RITA; I really like MAE GRAHAM, tooShe is nestled in all the different plants in my Jungle Garden # 2 at the end of my sidewalk.She seems to be very happy there, with a rose on each side of her, plus a Patio Tomatoe plant in a pot,amd WONDER OF IT ALL is in front of her, too. The first two blooms I had on WONDER OF IT ALL didnt open all the way, but soon as this hot weather started every one has been about perfect.No trouble opening now.I just LOVE this daylily. Cindy. I am glad you think my photo is pretty good of Palace Garden Beauty.,I have seen much better before. Yes,ms Blackie stayed up under the lily leaves till I moved, then she came along to find another shady spot Kathy, Thank you, yep, she has the edge and I just love it too. Kay, Thank you.It was hard taking photos in that hot sun.I just had to keep wiping sweat out of my eyes to see anything,and with glasses,thats not easy to do. Jean Dianne, Thank you for looking and commenting.

I too got involved in setting up my daughter's science class with cabbages from bonnie plants. What a great program! the variety is O.H. Cross which gets huge. I would say 15-20 pounds but doubt 50 pounds unless you live in alaska (cool and 20 hours of sun in summer?). The cabbage issue is cabbage looper and cabbage worm. We sprayed ours once a week with BT. Also called Dipel under one manufacturer's trademark. It is a dead bacteria in suspension. Totally safe and organic. It acts as a gut poison on caterpillers only (lepidopterus larvae). I just mix it in a quart mister bottle and mist once a week on the foliage. My daughter had the second biggest cabbage in her class. The winner was bigger but looked like swiss cheese with all the holes in it. At least we could eat ours. Hooray to Bonnie Plants as a fantastic program on their part.

Hi Debbie - Jumped in to check on you today and am so happy to see your post. Know that just by getting up and brushing your hair and teeth in the morning that you are strong enough to move ahead day to day. Despite the snow (even we here down "south" got snow yesterday) take heart and know that spring will bring sunshine and warmer breezes into that newly painted, cheerful bedroom of yours. You did a really good thing for yourself by painting. This is your home and it needs to be a place that makes you feel happy to come home to. Chelone, I understand how you are feeling also. We are finally at the point where we need to discuss alternate arrangements with my FIL, as our family is bordering on the breaking point. Everyone is trying their level best, but it is apparent that we are nearing the tipping point where he continues to thrive at the cost of the remainder of the household who must accommodate him. He is now 94 and a half. I wrestle every day with the question of how do I know when I can truly no longer do this... because we know we can bear almost any situation "just another day" and then "just another week" as others do in similar situations or worse. I beat myself up every day thinking "if I only could be more patient I could do this as long as it takes". "If only I weren't so self centered then maybe I could provide this care without feeling wrung out." There are people who seem to have an endless capacity for loving and giving and caring no matter how frustrating it gets. They just keep on giving and loving and caring with joy. I envy them so much. I know that I love my FIL - after all, I have been caring for him for more than 6 years and we are very close. So I know that when the time comes for him to leave our home, I will be a mess. A mixtue of guilt and grief and relief and sadness at the end of an era in my life. Debbie I'm so proud of you. Do your friends and neighbors a huge favor and make it a point each day to accept at least one person's offer of help. Al's friends and your neighbors are grieving in their own way at als passing, and helping you in some tangible way would help them too. Really. We feel helpless when we know we could be making someone's day easier somehow but they won't accept our help. Maybe there is some way to connect Matthew with a trusted friend who could do guy things with him from time to time? That would be a help to YOU as much as to him. I'd wager that there are several people who would be honored to do that for Al. Maybe a friend would take Carley over to the nail salon and treat her to a manicure. $10, such a little thing, but would make her feel special and loved if a manicure isn't something she would usually do for herself. The next time someone asks how they can help, have a little errand or two at the top of your head each morning that would be a big help if you could delegate it. I offered to take a friend's cans and bottles and cardboard to the recycling center for her after her husband died. It was an easy thing for me to do on my way to the recycling.... but a HUGE project for her in addition to all the other #$%$ she had to think about. The recycling wouldn't have made it to the top of her to do list for weeks and would have sat there weighing on her and piling up. Just a little thing to me , but it was big to her and I was so happy to know that I had really helped make her day a little easier. When I see her now, she will always give me a hug and say "I can't believe you took my trash to the dump for me! I love you!" and I know she means it. So make a little list and accept people's offers of help. You know which ones really mean it! Easter wishes to all of you. Trish

We had out gutters, eaves, downspouts, front porch, screened porch, driveway and garage door pressured-cleaned Thursday. He only charged $80 and did a beautiful job. I gave him a little extra because in my mind it was worth so much more! We're an end unit so we have more "stuff" to clean.