Hi Guys. Yes, we did lose power but only for a day and night and I have never seen so much rain at one time but we were lucky. The ground is VERY soggy but the waters never reached the house. One of our neighbors was not so lucky. Theresa

Are you new to Maryland? Or just new to this forum? In any event welcome and make youself at home. Steve in Baltimore County.

Hi Dawn! Oh my... to catch up on the kiddos! My oldest is now married and lives in Marlow, OK. She has two babies (eeek! I'm a Grandma!) and a wonderful husband that provides for her to stay home with the boys and be an amazing Mom. The younger daughter decided to join the Navy. We dropped her off at boot camp on Mother's Day last year (best/worst Mother's Day ever!) and in December she got orders to Japan as well. She is stationed at a base about 30 miles away from us. It's been so nice having her close, and it's incredible how much she has matured since joining the Navy. She gets promoted to E4 in a couple weeks, and a very good friend of ours that we were stationed at Tinker with will be "pinning" her new rank on her. The planets all aligned so that our friend's ship will be in port that week. The friend is also female, and is my daughter's Navy Mentor, so it's makes it a very special event. My son just turned 9, spoiled to the max since he's an "only child" now. He's adjusted so well to living in Japan. He has several Japanese friends, and is learning Japanese in school, so I sometimes have him translate for me when we go off base. He's learned how to properly bow, and the older women giggle at him when he bows and says "Domo arigatōgozaimashita" (thank you very much). He's also figured out that he gets reward with a piece of candy for it sometimes. LOL Winters are not harsh here at all. This year was considered wet, and only once did it get below freezing. I have a Bruugmansia that lost it's leaves, but it's recovered well, and is about two weeks away from blooming. So lucky to have it, the previous residents were told to remove it before we moved in, so he cut it to the ground and covered it with dirt for me. It's at least 8 feet tall now! So beautiful! Glad to here Ok is finally getting some decent weather! I was so distraught to see the damage in Moore in May. That was very close to where we used to live and it took awhile for me to get a hold of some family in Yukon and Tuttle areas to make sure they were all okay. My husband I often talk about where we want our "forever home" to be when he's done with his Navy time, and over and over we talk about coming back to Oklahoma! There's so much to love about OK, but the strength of the community as witnessed after the storm is what makes Oklahoma so special! The local garden center started selling starter plants in Feb/March. I bought what I could recognize buy their leaves. The labels are all in kanjii. I need many more years experience before I'll be able to read kajii. LOL If it was in romanic alphabet, I could pop it into "Google" and figure it out. I think the size of the vegetables I'm seeing are related to the amount space most gardeners have available to for growing. We are in a suburb of Tokyo. Having a yard is rare here! Most people have an area about 3'x3' to work with, but the large marjority of people live in high rise apartment buildings, and have a very small balcony area for potted plants. They also use the balconies for drying their laundry, which is quite odd when you're not accustomed to see a 10 story building with every apartment having clothing and bedding hanging on a balcony. A little google research has shown me that seeds for commercial growing are extremely regulated. Obviously they want to avoid cross breeding and disease, so they require a "Phytosanitary Inspection Certificate" at the growing site when the seeds pass through customs. I will check with our local post office though. Since I'm not a commercial grower, and all my mail is received through the US Postal Service, I might not have the same restrictions. Thank you for bringing it to my attention! I will do a little more research and if I find out it okay without any problems, then I'll let you know what seeds I'm interested in.

Soon Hotpink will be wearing black as, sadly, I must attend a funeral in the UK. SoÂ..provided itÂs not my own IÂll be back, inshallah, in a few weeks to post "something interesting" as Eric suggests, at risk of completely ruining my recently gained reputation as a pure upstanding writer at garden web, and thus any chance of future references from you guys. I had actually, for some time been coveting a cherished dream of a next occupation as a "hospital matron". ÂÂHopefully, on my return, that floozy red hisbiscus of mine that is teasingly thrusting out buds by the dozen Âand no flowers as yetÂ. appears to be taking over the perennial bed. IÂm hoping she wonÂt require a king size when I return for all her carryings on, bless her sweet soulÂ. a galÂs gotta earn a livinÂÂ.