Thanks,I loved the color of that Mazari! I can't keep my plants covered in this weather no matter if this is Iowa or not...makes no difference. The forecast is for temps 65F to 80F next week and mid 60s(lowest)to mid 70s for highs through the week after. Why would I leave them covered? The Cactus bed heats up to 100+ and causes early flowering of the barrel cactus,this causes them to flower in April and because they are designed to stand heat,they rot on rainy days. My Washy enclosures will hit 120F. More good reasons to uncover- The plants are actually used to cooler lows(15ish) and highs in the 50-60F range. Uncovering them now makes a seemless transition. The soil temp is now in the upper 40s and by this time next week should be around 60F. Having protect on with soil temps of 38F and enclosures temps 90+ is rough. Click for weather forecast

Hmmm, interesting and gratifying to know some of what I'm experiencing is shared by others. I too have a husband who adamantly refuses to travel. In our situation, I strongly suspect it has some undertones of passive-aggressiveness along with what others have mentioned. He can control at least the part of our relationship that involves that aspect of togetherness, or not. The other major component is also familiar from reading others' experiences. He simply has no interest in doing anything other than what he likes to do (diving/boating/canoeing). Anyway, my nuance that is a bit different is that I do have a career that brings me deep, deep joy and fulfillment. However it also keeps me so busy and often stressed that increasingly I find myself thinking 'I wonder what life would be like if every day belonged to me, to do--or not do--just what I want.' I am feeling that I need to start expanding my horizons now, because in 7 years at 62 YO I want to be prepared to retire completely. Financially we are on track. But I do not want to be the person who leaves a job that provided all my stimulation and then find: nothing. So I am in the pre-planning phase of the next stage of life. I love working with the age group at my job (teenage/college) so my thought is to find an outlet in some kind of service that would let me do that on my own terms. And as for traveling, given my druthers SunnyCottage that image is EXACTLY where I would choose to be! This summer I expanded my annual summer trip to Captiva (island on Florida's west coast) to 2 weeks and it was heaven. I could have stayed on and on and on. I do still want to see London though. And England in general. And Paris. And the national parks out west. And the South Pacific. At least thanks to this discussion I have some ideas about how to move forward with that phase of the midlife crisis :).

I'm full time. The only person in the office. I have a gal that comes in two afternoons a week to help with copying and filing. I'm supposed to get two weeks paid vacation. And for about the first 17 or 18 years the agreement was bonuses on larger settlements in lieu of COLA raises every year. (I've never had a cost of living, or any other, raise) When the economy tanked and people started settling their own cases to get the cash faster, the bonuses stopped. So did my vacations. If I call in sick or if I ask for a day off to maybe get away for a three day weekend, he calls me several times a day. When I'm not here, the office phone is call-forwarded to my cell, so I'm on call 24/7. He's even come to my house if I don't pick up the phone when he calls. I have to do relaxation exercises in my mind every morning before work to settle my stomach from stress. When I see his car pull up, my stomach just lurches. I told him last November I was booking this trip to see my mom. He actually told me "I don't think I can let you go unless your mom is dying or something ..." I booked the trip anyway and started looking around for another position. I knew it was bad, but was sure with my experience and people I know, that something would come up. Slim pickins out there right now. I can't take it any more. But he knows he's got me over a barrel because DH has been scrambling for work for about three years now and I don't have the option of just walking out the door like I did when our construction company was thriving. He treated me like gold ... until DH's company started getting slower and slower. When he realized I was dependent on this job (him) now, he started treating me differently.

The words "What does not kill me makes me stronger" were quotes of the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. For him it meant forebearance and perseverance...about conquering pain (and being struck by mental disease in his mid 40's) and having strength not to give up. The whole quote is: "Did you ever say yes to a pleasure? Oh my friends, then you also said yes to all pain. All things are linked, entwined, in love with one another. What does not kill me makes me stronger." Pain and suffering, pleasure and happiness are integral parts of life. Whatever life throws at you, use it, learn something from it. Sorry, had enough philosophy courses in college to declare it as a second minor. :-)