All things evolve, and often take unexpected paths. Our gardens evolve with us as we grow older, learn new things, suffer through our mistakes, and adjust our lives to follow new priorities. My own garden has gone through several evolutions, the first of which was driven by the purchase of a good power tiller. There was no longer a direct correlation between the size of my garden, and the ache in my back - so it got larger. It was suddenly easy to grow more kinds of vegetables, and multiple varieties. With the luxury of space, I did more trials, and began experimenting to find optimal plant spacing. Somewhere/somewhen after purchasing the tiller, because I really wanted to grow corn & squash in meaningful quantities, it occurred to me that the size of my garden was not restricted to the size of my yard. There is always unused land somewhere, and if you are willing to negotiate, you can often work out an arrangement that is mutually beneficial. I've gardened on OPP (other people's property) for over 25 years... on a military base during my Service days, on a utility easement, behind a former employer, and now on a friend's property. All of those sites had water provided, often with power and/or lights as well. While my gardens were large, they were strictly monoculture. All tomatoes went together in one place, all beans in adjacent rows, etc. I bought new seed each year, and purchased whatever plants were for sale at the local nursery. Had a lot of bad years, especially for insects & disease, and just assumed that was a natural consequence of gardening organically. Then while taking a Master Gardener course, I was introduced to the Seed Savers Exchange, and to the concept (revolutionary to me at the time) of saving my own seed. Embracing that philosophy has had a profound influence on how I garden... not just what I grow, but how, and why. I had to learn a lot more about botany, and learn to think in terms of species. When growing plants for seed, you can't plant different varieties of a species in close proximity; too much risk of crossing. So the tomatoes were spread out, as were the beans and peas; and squashes were limited to one per species. The end result was the dispersal of different species throughout the garden - and the end of monoculture. Even sweet corn was broken up into 2-3 smaller blocks, as opposed to one very large one. I had always allowed a few flowers in the garden, but began using them to fill in places where germination was poor, or where I had removed a plant for disease or signs of crossing. It occurred to me that bees might rather feed on flowers than on bean or tomato blossoms, so I spread them between different varieties to reduce crossing. When I came across Dr. Jeff McCormack's recommendations on the use of barrier crops, I further refined the process. A lot of flowers volunteer in the garden now; I try to make room for them when I can, and let them re-seed within reason. A little chaos - or natural order? - can be a good thing. This elaborate planting scheme had unintended benefits. Insects and disease were not the problem they once were (other than the thrice-cursed SVB). The one drawback: the garden now required planning. :-( When I go out to plant, I need to take the "blueprint" with me. Also unintended was the effect that saving heirloom beans would have on my garden - it forced me to go vertical. So many great heirloom beans are pole varieties, especially for shellies. Once I had found an efficient trellising system, I found that I liked the method... and now trellis anything which will climb. I'll choose pole over bush, and indeterminate over determinate, nearly every time. I found trellises to be good windbreaks, to protect the heat lovers (like okra) in the center of the garden. With over 400 feet of trellis, the garden looks like a maze when everything is full grown. In recent years, as the primary focus of my gardening has shifted to preservation, the garden has undergone one more change. There aren't many commercial varieties left in it, other than a few stand-out favorites like Fortex bean, Green Arrow pea, and King of the Garden lima. Most vegetables are grown on a rotation; I might grow 10 tomatoes each year, just not the same 10. When I retire, I'll probably turn the garden into a farm for a few years, growing seed crops, and introducing heirlooms to the local farmers market. If, that is, I don't find myself growing food out of necessity. 'Night all.

It took me 59 years to have my first diagnosed broken bone. Know my X-rays show a broken toe or two in the past, but I just taped those, and coped. So last summer, I was loading the car to come home from the country house. Walked down the back deck steps, stepped on an uneven section of sidewalk, 'fell off' my ankle, and saw stars. Figured it was just twisted. It hurt, but hey, these things do. Had a coupon for $15 off at a restaurant where $15 buys dinner for 2, that was expiring that night--we went out to dinner! DH suggested staying home, but I really didn't want to waste that coupon so I hobbled in to the restaurant--LOL! by the next evening, when DH came home, I suggested maybe we should head to the ER. Yep--broke my ankle in 2 places. I was a little surprised, as much as it hurt, I always thought a broken bone would hurt more. But then, it's still achey now in cold/damp weather, so maybe it's all cummulative.

I use American Express for all major purchases because they are so good at resolving disputes in favor of the consumer. If you really want to try to get out of the contract, then you should write a nice but firm letter to the company today. Do it today, because some states allow you to rescind a home improvement related contract within a certain time period (it could be 72 hours or less, if your state has such a law). Send it via both fax and certified mail so you have proof of how soon after you ordered the product you canceled it. (The fax guarantees they receive it today, but the formality of certified mail sometimes carries more weight.) I would use language like the following: "Dear _______: As you know from our conversation in your store this morning, I am very concerned that the Kashmir White granite I ordered from your company will be too susceptible to staining to use as kitchen counters. I appreciate that you gave me a sample of sealed Kashmir White to take home to test. I took the sample home and promptly tested it with food samples. Unfortunately, certain food products stained the sample easily; therefore, the product is not suitable for my stated intended use as kitchen counters. As I told you this morning, I would like to cancel the contract for Kashmir White counters and request that you reverse the charge for my $________ deposit. Because I am canceling within 48 hours [change time period if necessary] and before any templating or other work has been performed, I believe you should return my entire deposit." If you have to dispute the charge with Mastercard, the letter and proof of when it was mailed and faxed may help your case. The letter establishes that you promptly notified the merchant that the product would not be suitable for your intended use before the merchant did any work, and you had the slab on reserve for a very short period of time, so the merchant is not harmed by your cancellation. There is no guarantee this will work, but it is what I would do. Good luck.

I have to disagree with the statement about Mush making a big scene, I didn't find this post to be hurtful or hysterical or "drama queen" material. I would prefer to read that someone is leaving for a while rather than worry about her sometime in the future. And she's right- this forum IS different, we've all pretty much agreed on that point. I don't recall anyone insisting that we need to all agree about everything all the time, that would be an unreasonable expectation and unwanted, too. On the other hand, I don't think it's too much to ask for people to be polite or tactful, instead of rude or hurtful or tenacious to the point of obnoxiousness. That's my point about presentation. When Mom said "nobody likes a know-it-all", she was right. But hey, this is just what I think. I know everyone is not the same and we don't all have the same temperament and feelings are going to be hurt occasionally. I would hope it would be accidentally, instead of on purpose, though.