Thanks Sapote and mangodog. I will be interested to hear if you have success delaying your fruiting season on flowers you cut. Hopefully they don't just mature faster to get back on schedule. Are you intending to cut entire trees or just a portion of the flowers to see if you can extend an individual tree's fruiting?

Petra, I guess being lean to begin with, a day in a panic, with no food or water just made her ribs a little more visible. I've always had longer hair dogs so I never noticed ribs... Dinkie, I'm so sorry for your loss. It was easy enough to get attached after 36 hrs so I know you must have been devastated. :( Calliope, I got an 80 on the profile, 4 stars - only concern was 'no fenced yard' :) Anne-Marie, Gordon is adorable! But after 2 sons, a dh, and a tomcat it's time for a little girl! I think we have a really good idea what we're in for, ZippityDooDog was a crackling ball of energy, not tuckered out at all from her outdoor adventure. I talked to the breeder (a couple who are both DVMs and breed specifically for temperament)and we are on the list for a late Oct litter, ready by Christmas, little girl. We are visiting their farm next weekend! Super nice people - they interviewed me as much as I interviewed them lol. "Northgate terriers are members of our family. As veterinarians, we keep a close eye on the health and genetics of our terriers. All of our terriers are BAER normal and CERF tested annually. At Northgate, we strive to produce well-socialized terriers with outstanding dispositions. We produce only a few carefully planned litters each year and our puppies are hand raised with our children, Erin and Gregory."

My brother doesn't cook - he is a great cook but he doesn't cook for himself. He eats take-out every day but not typical fries and burger take out. He will have a veggie sub or buys pre-made salads at the stores. He works midnights and most of the other time when he is not sleeping he lives in his van cruising around the city taking pictures to post on his Flickr groups. LOL I think it is because he doesn't want to do dishes. He often gets Chinese or Greek food or spaghetti and meatballs now and then or Swiss Chalet with a baked potato. Sure he has a burger now and then but he knows that eating it everyday is not a good thing. He gets an extra large tea 3 times a day from Tim Horton's and I reap the benefits. He orders his x-large tea with one tea bag in and one tea bag out. You always get 2 tea bags with the x-large. I get the unused packet of tea. To buy the small box of "Gourmet" Tim Horton tea in the store it is almost 5 dollars. I don't know why they say "gourmet" because it is just orange pekoe but it has a nice flavour and strength. I use 4 bags per pot of tea. So every month or so Paul drops off a bag full of tea bags for me. While he keeps up his Tim Horton's tea habit I will never have to buy tea. I am enjoying a pot of it right now as a matter of fact. LOL His take-out run saves me money. LOL The other night Paul stopped by and he flicked his car lights off and on at the house and that means I am to come out to the car. LOL He had Swiss Chalet for me. He bought the family size dinner which comes with 2 half roasted chickens, rolls, 2 baked potato, and 2 steamed veggies and Swis Chalet sauce. He split the dinner with me. I like to order from my favourite Arabic restaurant every couple of months because I crave the salads and shuarma sandwich. If I get take-out usually it is because Paul has treated me as a surprise and it is usually a Greek gyros dinner with extra salad and no fries. My friends and I will go to Tim Horton's for coffee every couple of weeks and sit and chat. I love Starbucks coffee but only when someone else is treating. Whenever my sister goes away she buys me a bag of Starbucks beans. Tim Horton's coffee isn't all that good but it nice to sit and chat. I prefer the coffee I make at home. I love to cook so I don't need to go out for take out food unless it is something I have a craving for. I still think of that Pizza Hut pasta I ordered and how much I paid for it and I won't be making a mistake like that again. I can make food cheaper at home that tastes better. I think if you lead busy lives - there is nothing wrong with healthy take out food as long as you can afford it and some people would rather have a good tasting dinner than spend their money on material things they don't really need. Anne

Happy Birthday, Houstonmom! I like McDonald's fish sandwich Patti, I had one last week. I don't think our McDonald's sells iced coffee. I don't like coffee so I am not certain. I was going to have my homemade vegetable soup, but, plans changed. Cheryl made us both appointments at the chiropractor's and after we got out of there it was too late for that, so I had a Rally burger, fries and iced tea. We did some shopping in Big Lots and the Dollar Tree. I am now ready for bed and will probably head there soon. Sue