Control. It's about control. Breed specific legislation, government owned waterways, Real ID, EPA pollution legislation, gun control, terminator seeds & patented plants, shall I go on? Taxes, higher taxes will be needed to pay for these programs, how much more can our children's children bear? What of those on fixed income? What of those religeous groups? So many other arguments. If big ag want's it for export, let them bear the cost & responsibility. In the meantime, we keep importing inferior produce & meats for our tables, that don't have these guidelines. Go figure. Our food source is the safest in the world, can't say the same for imports. Sigh, will you not speak out before it's too late? Have we no backbone left? Have we become such a society of sheeples that we actually believe there will come some good from this? Goodness government is supposed to be working for us, not the corporations with the biggest donations & favors! I'm weary of this already. Godspeed to those who've seen the light, done their homework, & know what's coming. Thank you to each & every one of you. I'll stand with you, proudly. Brendasue

Hey squirrelypete, I'll see you at the AL swap. I'm in Bham now but I still lurk here since I came from GA. Anyway, the AL swap os May 20th at Oak Mtn State Park. People generally don't sell things, preferring to swap stuff, but it doesn't have to be other plants. I'm swaping one lady a needlepoint kit for some of her plants. It's best to just contact the individual people and see if you can work something out. Most people are generous, especially to newbies. Michelle H

funkill-"If I surrender, I have absolutely no formal say in her care - which means a professional guardian could place her in a *hell hole* to find enough funds to pay her fees and a Public one would likely not give her any personalized attention... There's nothing my mom can sign - for me to be granted Plenary Guardianship by the court, my mom had to first be found Incompetent. This has been quiet an education for me. A costly one!" Very good point. Given up any say in your mothers case could be disastrous. Before you make a decision one way or another, you may want to read this book (and visit the authors website). I found it at my library, but the information was so worthwhile I purchased a copy for myself (Amazon.com has used copies for as little as $2.14). You may also want to visit the Caretakers forum. Plenty of folks there are dealing with similar situations. The Retirement Nightmare: How to Save Yourself from Your Heirs and Protectors : Involuntary Conservatorships and Guardianships by Diane G. Armstrong Ph.D. www.retirementnightmare.com/author.htm "Dr. Diane G. Armstrong is a clinical psychologist who lives in Santa Barbara with her husband Bruce. They have been married since 1966. Mother of two adult daughters, she works as a writer and consultant specializing in the abuse of involuntary conservatorship/guardianship proceedings in today's courts. Her breakthrough book was inspired by the million-dollar court battle that ensued when four of her six siblings attempted to establish an involuntary conservatorship over their competent 72-year-old mother. It is the first book in America to focus on the abuse rather than the use of today's conservatorship and guardianship codes, exposing a web of state laws that were originally created to protect "infants and lunatics" and are now being used to strip elderly men and women of financial and personal independence during their golden years of retirement. Dr. Armstrong's mother was able to end her personal legal nightmare only by settling out of court and agreeing to pay $100,000 of the petitioning children's legal bills. The Probate Judge had placed a conservatorship over her father at the beginning of the proceeding, accepting the petitioners' allegations (no proof or documentation required or offered) that his financial affairs might be compromised as his final illness robbed him of mental and physical competence. It is interesting to note that these financial affairs had already been placed in the hands of excellent private professionals who managed all family revocable trust investments both before, during and after the infliction of the conservatorship. Ironically, the Judge appointed Dr. Armstrong's mother as his "conservator of the person"--and then continued the bizarre trial over issues of HER competence for 16 long months."

Thanks for the great suggestions and the good discussion. Teacats, funny you should link that starburst mirror. I have been shopping (and overthinking) starburst mirrors for months. I have several in mind, but I am planning to put it over the fireplace in our dining room. I also like the other suggestions you make. Those are all along the lines of things that I also do. Like I said, I have framed menus of favorite restaurants, blown up photos, had our kids do "original paintings," etc. May be I'm just tired and being lazy at this point, but I was thinking it would just be nice and easy to buy something instead of making it. I have done so many projects in putting our house together, and I guess my bigger philosophical question is--does everything have to be so darn special and personal in order to be worthy of display? I know, I know, that's a personal question, but this forum is full of people like me who obsess about their homes and finding that "perfect" piece of furniture, paint color, art, etc., and for people like that, do you feel like it's ok to just buy something off the shelf? Thermsen, thanks for your thoughts. As we decorate our house, I do wonder, is some of this obsessing bordering on snobbery? Like the PB stuff that oakleyok posted--I actually like that stuff. But, that stuff is mass-produced. May be it's ok bc PB is classier than BB&B. I saw a wooden billboard sign at JCP and liked it, but I hesitated bc it was from JCP. Here it is: http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=166e8cb&deptid=71371&dep=HOME+D%c3%89COR&catid=71784&cat=Wall+D%c3%a9cor&SO=0amp;pcatid=71371&Ne=5+1027+1031+580+1008+8+18+904+949+833&pagesize=1&x5view=1&N=4294953198&cattyp=RLE&Nao=198&PSO=0amp;CmCatId=71371:71784 Ok, thanks for letting me bounce ideas off this forum!