Oh wow, better get out my flack jacket to keep off the flames. Why do you think I got the Stocktank? Exactly so that I could have fish that the racoons could not get into. The stock is too wide and has much too deep verticle sides so they can't bother the fish. I see a big difference in my "pet" fish Koi and Commet types and some feeders that I bought at the pet shop. Sort of like lots of thiongs in life. I eat beef but if I had a pet cow, I would certainly not be eating it.

What a sad tragedy! :(

Re: Ventura County Rose Society. VCRS gave away its rose show materials as the cost of maintaining them with no foreseeable prospect of having a show was prohibitive. In 2001 VCRS staged both a rose show and a rose Celebration; in 2002 A rose Celebration only was presented. Should there be a sudden groundswell of support, the earliest any VCRS activity could occur would be 2006 (given budget constraints and the like). At the time of the 2001 show, half the exhibitors were from our own society (14); the other 14 were mostly from Los Angeles County. IIRC, Suzanne Horn won her first mini question at that show, but it was made abundantly clear that there would be diminished future particitipation by people not of our own rose society. While geography is one very important factor in the decision to opt for one rose society show over another, there are other factors in the minds of the more experienced exhibitors, including the quality of the competition, conditions of exhibiting, and the base and spread of the schedule at any particular show. We have conducted surveys every year but this one since 2000 of our membership as to which activities they support and value; while I believe that the educational value of a rose show should not be undervalued, that belief is not shared by our membership. The dedicated six or eight who show up to groom the Stagecoach Inn Rose Garden do not do so wtih the active support of the membership at large. And so with other educational activities that are tolerated by the membership at large, but do not elicit commitments of time and money for various projects. There is also the problem of the normal and regular turnover of membership rolls; when a group of people familiar with a rose show leave a society for one reason or another, there is no guarantee that there will remain an institutional memory capable of staging a rose show. Oddly enough, we cast about for an alternative date to have our rose show in the year following 2001; at that time all of the spring and fall dates were taken. It is only in the last couple of years that the open spring dates have suddenly become manifest. FWIW> Jim Delahanty, President, VCRS Here is a link that might be useful: The Ventura County Rose Society

No, bee. I'm rather adverse to blogs. Wayyy too much like Facebook in disguise: No one needs to know my every move. OTOH, you all do here! I guess someday I could consolidate my posts, trials, tribulations and triumphs and put one together. javachick, don't be afraid. It'll only slow you down. Just realize that if you break it, you gotta fix it. See, I started behind the 8-ball. Every time I turn around I find I must either pay to have something redone my DH [ahem] did, or figure out how to do it myself. I admit to saving for big redos, like the plumbing, roof, electrical, windows, drywall, etc., but I'm handling the things that don't scare me to death or I can lift myself. Building and hanging my cabinets, my counter top, lower drywall, I'll paint, and figure out how to install the moldings and trim. Then we have the outside that's not finished... Don't be scared -- but don't settle! Angie_DIY, that is way too funny. Sometimes the things I do have me thinking that. "Oh, Christine, can you be more stupid?" or, "owwwwwwwwwwwwww". Yup. Today I'm going to clean up a bit so I can drag in some of the base cabinets and try to fit them in. :) YEAH! All this under an existing counter top....