Thanks for the ideas, FLgardenmom. I checked the area I haven't been into to tidy up, but no coonties there. I'll be on the lookout for the others you suggested. Never thought about those pink gingers - have to watch the box stores for those on sale. My plant buying rule is...cheap, and a minimum of two plants in the pot that can be divided immediately. Right now I'm pinching and adding to the single coleus plants in some planters to fill them out. Caladiums are one that often have a couple of plants in one pot, and I'm definitely on the lookout for more, even if the common ones. Lucky you on the 12 broms. Great score! I so get the cheap thing, lol. I just don't want the yard to have this large, very bare area. The more clean-up I do, the more bare areas I uncover. Not good. I did find a second palm, right next to the original one. It's kinda like a windmill palm. Not sure what it is. I think one of these days, when I feel strong, I'll try and dig up the young one, pot it up, if successfully dug, and see what happens. There is also a potted plant in the yard that looks rather like some type of large version of the peace lily. Some type of aroid, I think. It's got a youngun coming up in the pot, as well as two large ones. Prime for a raid and division, ha. Feet up right now, just resting the aching body. I must have re-potted/potted up 40 or so plants today. Tired! Randy Another thing I do, which seems a bit naughty, is divide and replant some of the existing plants here, putting the original plant back into the garden, and potting up the division for myself, for future enjoyment. Those potted up plants go where they will succeed - same conditions in the yard as the original plant.

I hope nobody thought I wore socks with sandals! I meant to say that ALL shoes rub so I wear socks or hose, I don't wear the flip-flop type sandals at all b/c they rub. Sometimes I will wear hose with a strappy shoe that I guess you could call a sandal - if they're dressy, have heels (even wedges). Casual open-toe sandals I don't wear hose - of course I'm usually wearing those with shorts! Even in my 20's and wearing miniskirts I always wore hose with heels. They help reduce the friction. Don't do anything for sweaty feet though - I had lots of pairs of hose with stained feet from the dye coming off the shoes. My kids' shoes stink - even 10-yr old DD's feet sometimes stink. But the 15-yr runner's are the worst!

roselvr, I wonder if your DD has patellar subluxation? My kneecap "popped" to the outside and the knee would give out to the inside. Mine's a combination of repeated twisting injuries, general abuse :-) and a mild congenital defect (the "notch" the kneecap sits in is too shallow) and it, too, looked fine on imaging but it did not function properly under strain. I had arthroscopic surgery in 1990 on the right knee to deepen that notch a tad, adjust some ligaments and build what would eventually become a "collar" of scar tissue to keep my kneecap in place - I can feel that but can't see it. (Just the three eensy little scars from the arthroscopy, which after all this time are just little puckers in the skin. Instead of general anesthesia I had a spinal block and sedation and was happily stoned to the gills for two days afterward! LOL) I'm sure the technology has improved drastically since then, but that knee has never gone kerflooey on me again. Has your daughter had any physical therapy to stabilize the muscles that work the knee? It really can help a great deal, and it's totally non-invasive so it's an excellent place to start. Women are particularly prone to unstable knees simply because of our skeletal anatomy. I was able to avoid surgery on the left knee with physical therapy (the right knee was far worse off, which is why it got the knife and I chose to be much more conservative with the left) at the same time I was having extensive therapy on the right knee (long story). Even after 15 years I find myself doing some of the isometric exercises when waiting at stoplights, out of sheer habit!

Several weeks ago, my neighbor Lisa brought my neighbor Joanne's dog to my house and asked me if I knew where he lived. I thought it was odd, because I have lived here about eight years, and Rusty has never let me get my hands on him, yet he had gone straight to this lady's garage sale, walked up to her, and let her put a leash on him. I walked with her to Joanne's house. We were just about to knock, when we heard someone calling. Jo-Ann, who had just had both knees replaced, had tripped over an old fence lying on the ground at rhr edge of the lot next door to her house. Although this is in town, she lived on a 1/2 acre lot with a vacant lot next door,so there was no one within shouting distance. When she began to fall, she braced herself with one hand and hit the ground with all her weight on that hand, breaking her wrist. She was unable to get up. Her dog Rusty had gone to get the neighbor! Moral to my story is... keep your phone in your pocket!