Hi all! Thanks for all of the bday/anniversary wishes--I had a great week, and we had a really nice anniversary! :) Rog got me tickets to see A.J. Jacobs (the author--he writes for Esquire, and is like Bill Bryson--really hysterical!), and tickets for Anthony Bourdain the next night. Now, he's yummy! :) Then, this past Friday night, I went to see a live showing of Rocky Horror--gad, that was f*u*n! No props, but it was still fun yelling out the lines to the actors! :) We're going to Chattanooga, TN next weekend to look at fall foliage, and just have fun and relax. So, it's been a lovely couple of weeks! School is going well, too. I just took another algebra test, and did suprising well on it. I am one point away from an A average, so hopefully, I can get it. Even though I've worked in corporate accounting/finance for decades, I still am not a math person. Go figure. LOL! I'm enjoying it, though, and it's good to get the ol' gray matter up and working again. I did get a very nice complement from a friend. We were discussing my going back to school at my age, and she said that I was her hero for doing it, and that she'd like to be a nurse too, but that she didn't think she could do it. I told her that I thought that if *I* can do it, anyone can and that she'd be a wonderful nurse (and she would). I just thought that was nice as I've never been anyone's 'hero' before. :) Milkdud--liver! Urk! :) I like the taste, but can not get past the texture. Congrats on good numbers! :) I started eating better, and walking 3 miles a day, and I feel so much better. I think that mess I went through in July was a real b*tt-kicker for me to take better care of myself. Speaking of that........ (drumroll, please!) I am down almost 50 pounds from my top weight!!!! And I have bought a pair of 7 for All Mankind jeans, and got in Âem, and they are comfortable. I am thrilled, to say the least! I want to lose another 20 pounds to get to a healthy BMI, and then maintain this. I canÂt believe thatÂs itÂs this close to Halloween already. Gad, what a year. Does anyone what to do a Christmas exchange this year? (I know that I missed last years, so IÂm hoping that we will do it this year!) Anyhoo, gotta goÂhope all is well with everyone! Love and hugs, Maddie

Maddie~ Forget about the rant...nhsuzaane is right..We ALL have had rants here. It helps just to type away and press "post"--very theraputic. Plus, let yourself enjoy the support. And now, I'm going to have a little rant of my own... Maddie, On the job...I have no doubt you like (maybe even love) your job, but there is way too much "job" and not enough of you. Start looking for another position. Even if the auditors find you need more manpower, the company still has to find the funds and get the authorization for it; that could take a long, long time. Right now, it's not a priority for them to help you even learn your job...why would they be motivated to get help for any time soon? Start job hunting now. And BTW, you don't have to find a job at what you went to school for---find something you LIKE---what happened to your auctioning dreams? Or real estate? When we toured that KY mansion together, you really impressed me with your vision on property renovation! You would be a gem in the customer service end of a high-end real estate biz! And you know so much about the history of KY! And---you take on WAY too much in all of these jobs you've had. Take some time and find a job that fits YOU. Enough of this Super-Woman-Set-Me-Up-For-Failure-Cr@p. You are a very,very nice person, but you are taking on too much---because you're TOO nice! You do not have to save the company---just find a job, work as hard as you can, follow your job description, and save money for pleasure vacations and retirement, and BE YOURSELF! Maddie, everyone enjoys being around you. I loved every single minute I spent with you. Your humor, your easy smile, your warmth, and your perky red-headed personality should land you whatever job you want. Please ask yourself if what you're doing is really what you want to be doing...or is it just what you trained for and you don't want to "waste" that $ and education. Perhaps this is why you choose jobs that are so difficult. Do you really want to be doing what you're doig??? People change over time and maybe you should think about your OTHER talents and find a "fun" job to do for a while-one that take advantage of your PERKY personality, your persuasive manner, and natural good looks-instead of your brain! There is nothing wrong with *NOT* having a brainy job! Look at meeeeeeeeeeeeee! I CAN FLY! (and feel like Peter Pan half the time!) Sorry this is so long, but I really think you deserve to be happier. It makes me sad to think your employer doesn't appreciate you or give you the type of working experience you deserve. If the last person was miserable and now you're miserable, buy a paper at lunch and start LOOKING for a new job...try looking in the customer service ads...or real estate! Everyone here will write you a reference, I'm sure. Love you and want you to look forward to going to work! -Beege

Thanks everyone for the replies. I got all my seedlings planted, I'm really not worried about them as they are so small and had good roots. I noticed as I was gathering volunteer seedlings, some of the buds on the Picea abies had opened and new foliage was emerging, needless to say I didn't pick those ones, I planted the ones with the tightest looking buds. Right now it's in the mid 50s in the morning, I checked accuweather and my location's average temp for this is 13F above average so far and climbing, and last month was 8 above average.

Sorry I'm late on acknowledging 3 cards and saying thank you for some lovely seeds! January was a bit hectic for me but now I'm looking forward to planning my 2019 garden! Patrob- thank you for the lemon thyme, cosmic purple carrot, Pac Choy, and black seeded simpson lettuce. I'm excited for all of them! Tammy (mcc371)- thank you for the oriental greens and crystal apple cucumber! Excellent choices! DirtDaddy- thank you for the great selection of lettuce, red varieties are a particular favorite of mine, and French Sorrel!