Great garden tour/childbirth analogy, Mel. So true, and what memories it brings back! Our garden has been on tours several years, and this year I get to recruit tour hosts. I will be honest with them and give them the good with the bad. There is much more good. One issue is a closing time for the garden. Gardeners love to talk, and some will hang around until midnight if you let them, even with posted hours. At all times, you need at least 2 adults hosting. Be prepared for children who must use your bathroom. Very frail or overweight people sometimes insist they can move a barrier and walk across a pond gangplank. Overly helpful gardeners will insist on deadheading your daylilies that you are hybridyzing. People will argue that coins in water never hurt a fish (aaarg!) Guests will bring children who will feel free to cross over to your neighbors' play equipment. Last year, we built a waterfall from a tree into our pond, and people not only stuck their heads under it, but some drank it! I had to point out that it was recirculated pond water--ewwww! You'll endure comments like "wow, you must have lots of time on your hands or a full time gardener" No...I just don't park in front of the tv every night...then I do some quick lessons on composting and soaker hoses versus mowing and weeding. In addition to labeling unusual plants, you might want to print up a list of plants and sources. I used to do quite a bit of trading on the gardenweb exchange forum, so my yard is full of plants not available (and not hardy) in this area. I potted up seedlings and divisions ahead of time to give away, and had a trade list available to selectively hand out. some of the big hits were heirloom plants and the very new. We had a photo album showing the progress of the yard in the 4 years we've been here, because it looks very established. A complaint many tourists had was some yards looked like they were planted last week. Had to laugh...some were! The homeowners got insecure about what they had and tried to "buy" an instant garden, and it showed. I would suggest you don't put in anything new in the month before the tour. Have potted plants ready to move in empty spaces. Neighborhood boys searching for a baseball flattened some of my perennials the day before tour started last year, and I had to fill in with large planters set into the flower bed, and no one knew the difference there. Our tourists appreciated the igloo full of iced tea. One igloo was enough for the 250+ people we had each day. Every year, I get a few thank you cards in the mail in the weeks afterwards, and once, a lady brought me a new plant I didn't have as a thank you gift. All in all, it is tremendous fun if you are prepared for it. Make a plan to finish last minute work 2 days before so you can go into it well-rested. I still run into people at various places who remember me and my garden, because I took the time to talk to them. It really gives you a boost! Cindi

Rosewitch, England was definitely one of my favorite places I have ever visited. My folks took me there when I was 14, and I remember bits and pieces the Crown jewels, walking amongst the Stonehenge stones (roped off now, vandalism), Stratford upon Avon. Time for me to take my own 14YO. Im trying to think how I can get over there for a whole summer, LOL. Dlynn, I could have worked so much more. I didnt really look at night time stuff and there was loads to do. Greece: cant help you, but shoot Yasou a line, she went a few years ago. LOL Annie! Teresa, well go together. I wanted to explore more cooking and food shops/stores but didnt get to. Terri, here is more a link to Pictures of England, a website pointed out to me by Denise. I started it on Bourton on the Water, where we stayed for a few days. Thanks Sharon, I was actually thinking how can I even come close to posting her quality of travel guides, I dont do the pictures she does LOL. We might have sat at the same table in the Cheshire Cheeses dining room! Sawdust still there, but we didnt make it to the cellar. I missed a lot of the British Museum. It has changed.check out the new atrium. I couldnt keep up with DH and DS16. Afternoons, when I planned museums, I crashed. Next time! Pam, lots of people did more than we did per day! Theater every night, more attractions, I cant imagine. Gina heh heh yeah I need another vacation like a hole in my head. Speaking of whichDH has another week off in August. Nooooooooo! Kathleen, DH says he took an average of 200 pictures a day. Yup. Me, I just buy the post cards or Google the images, same thing (DARFC from the photo bugs here) Cathy, thanks for giving me the War and Peace moniker heh heh. Next time I go with CF friends! LindaC, I know. Im still exhausted. Speaking of the V&A, did you know there was a Dale Chihuly chandelier in the entrance room?

Bunglogirl - I too liked "Skeleton Key" but imagine this. It was the 2nd day of my kitchen remodel in late winter. I come home from work, the house is dark, and there's this woman in my gutted kitchen. Her boyfriend the electrician who I've never met is in my attic. He comes down and has all this long loose black hair hanging around his face and streaming down his back. He's running around in my attic for hours. The kitchen has no lights, there's wires hanging everywhere, and the house is cold as the vents have been removed from kitchen and living room. I go into my bedroom which is packed to the gills with clutter and mess. I watch The Skeleton Key. For those who don't know, there's lots of attic action in this movie. I come out of my room at midnight, the house is empty, the electrician has left without saying goodbye, the front door is unlocked, the house is cold and dark, I'm surrounded by chaos.....I'm freaking out!!! Not a good night to watch this movie alone.

it was truly a movie worth the watch...being a flight attendant I've witnessed some of those caskets rolling off the plane...it just breaks my heart and you can bet when I have a soldier on board he gets my thanks and just about anything I can do for them...free food...free drinks...whatever...here lately I've been making up goodie bags of peanuts and cookies for them to take back to the barracks...unless you've walked in their shoes no one can imagine what their lives are like...they truly have my utmost honor and respect...