Happy Wednesday to one and all. Count me amongst those who has a true distain for dishwashers. I use the one that came with the house to store Pyrex and other breakable cookware. My mom uses hers to store potato chips and other snacks that can get squished. There's just something soothing about warm soapy water. Yes, I do use a dryer but only because I really don't like staticy clothes. V -- the dogs will understand if you show them pics of the kissee :-) But will DH???? LOL Anyway, have fun at the next round. Herchera addictions aren't since there's nothing bad about multitudes of easy to care for plants with amazing foliage all about gardens. Love the hat, 'bug. Reed looks a bit overwhelmed :-) Saucy: I almost cried when I saw the inside pics of your house, since the one I grew up in must've been an almost duplicate floorplan. What kids wouldn't love growing up in a house like that?? Kathy: Congrats, congrats, congrats!! Good heads up to the contractor -- the good ones will respect plants they know are there. Rich has been TRAINED to ask if there's anything he should be careful with before ripping in. If I'm remembering correctly, there is an arbor that your DH built for you and you had a duplicate built in the front?? Are you taking either with you?? Forgive me if my memory is lapsing. HOOOOOZAAAAAAH CHELONE!!! The loser electrician should've been outta there long ago. I needed to hire one this week (go figure :-) and I made him put in writing that he would complete the work in one day since it isn't Rich's usual guy. He was beyond awesome. There are good ones out there... Though I'm loving the idea of you using the salon for economic purposes, I thoroughly understand the hesitancy to do it Right Now. But, with V's wicker and some things I have floating around and Kathy moving to a new house, there's probably three jobs already lined up :-) Michelle: Wow!! I would've guessed that you were a gardener long before living on the farm. Thought of you while watching a History Channel production on technology in farming. How cool is some of this stuff!! The software I saw was for exactly applying fertilizer to reduce waste and runoff. No more mules and scrapers, huh? PM - I saw the same moon this morning and stopped in my tracks just to look. Thanks for making the vision permanent. Denise: Can folks who do what you do for a career write books? I'll bet you have some fabulous stories. A very good girlfriend (GardenXCat on forums) is an upper level legal assistant type and has gotten story telling without breaching confidentiality down to a science. A lot of garden forays have been moving laugh fests at what people come up with for excuses... How is DS doing in NY? Marian: I was trying to describe your red cliffs to someone because they just amaze me so. Would you mind reposting the pic of them? T: VaVaVaVoom!! You've got to feel 1,000,000 times better than you did a year ago. What do you do to get your little darlings to wake up laughing? Very cool. Given the "it's not a recession, yet" state of affairs (tell that to several top-shelf contractors who don't have work right now) we have a very strict garden budget this year. Please weigh in on this thought: For a few years we have been looking at a Newport-style arbor in white. It's something that Rich Could build, but works out to be only 50% actual $$ savings and would take up time when he could be earning money. So .... I'm thinking wrought iron or something similar. It definitely would be truer to the style of the house, would be far less bulky, but I don't know about upkeep. Thoughts? HI to everyone.. Martie

All of my gardens remind me of my mother and my grand-dad, both of whom loved all kinds of growing things, especially roses. I have lamb's ear because I can remember my mom telling me how it reminded her of the pet lamb she had as a girl. Coleus, petunias, and shasta daisies because we always had them in our yard while I was growing up. Vegetable gardens because each of them considered a yard without a garden incomplete. For a long while, I called that 'heritage' or 'nostalgia' gardening. We planted two oaks in memory of dh's dad when we found a 'buy one, get one free' sale. There's a funny family story concerning dfil and the phrase buy one get one free. It seemed to fit. When my sweet, white mare died, I couldn't bear to look at her empty pen out my back windows. With some serious digging and tilling, planting and watering, we've created a white garden called Amy's Garden. I've filled it with all kinds of wonderful white blooming plants. With the converted metal frame from my childhood swing holding a more modern porch swing, it is a delightful place to relax. I spend a lot of time swinging, thinking and praying for friends and family. One day late last summer, I took my laptop out there. While sitting and typing, a dove landed on the arbor. A rabbit rustled out from hiding. Butterflies fluttered. Enchanting. Then The beginning Horsey garden art Later This spring I planted a Cecile Brunner rose in memory of my much loved sister in law who died in January. Her middle name was Cecile and she'd hate that I found a rose with that name (big grin) but she would love the pink, fragrant sweetheart rose. I love gardening in memory of others. It brings a sweetness to the area that can't be duplicated. Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Soul

Thanks for trying to help :) These recipes sound interesting, although alot more complicated than my mom's recipe. I just found two recipes that are very very close to what my mom made, actually it could be the very same recipe with a few tweaks or omissions. One calls for butter in the icing/lemon juice mixture, and I know my mom didn't make it with butter... hers was a glaze made of icing sugar and lemon juice So I figured I would share the recipe(s) I finally found (one is in french... which my mom was) and the other is in english. So what I'll do is mix both recipes together and write in the differences between the both.. FILLING: 1 can eagle brand milk 1/4 c. lemon juice (mom always prefered to use real lemons for her squares) (French Recipe calls for 1/2 c. lemon juice and I think that one's probably the one mom used... was very lemony) In a bowl combine both together (it will look runny at first but will thicken up) Graham squares in one layer at bottom of a casserole dish you'll have to cut some graham crackers to fit (french recipe says to put a layer of wax paper with 2 edges overlapping the casserole so you can pull it all out easily) Spread lemon mixture which should be thickened by now, on top of graham squares and then cover with another layer of graham crackers (French recipe does 2 OR 3 layers... mom always did 2 layers of graham, and english recipe calls for 2 layers) GLAZE: (only the english recipe iced the top and the french one put a last layer of graham crackers (I want glaze ty lol) ) English recipe calls for butter, but then they make more of a lemon icing instead of mom's glaze... soooo MOM's Glaze LOL! Put some Icing sugar in a bowl, add lemon juice until it becomes runny, yet thick enough to stick nicely and not disappear into the graham cracker layer. Cover Graham Cracker layer Cover and let sit overnight in fridge (French recipe says 6 hours before serving) I haven't tried this one, but it really sounds like mom's recipe. I will cross my fingers that I don't make it too runny again! I adjusted the recipe to fit what my mom did and added the differences for those here who prefer it the ways each of these recipe writers wrote it.

Funkyart - that's so awesome - thanks! We like (and she loves) when she stays w/ us becuase DH loves to take her into the city to the museums (his uncle gives tours at one so she always gets to see things behind the scenes w/ him), libraries and such. She also then spends a day here and there w/ our adult cousin and his girlfriend (they both live and teach in the city) going to off beat little places and eateries, then she spends time w/ our aunt and uncle (who do not have grandchildren yet) exposing her to many other activities. jlc - I can't imagine her ever having a 'normal' relationship w/ her mom/ DS. I don't think that DS 'gets' that and always tried to force her into a little perfect family 'mold' and then would get angry when that didn't work. When she told me that all of the yrs. of counseling only involved DN I was floored. I told her that while counseling had to happen seperately for DN that I also felt that it was important for counseling to happen between the 2 of them and/or family. Couldn't believe that hadn't been happening all of those yrs. She got a irritated when I told her that it wasn't just DN w/ problems - it was also a relationship problem and relationships consist of more than 1 person. It hapened to be perfect timing w/ the RAD DX as DH and I had listened to a "This American Life" pod cast on RAD w/ 2 separate families w/ children w/ RAD and what they went through. One family had a breakthrough and the child remained in a family unit, the other family not as lucky. I should def. find the pod cast again and have DS, BIL, Grandma and Pop Pop listen to it. Eagle Ranch actually wouldn't take DN. They seem to have it together and really seriously tak a look at an entire situation before accepting a child. They told DS that this was an issue that stems between the 2 of them at the core and that ER would not be the situation to deal w/ that in the fact that taking her to live w/ strangers would be even more detrimental to her. Grandma and Pop Pop have a friend who is a social worker and has gotten her hooked up w/ things. Firstly health insurance and if she stays beyond the summer counseling will start again. One of the fortunate things is that DN has already lived w/ Grandma and Pop Pop at the end of the school year last year and attended school there already. They live very far out and the entire school only has 61 kids so she knows the teachers already (they loved her) and most of the kids. She alredy has some friends there from before. She has always spent a few wks. each Summer w/ Grandma and POp Pop and knows the area quite well. The previous counselors that she was seeiong in the state that she lives in were state appointed counselors and at times would cancel an appt. after DS had driven 2 hrs. to get there. That particular one didn't seem too terribly invested in the whole situation. My Mom (Grandma) told me that DN said that she didn't think that she would ever be happy in that house (her own home). Broke my heart! Right now she spends a lot of time fishing and talking w/ Pop Pop, gardening w/ Grandma and helping her in the shop (more talking), spending time doing water aerobics w/ Pop Pop at the Sr.s center and making friends w/ all of the Sr.'s there as well as time w/ friends.