Hi Everybody! I can't believe how this week has flown by. Tomorrow is weigh-in day again! Other than more demolition on the kitchen, I haven't been getting my exercise. Actually, I should be doing my step aerobics right now, but here I am instead. The days are getting noticeably shorter, but the temperatures here are still warm. I guess we will be getting remnants of Ivan in the form of rain, rain, rain for the weekend. But I can't complain. My heart goes out to those affected more directly by the recent string of hurricanes. Well, I wore a pair of jeans today that I had not worn for a looong time. They fit, and were not tight. I know that the changes in my diet are really working. Yellowhair--I wonder if we will see Bunny Tracks here. I really love the Skinny Cow fudge bars. My DH is now eating them, too. You know, I have never had problems with my feet. But awhile back when I was trying to take long walks, I started having a problem with my big toe. It felt like it was sprained or something. It was very odd, but it just went away. DH has lots of trouble with his feet. I am sure it is just that we are getting older. Anyway, he has heel spurs, which are bony growths that kinda jab you from the inside. he has other things going on too, and has even been through physical therapy. He says they told him that whenever he is getting pain to quit whatever activity he is doing for awhile. In other words, if it hurts when you do that, don't do that! Kathy--When I first got into gardening and landscaping someone, who was a seasoned gardener, told me that a garden wasn't really yours until you had re-invented it about a million times. Well, they didn't say it quite like that, but that was the general meaning I took from it. I was fretting because the year before I had planted a shrub that I now thought would be in much better spot if I moved it just 4 feet. I wasn't sure it was worth it to go to the trouble. The advice I got was to go for it. I did, and I am still glad I did. And that is still my approach to gardening now. I am always seeing something that needs to be improved and gardening is all about the process. So it sounds like a change will be coming to your garden soon! DeeMarie--Talking about your commute reminded me of when I was doing that. Several years ago, I drove 50 miles one way to work. It took an hour and a half on most days with traffic and all. DH says I used to come home in the worst mood. It is interesting how we get ourselves into these things. I mean the trade-off for a job that you love vs. having more time for activities at home vs a nice paycheck vs whatever. I try not to regret the decisions that I make, but it sure seems that life is all about the trade-offs sometimes. On that note, I will wrap up this longwinded post. Eat healthy!!

I've had a Kenmore front loader for 15 years that has been a great washing machine. It originally cost about $600 in 2001, and has just kept on chugging. Right at the moment, it is dripping a bit from the bottom from a leaking outer tank, but not enough leakage that it doesn't dry out between uses. Since it's on a slab, not a big issue, but I expect to be replacing it within a year or so, Can't really complain about that length of service for what we originally put into it. I'll be looking for another front loader, this one has gotten our clothes clean without damaging them with minimal water use. No smell, but we leave the door and the soap drawer ajar between uses so that they dry out inside. Yes, it does vibrate, but it doesn't rip out pipes and walls or walk around, just makes some noise on fast spin. I haven't got enough money to buy a washing machine that doesn't make any noise. And yes, there's a certain amount of luck involved with any major appliance purchase, and I'm well aware that we've been lucky with this one. Lemons do happen. But you can take a lot of the doubt out (except the probability of getting a lemon *smile*) by doing your research up front. Good luck!

Thanks for posting this! I saw it too late to try to go at lunch. I only had time to go to one tj maxx on my way home from work (homegoods is farther away). But I found an end table that had been marked down from $99 to $49, and the extra 15% off made it about $45 after tax. It has a few small chips on the rim but I will just touch those up with some stain or paint (and will probably try to darken the whole piece anyway). Ironically I was eyeing that end table last month, then it was gone; i wonder if somone chipped it when they were trying to get it in their house, and then returned it. Other than that I just bought some small things from the food section -- a fancy cake mix and frosting mix that I"ll send to a friend as part of her bday gift, and garlic flavored olive oil for myself. The store wasn't crowded at all (around 8 pm). But most of the customers looked like folks coming home from work, and it wasn't the usual crowd (a lot more couples & men than I usually see in that store).

I put mine straight into the garden, but there’s always enough leftover to pile up and let breakdown. If I can plan it right, I like to pile up the leftovers where I want to make my next bed; it gets the soil charged up and ready for planting. I‘ve noticed my roses esp. love a deep layer just before summer; it helps keep the roots cool and damp. They do need a bit of extra nitrogen if you put out chips out freshly chopped. There is a bit of nitrogen tie-up while they break down. (That’s probably why the arborist said to let them sit.) I sprinkle organic fertilizer, plus blood meal for nitrogen, then a layer of cardboard to suppress weeds, then 4-6” of chips, and water it all in well. The chips will settle down to about a 2-3” thick layer. 😊