Thank you everyone for the compliments. The kids are definately in disguise Jeanne! They are all good kids but I wouldn't compare them to angels (unless they are sleeping) LOL. I won't tell Chris all the nice things you have all said about him (I wouldn't want his head to blow up) :) I have always thought he was pretty good looking too. Even before we got together...Marlene, most of the stepping stones that actually made it to my garden were made by my daughter. The designs are mine but all of the ones I made myself were sold or given as gifts. I kept the ones that the kids made because they mean more to me. Luna Lena, yes the floor is all stained glass. The girls and I did that right after we moved in here almost 3 years ago. (I designed it and the girls helped doing some of the cutting and grinding of the glass. Rosemarie, No I didn't make the glow in the dark gazing ball. I bought that at Meijer.

Looks like you hit the Jack pot with them! Very pretty and at a great price too!! Very lucky indeed~~ Marjie

Thank you! Yes the property has so much to offer - it's very park-like, almost a full acre within city limits... good spacing between neighbors, and lots of trees. As far as a vision... the only thing I'm really envisioning is using the sideyard as some sort of walk-through (i.e. paths and various points of interest) cottage/cutting garden. I have a "sort of" plan I sketched on a dinner napkin not too long ago. The rest of the property is really lovely the way it is, so I probably won't do too much. And yes, I DO expect to be losing sanity a little at a time. LOL In fact, I think I left some of it among the stones of my rock wall!

Hi Harry! I wish that you live closer, I would invite you for lunch today.:) This is the first time that I am growing the Okinawa sweet potato, I really have a small garden so I planted them around the blackberries and sugarcane. I kept cutting the vines so they wouldn't run over other places. You can keep the vines as small as the bush ones cutting them. Next warm season I am going to plant them in the raised beds. I will double the amount, let's say if I am growing 6 slips of the bush porto rico, I will grow 12 of the Okinawa. The color keeps a deep purple even after cooking, I suppose after some curing they will taste better. They are excellent now! You must be busy shelling all those BJBB,lol. I am very busy too making papaya chips in the dehydrator, they taste good with salt like french fries but better for you... Thank you Wildatheart - You should try to do a lot of gardening now since you like the cold, me on the other hand likes the heat, after living in Arizona for 10 years I put gloves for anything. This morning when I went to walk my dog on the trail, I was thinking that is time to take out the leather gloves to walk and I had scarf too.lol. Silvia