Dave, I've been around just more sporadic mixing in work, a heavy off-season softball workout regiment and projects outside have been eating up a lot of my time. That and I feel like I've swamped the boards occasionally with photos and I don't want to become an irritant to some. That grape vine does look marvelous. Highly glossy leaves, great shape and very full. Now my arbor there is in part shade(gets morning and evening sun) and I have two climbing roses and two clematis set to climb it. I'm a bit skeptical about the roses but we'll see. Does that grape vine you have grow with some mixed shade? How long did it take to get it THAT full? Finally, does it have a fall color? I'd be all over it for sure if it did. Spring's on hold again here, a handful of days near freezing and some ice pellets to boot. March can't come soon enough. -Will

flyleft, there are only a couple of doctors in the US doing this particular procedure, but you could contact Dr. Greenspan's office (via that site I linked; ask for Lois, his assistant - if you want my full mundane name to use as a reference, email me if you don't know it already) to see if there is someone closer to you. Dr. G and the neurosurgeon he works with to do the permanent implants are the most experienced with it, have done the most studies and procedures over the longest period of time, so people do come in from all over the country to see Dr. Greenspan. It's a relatively new use of an older technology, IIRC a couple of thousand have been done worldwide - I'm more or less one of the guinea pigs to get this more widespread. It was just sheer luck that I live nearby and that a rheumatologist dumped me in Dr. Greenspan's lap as a "hopeless case". I did not get total relief from pain, although some lucky folks do. The vast majority of patients (close to 90%) get at least 50%. It works best on nerve-based pain so "mechanical" pain like plain ol' osteoarthritis and such isn't likely to get as much effect (and it doesn't do a damn thing for cramps! *wry chuckle*) and I got a "meh" response on migraines. Nor does it have the slightest effect on acute pain at all. My overall average pain levels dropped by about 2/3 which is considered an excellent result. On the standard 0-10 pain scale "my normal" ranges from 5 (a good day, WITH meds) to an 8 (again, WITH meds); with the trial neuromodulator after about 2 weeks of healing and adaptation a 5 was a "bad day" and I was averaging a 3. My best day was a 2, which I then promptly went and made into a 5 by having WAY too much fun LOL! I went from 4 strong pain pills a day (and still not being able to function past about 20% of normal) to 2 (but with increased activity levels) and a couple of amazing days with just 1 pill broken into two doses supplemented with a few Advils. I had the trial unit put in June 15th and taken out July 30, and lemmetellya, it has sucked big time since. Major, major flare. I think I've just plunked down on the nearest piece of furniture or even just the floor and bawled more in the last month than I did in the preceding decade. I had hysterics last week when I finally broke down and took my cane back out of the closet. I'd honestly come close to forgetting just how bad it was - I mean I knew it was bad, but... THIS bad? Really? I didn't "feel like my old [healthy] self" because it didn't take away all the OTHER crap like the neurological and cognitive issues, the GI/urinary stuff, the extraordinary fatigue and weakness... basically the way I put it to the doctor was that I felt like I did about 13-14 years ago when I "just" had CFS, before the fibro and the various neuropathies reared their ugly heads and my back gave me its final "f-you, I quit", but dropping the pain so much lightened the total load on me. Congrats on your first "rebirthday"!

I'm there with you mcmann! I am a LOST junkie. And I very rarely get hooked on a television show. I do not watch anything else faithfully. But I love LOST. Never lost interest. The harder it got to follow, the more I liked it. I am glad it's the final season, though. I'm ready for some closure. I even like watching the "review" shows the started showing, see things I forgot or didn't notice the first time. I think this is the only show I have ever made the effort to see every episode from the beginning. DH can't stand it, won't watch with me. Whatever. I will be watching next Tuesday!

Thanks all... Doris, we've been having the frozen pipe problem, too. What a pain in the....when we were thawing out we got a small crack in one...we found this goop to repair it, which we haven't done yet, but it freezes at the dripping point anyway...slow pressure though...hope that'll be done this weekend and to get wheels going, too... SPRING...woohoo! 5 weeks away... juanita