/bellegallica It depends on the plant and how early on you noticed the buds, but generally speaking it takes Hoyas a month or so to go from bud to bloom. Luckily Hoya buds are really fascinating and beautiful to watch swell and change. /squidy Your mom's plant sounds very interesting. I have to admit when you started describing it, I was imagining her pinning the vines around the kitchen window molding, but I suppose what's really happening is they are simply climbing along handy grab points on its own. :P Still, a living kitchen wreath would be really cool! I didn't have the discipline to get rid of plants when I first caught the Hoya bug, which means they are either being relocated to the office (which works well) or perishing through one accident or another. I honestly don't know how people like Mike grow multiple types of plants simultaneously with such apparent ease. I only seem to be able to manage one watering schedule at a time. So... Hoyas and anything else that likes the same type of care LOL. I'm getting into succulents on my balcony and that works. /goddess Good plan. Honestly, the vast majority of Hoyas are easy so why get into the mere handful of touchy ones until you're jonesing for a challenge? I take my time too. What were your three?

Ines 99, here is a photo instruction I copied from GW. I don't remember who's post it was but worked for me. Here's the basics: I think it's easier to do all this if you have two browser windows open - one on photobucket and one on gardenweb. Go to photobucket(dot)com and open an account. It's free, takes only a minute, and is no harder than signing on to GardenWeb. There are other photo posting services but I think this one is the easiest to use. Once you have the account you'll see how easy it is to upload your photos to photobucket. You can set up sub-albums with one click of the mouse, so you can sort your photos into different subject (more on that below). When they are there, you'll see three little 'addresses' under each picture. Highlight the middle one - the TAG line - and 'copy' it. (You can copy it by right clicking on your mouse and selecting 'copy', or by clicking on EDIT at the very top of your computer screen.) Once it's copied, go to the GardenWeb message you are composing and paste the TAG line directly into the text of your message. Don't put it at the URL line under the text box. At this point you will only see text, but once you choose to view your message you'll see the photo. If it comes out too big, then go back to photobucket and choose the EDIT button over that photo. You'll have the option there to reduce the photo by 75, 50, or 25 percent. 75% makes it a good size for these messages, but 50% works too. Try both on different photos and see what you like. Technically I think you can post as many photos as you want in each message but remember that not everyone has a high speed line and try to keep it to 5 or less. More than that makes it pretty slow to load for some. Here's the sub-album tip about photobucket or any other service you use: set up sub-albums for different subjects so you don't end up with 200 photos in one album. For example, I have Garden 2005, Garden 2006, House Shots, Yard Sale (where I post photos for things I am selling through the newspaper or eBay), All the Muffins (pet pictures), etc. Besides making it hard to find something if you have it all in one album, if you ever decide to move photos later, any link you've posted on the web will be lost.

Turkeytrott: There was a sentence in what I wrote that has been bothering me. It did not come out right and I want to re-word it, to express my thinking here. I wrote: "From what you have written, it sounds to be as if he is so bored, and unhappy, and yet he is still with you". I worded it wrong. What I am trying to say is that you are in a long term marriage. In a long term marriage, people can become bored by familiarity. The lack of newness. It does not necessarily mean that the people themselves are boring. It simply means while people may find comfort in the familiar, they can also become bored. It sounds to me as though you actually have a good marriage, as he says he is content, the snuggling, the kisses, but it sounds as though he is so restless, and yearning for new/different but could be staying because he knows what he has is good, and he doesn't trust himself enough, and fears that he may be totally blowing it and lose you in the process. I think of that song that sings about love... "You don't know what you've got till it's gone" and perhaps that is the fear that keeps him from really chasing after this elusive life he thinks is out there...somewhere. I think of the women that I have read about that have been unhappy in their marriage. Some had an affair and left their husband for the other man. We hear that once her ex-husband found a new love, and either married her or moved in with her, and her children started attaching to this new "mom figure" that she had serious regrets. Or her new marriage was not what she thought it would be and she realized the enormous mistake she had made. Perhaps you can talk to your husband and tell him you understand his restlessness. His boredom. His thoughts dancing with the possibilities of something/someone new. What can you two do that could shake some newness into this fragile time in your marriage as children go off to college and he sees the excitement in their eyes of youth, before reality like mortgages and responsibility weigh people down. And he yearns to feel like that again. Start with a great makeover. It will help you feel good about yourself, and he will see you in a new way. If you need to lose weight, do it. Whiten your teeth if they need it. It can take off years, and make your smile light up a room. Change your clothes style, and address your bedroom style, (bedding/drapes/paint color) to make it fresh and appealing. It will make you feel good every time you walk in your room, even if he leaves. I wish you and your children the best. Re-read my last post, and see if anything within helps in any way. Do not sit idle. If you can't get him interested, or if he has already left, start making the changes for yourself! Take a deep breath, and there are books on the market about women who have discovered gifts in the midst of the sorrow. I am sending a hug and encouragement your way. I wish you blessings in the midst of it all.

Everything else will look so great no one else will notice it. It's not worth losing your mind over it or redoing the whole vanity. Maybe this will make you feel better Why wouldn't the builder,who was also lived in this house before us, at least have had that sidesplash go out as far as the counter top so you wouldn't have 2 jogs in the door trim. Also why wouldn't he have moved the sink further down from the wall and doorway when he had a 111" of length to work with? I will be redoing this hall bath one of these days and correcting both mistakes. But in the 14 years we have lived here no one including family members has ever commented on either. Can't wait to see you finished bathroom.