Karyn you have me crying now also!! For I REMEMBER how I felt when I saw it, sitting in my living room in Germany. The horror and reaction that came over me by this tragedy was not any less as if I would have been in the US. You see, I have ALWAYS loved this Country from the first moment I set foot on it in -1975-. Mary that is really a memory I believe you right away that it puts it all in a very different light when you remember that day. Like everyone who personally knew SOMEONE from 9/11 Brenda I believe that we ALL are praying and hoping that it will never ever happen again!! I just know that if we would be able to do so, we would form a circle, lay our arms around each other and let the strength of our prayers and wishes go out to the world...for PEACE!!! Lucy

6:30 p.m. Sunday-just came in from taking the garden off-(went out @3)-wasn't going to-wanted to keep it at least a month longer,but Jack appeared last night at some time and worked some of his magic-So,the wheelbarrow is FULL of green tomatoes,the majority the size of tennis ball and much bigger-saved the little tags so that I get the same breed next year;also picked the equivalent of an 8 qt basket of ripe or close to ripe ones-I've already picked and canned,eaten and given away at least a bushel in the past 3 wks. And all of that from only 8 plants.(There also was at least 1/2 bushel of ripe,green,and frost bitten ones that will be tilled in) Pulled up the cucumbers as well-a few quarts of pickles to do this week,and a 3L basket or so of some big enough for relish,but will be eaten by old Rondo,instead. Canned up 6 quarts of the little wee potatoes for the winter,and bagged 20# so far of most close to the size of my hand;still have a few hills to dig. That leaves the pumpkins,close to 15 for sure,all of various sizes;some were pulled,others left to grow some yet;there are a few of the little decorator sort,kinda cute little fellas;that leaves the dill,of which there is plenty,and the swiss chard-still some for me to put away for the winter and plenty if the deer decide they need a snack. Busy week coming up-massive canning operation ahead,3 friggin medical days(PITA)and then theres just the doggin I have to do-ahhh,such is the life! gotta love it!

Interesting take on change and ruts. As much as I see I may be in a rut, I don't consider myself adverse to change in the least. I thrive with change.. I made my living selling and implementing change. But I don't necessarily see the majority of things we're discussing here as "game changing" changes.. "life changing" changes. I suppose a makeover could be life changing.. but for most of us, I doubt that's the case. Pal, I think you've made an excellent point. Having routine and some things simplified in one aspect of our lives can give us the freedom to seek change in others. I worked and lived with some brilliant researchers and they all had odd quirks in their routines. I too know people who literally eat the same things every day (not quite the extreme of the same thing every meal lol). I think of this as variety though-- not change. I guess that is my big aha of the day.. variety does not equal change. Personally, I like variety but I need change. I am on the cusp of a change-- I am looking for a new job, i am preparing for the eventual move of my bf cross country. My life is going to change a great deal.. and I am impatient. I am sitting here ready for the changes to come.. but I am impatient. The one great mystery is that while we can welcome and even direct change, we cannot control it. Sure, I can change my hair, my nail color.. .I can try new recipes or cooking techniques. I can change my toilet paper and my workout routine.. but that's not going to make the job offers come rolling in. They might give me the illusion of change as I sit here waiting for it though. Or not :) I have been through this before. The antsy feeling of anticipation and impatience. I remember when I first saw the movie Chocolat-- silly as it is, I remember having a great sense of understanding when a wind came up and Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche's character) knew it was time to move on.. I liken it to the way my dogs used to respond to the big gusts in the fall that proceeded snow. They'd lift their noses and then perform antsy dances. Who knows what they were responding to.. could have been carried in with the winds scents.. or low pressure.. but it was a marked response to something in the air. I feel change is in the air and I am forced to sit here and wait for it. So yeah, I'll get my hair done.. select the new paint color for the lr... organize the pantry.. all so that I am ready when the new opportunity arrives. Kind of like the nesting behavior we see in expectant mothers. (and please -- no apologies for branching a thread. That's what conversations do! It's all good!)

Patti, yes, I guess a leaky heart should be looked into. And loved your approach to the doctor! Way to go! You must be SO proud of your SIL and that whole family! That's doggoned impressive! And thrilled for your son and getting his bride-to-be back here, a little nervous about her getting in without any glitches. Exciting times for you! Does she speak Mandarin?? What part of China is she from? I just did cart seeds inside for the first time last year. It was surprisingly easy with the good help of all our smart friends here. They were even more help advising where and when and what to plant and filling the raised beds. Last year, I had no idea how to tell what I wanted in a tomato or pepper (or anything else--I'm sure you all remember my ignorance); I have learned so much from you all in the past year; and I had to laugh at Rebecca saying that she bet I wouldn't buy seed from (I don't know who it was, some big box company). And it IS true that I've become very uppity about seed companies--but it's all y'all's fault! You know it is. I didn't get started on seed-planting today, Dawn. Maybe tomorrow. We are still staying away from: church, and schools. So maybe I'll get up and begin tending the garden for God. :) I'm a little bit freaked about IT, too. I bet all of you who have only recently started all the seed-growing stuff are feeling about like I am. . . So technically, this is only my second year. But it was so easy last year, I'm not too freaked out. Mostly by the nightmares of potting up, the taking all those flats out every morning, bringing them all back in in the evenings. Too funny. It's like running an orphanage, pet shelter, daycare. Constant attention, right? I'm thrilled that in what is going into my 4th year here, I have SO many perennials, self-seeding annuals, and shrubs going. SO appreciated the additional info on drip irrigation tubing. I'm still on the edge, there. I think I will maybe NOT do it in the flower beds, cept for the cement block raised one, and the raised veggie beds. Maybe soaker hoses, though. I really don't much care about the worry over sprinklers getting leaves wet, when I remember the 20" of rain we got May into July for two years in a row. The saving money part, sure. But I have those oscillating sprinklers, so can narrow down the watering to the immediate bed being watered. That's gotta help some. HJ and Dawn both posted while I was starting on this, so had to change windows to see what they had to say. lol Liked the way you tied Rh into gardening, HJ. Very creative. And now, HJ, and I am very worried about your babies since dogs seem to be about. (Which is one of the two main reasons we won't have them--the other being times we have to go to Wy or Mn.) Amy, I had to google the car accident you mentioned. How very sad. They still haven't released the names. We only go to Wahoo Bay occasionally, because you know my distaste for traveling. It's probably 25-30 miles from our house--as you know, we're north and east of Wagoner by 10 miles; Wahoo is south and east of Wagoner by about 15. We go down there a couple times each summer. Actually, that's where GDW is going to crappie fish--a nice heated dock not too far north of Wahoo. And he is on a mission now. We got his moon jigs, his special bobbers should be showing up Tuesday, and then he just KNOWs he'll be catching all kinds of crappies. That was funny, you mentioning your Mom ears. I have them, too, with the new kitties. Speaking of them. . . . uh oh, I fear they are into their teens, full blown. Jerry's actually the troublemaker; but Tom is the dangerously funny one. They were both obsessed with getting into the pantry, because of the hole in the wall where the water lines are. But mostly because it's a shut door. If a door is shut, that's where they want to go. Garry fixed the door once (previously it shut and stayed shut, but didn't latch.) But didn't fix it good enough apparently. Last night, one of the cats came racing in here with a prize--my brand new fancy dancy fuzzy "feather duster." Score!, he thought, and you could all but see them doing "high 5's" about it. All I could do was laugh. The fuzzy part is a foot long, and then has a wood handle that's another foot long. Hysterical. So I put it back and shut the door. This morning before I was up, GDW got to witness the same thing. But so, he FIXED the door good today. The cats are so ticked off. BUT, now, I fear the cabinets are next, as Tom was interested in seeing in what was one of them when I opened it today. . . and they, of course, do not latch. You could almost see the little light bulbs going off in his head. They've been rowdy today. . . SO rowdy. So funny. They're both also SO affectionate. I plunked Tom down 4 times earlier today when he was being obnoxious and in my face (AFTER I gave him 15 minutes of uninterrupted time), and four times he jumped back instantly. But he also has been in either GDW's lap or mine every time we have sat down today.