thank You on their behalf. Even a kind thought gives an enormous amount of comfort. I guess from so far away, the best kind of help that can be given is to give money as a donation. The cost of rebuilding entire towns and cities is estimated to be in the multiples of billions $$$, and every little helps. It isn't just the cost of repairs to damage - but with such widespread floods, there is already a shortage of essentials like bread, milk, fruit and vegetables, and prices for those have skyrocketed. Before the Brisbane floods hit, I did my fortnightly shopping last Friday, and decided against paying $8 for a single lettuce. Prices like that are downright scary, and while supplies can't be relied upon from interstate, also affected by floods, we can only expect things to be very expensive for the foreseeable future. But - we are a resilient people, and no matter how long it takes, we'll get through it. We're an unquenchable bunch. Still, your kind words are spreading far and are deeply appreciated by us all.