Once I get attached to a pair of jeans for the garden, I just go ahead and reinforce the knees. First a patch on the inside and once I have that properly broken in, a patch on the outside (imitating the reinforcd jeans I used to buy for my son when he was a little boy). You can use iron-on....I usually zigzag. My MIL makes fancy calico "decorator" patches for my "good" jeans which get holed in a surprising number of ways. Some of my clients have less than clean surroundings and I can end up crawling around trying to track down cables or open computers or just figure out if the dang things are plugged in appropriately. You'd be astonished at how often I end up with holes in my jeans AND my knees.

I lost 40 pounds since July and having fun buying all new clothes. I don't care that I'm wearing jeans from stores that teens and young adults shop in. The only problem I have is the mid-rise jeans are not mid-rise anymore. They're low rise. I simply wear a belt and bought a lot of tunic style tops. Maybe you need to be fitted properly for a bra. I have to buy mine online (www.figleaves.com). I went into Victorias Secret yesterday to buy a convertible bra so I can wear tops with spaghetti straps this summer. The girl measure me the strangest way! Across my back, then up over top of my boobs for the band size! Then she did the fullest part and concluded my bra size. I took the bra she chose and knew before I even tried it on there was so way it would fit. I ended up buying my bra online. I'll have it in 3 weeks..... I used to buy a lot of clothes at Sears too. But I found when I went there to buy a dress to wear to our company Christmas dinner most of the clothes they carry now, my grandmother would not have worn. Their styles are so outdated and ugly. I ended up buying my dress at Le Chateau, which when they first opened, I called: Le Shat-ho.Most of the clothing they used to carry I only pictured hookers wearing. They've changed a lot. I've bought five new pairs of jeans in the past 3 weeks. 1 pair of Guess Jeans. 1 pair of Brody jeans, 1 pair of store brand (Bootlegger) jeans, and 2 pair of Silver jeans. I LOVE the Silver jeans. They're from a Canadian based company (Winnipeg) and the material is thicker. They're stone washed and extremely comfortable. I used to buy my jeans at a western wear store. My favourites for years were Aura jeans by Wranglers. But they don't make my style anymore and the jeans they do make have so much bling on the back pockets, and I don't need people staring at my butt. ;) The only problem I'm having is buying a pair of knee high dress boots. My calves are 16" around and most boots are 14" - 15". I've about given up. I did buy one pair of ankle boots that I love. Maybe I'll just find another pair with a bit of a heal on them and give in to defeat. Or defeet..... ;)

Thank you Tina. Jeannie, has been strong for so long that it makes sense she breaks down now and then. I think she feels comfortable doing so with me. She knows I can take it. After all we come from the same strong bloodline. Granted, I often break down after we hang up or this weekend on the way back to the hotel, but if she can be strong going through all this, I can be strong for her when she needs it. I thought I'd be able to cry with her, thinking it would make her feel loved, but it just didn't seem right. I did tear up, but the bloodline kicked in and the strength took over. It's just the way we are. Saturday our daughter texted to tell me that a neighborhood friend of hers and her brothers, (we all knew him and his family well, but lost touch after we moved) died last Wednesday. Our son who went to the visitation Sunday and found out it was cancer. He had a brain tumor when he was about three, shortly after we moved to the neighborhood. He was 29. Thank you Jen. I'm so glad she's home too. I don't know if I mentioned earlier, but her hubby had just been in the hospital about a week before she was. He's an artificial valve. I was thinking it was something else, but found out this weekend that it's a valve. I'm going to call Jeannie tomorrow during the day hoping she's feeling more up to talking or maybe even Skyping. I want to thank you all for giving me this outlet to talk about Jeannie as it's helping me more than you know. I know your prayers are helping Jean, and the rest of us, too. Thank you!

My theory is a group of designers hold a "think tank" meeting to see who can come up with the stupidest design and actually get it sold. Then they sit back and laugh as people buy and money comes in. Nothing new about that. A hundred years or more ago, Colette interviewed a very hot Paris designer who did things like creating beautiful, wispy, delicate lace dresses and then sticking boutonnieres of coarse, heavy wool flowers on them. She asked him why he had to wreck all his designs that way, and his response was, "Just to see."