CB, in the few days you have here, you will definitely have to be on the go to make it to Palm Springs, Hollywood plus do your ministry! Palm Springs has never interested me because I don't care to be in the desert, but I know there is a gondola that can take you up to the top where the weather is different than below in PS.

Yes Home Depot sales Plumeria from Junkle's Jack....As a matter fact I bought 3 Plumeria which are the Panittas'Red and the Hearts' Desire and the other one can't remember the names....I kept the Heart Desire Plumeria and Returned back the Panittas' Red and the other one as well both since was Grafted....Even the man at Home Depot confirmed that it was ended grafted... I prefer that the braches comes from the Original body than having two different bodies it's just doesn't look normal....The price wasn't cheap at all...The Panitta"s Red and the other Pink colors was about 2 to 3 feet tall and priced was $39.99 each and the small ones are priced for $24.99....Just be aware or check all the details of the Plumeria that you are buying from Home Depot or Lowe's that was provide by Jungles Jack because some of them are grafted and some aren't...so I decided to buy a few of my Plumerias thru Bloomingplumerias and 1-stop-aloha thru Ebay...At least I have the exact colors that I wantd since these Two are refutable sellers...By the way there was someone posted here that needed to see a photos of the "Rare Kolika Plumeria" and as matter of I have a Tree that just Blooming at the moment so if still neede I can Post a few photos of the Rare Kolika Flowers...Thank you

Vee, I didn't grow up with English boys but I really didn't notice the Englishmen I knew as co-workers, friends, and male relatives of friends as being as allergic to female company as you describe. Maybe the ones I knew had outgrown it. :-) I did notice the shyness of both males and females, though. As for American guys having 'trophy' girlfriends and wives: sure, there are those but I think gals were/are just as likely to collect 'trophy' boyfriends and husbands. The quarterback of the football team was always more popular than a defensive lineman (a necessary but less glamorous position); the guy with a 'hot' car impressed the girls while the poor fellow who had to drive his parents' car on dates was a 'drip'. I was probably a typical snotty female in some respects: I was mortified when I was a senior (12th grader) in high school and a sophomore (10th grader) boy asked me to an important dance. He was too young for me. I think it's funny now that I have a husband six years younger than me. Annpan, it's true that Americans are obsessed with the appearance of teeth. Martin Amis (Kingsley's son) said that before he dared go to the US he had to get himself 'an American smile'. Looking at YouTube video clips of singers such as Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) and David Bowie before they had their teeth fixed always draws comments from younger Americans nowadays. How could these guys dare sing with such teeth? As if shiny, white plastic chompers are a prerequisite to singing talent...apparently so in their opinion. Americans are just about as obsessed with body hair as with teeth. It wasn't always so, but it is now. Females should have hair in three places only: the head, the eyebrows and the eyelashes. Males are allowed facial hair in addition. If you're wondering about the other region where hair usually grows...that's just ick, ick, ick! Hair removal is big business in the US. Mudlady, I've run across that parental attitude you describe that sons are always more important than daughters. I think it must be a holdover or throwback in American culture and not the norm as it is in certain other cultures. I never felt that I was less important than my brothers, but I was the only girl and youngest child and that probably made a lot of difference. Ah yes, cars had character back then! I can barely tell one make & model from the next nowadays. My first car is only a fond memory but I still have my second car, a metallic-blue 1966 Plymouth Satellite with a 383 engine, 5-speed manual on the floor. Lots of girls never learned to drive a standard transmission, but they missed out on loads of fun! I'm glad I grew up in the heyday of American car culture. As frivolous as it might seem, it signified freedom to me more than anything else could at the time. I didn't think anything of jumping into my car and driving alone from Iowa to Texas. I drove from Paris to Istanbul one time, too. It was marvelous.

Hey Steve - I am in Philadelphia! The "Sunset" zones were actually expanded beyond the west coast. They published plant guide books using the same type of criteria as what they used out west. Here are some of their more easterly zones (had to dig on their site which has been cluttered of late - their map graphics have quite a bit of overlap for regions too but the Sunset designations appear in the overlap) - Northeast Mid-Atlantic Southeast Great Lakes You would be in "Sunset 35" which says - ZONE 35. Ouachita Mountains, Northern Oklahoma and Arkansas, Southern Kansas to North-Central Kentucky and Southern Ohio Growing season: late April to late Oct. Rain comes in all seasons. Summers can be truly hot and humid. Without arctic fronts, winter lows are around 18 degrees F/-8 degrees C; with them, the coldest weather may bring lows of -20 degrees F/-29 degrees C. As a note, their "winter lows" are basically the average lows during winter, not the "average lowest minimum" (which is how the USDA calculates the cold hardiness temperature).