Just a random thought going thru my head.. would it be more cost effective to find a box that works best with the USPS rules regarding dimension, and buy it yourself rather than using their "free" boxes .. you know they have figured out their fees based upon their boxes. I don't know if that would be more cost effective or provide some sort of answer to the problem. Sort of along the lines as the "tubes" others are referring to. I wonder if there is a rectangular smaller box that a band would just slip into.. and how much it would cost to mail. I also traded a couple of years ago with a forumer who told me to wash all excess soil out of the roots, wrap them in wet paper towels and then plastic wrap. I never would have believed the roses would make it not wilted and "shocked" but they arrived in great shape, and I have sent quite a few this way thru the mail also and always "checked back" with the person I was trading with. No complaints ever. Of course that was to keep the "weight" down. Dimensions are a whole nuther ballgame. Marleah

Dee, I like your idea of putting all the small tools in a five gallon bucket and bringing it with you. I think I am going to try my version of that with a two wheeler and a small beach umbrella. I like bringing shade with me and having a two wheeler to move something if I need it. I also have a way of using the 5 gallon bucket as a work surface while sitting on a riding seat. I had fun putting the whole thing together too. Had lots of places to put things like my water bottle, etc. I did that two summers ago and I forget what happened that I didn't last year. I could move into one of those sheds tomorrow too Dee. Might make a nice get away, right in the backyard. Bring out a cooler and a comfortable chair, a few gardening magazines...make a day of it. :-) Linda, the umbrella is a nice idea when you have to use a space that is too sunny and it helps when it rains to keep things dry if you haven't got any cover. I also made a decision to try using the garage for one season and clear out an area that would be the same size as a small shed and see how it works before I commit to having a shed. sooey, you sound pretty organized to me! pm2

Unless the sink and non-cook usage areas are also part of the conversation, the logic of anybody's refrig placement is not clear. How far would you hike from anywhere to get an ice cube or a hunk of cheese? Listening to others (above) moves me add to my posting about the 12 foot trot from range to refrig at my place. I realize now that at our place the triangle is redefined as a trapezoid by the microwave which in our household acts as a second range opposite the first range. Additionally, "plunk space" is as important as any other part of the geometry. Without space for items to sit temporarily near the refrig, the refrig is a difficult appliance to use at all, unless you're an octopus. And work space must figure into the picture--what is the path of a tomato from purchase (or garden) to the stew pot in your house? Is it direct or in stages and is the refrig involved? As I said, I don't use many canned goods, etc but they're stored next to range, so I don't have the long pantry run that some others have. I have flour and such very near range in a baking station area. Except for eggs, bacon, butter/marg, milk, wine, most of my refrig ingredients destined for use at range just take a trip to a sink and prep area, then are transferred to the range zone afterward. That is probably why I don't commute directly between range and refrig very often. On the other hand, an unimpeded commute between seating areas and refrig is very important to me. Condiments, beverages, marg, cold foods--no need to go near range. Salads of fresh ingredients are prepared at prep sink close to refrig.--a big deal at our house. Microwave is quite near refrig so leftovers go there and then to table. If the refrig were positioned any deeper into my kitchen, it would make life very hard for grocery delivery, servicing the table, stashing cleaned produce from garden, working at sandwich/breakfast prep portion of countertop, and general access to iced tea or ice or beer when the spirit moves. All summer I haul stuff across the entire width of the house from refrig and peninsula to the deck at back of house and back again. (Yes, this is a stupidly designed house, but I won't go into that. We've done the best we can with what we have.)

Turning 60 last summer definitely put me in a very pensive frame of mind. I'm still struggling with questions of what defines me, how will I transition from a job I've loved but which is now winding down (at least I'm winding down emotionally but still attached) and now with the time schedule of when can we move down to the retirement home that gives us so much joy we want to retire every Sunday when we have to leave and come back to reality ;). And most of all I'm facing the shock of realizing that what I've always considered a physical gift was really a sneaky time bomb. All my life I've been naturally slim; weight simply has never been anything I worry or think about. I weigh within 10 pounds of what I did when I was 17....and so I let myself drift along through the decades airily assuming that meant I was healthy and I certainly didn't need to get physical exercise. After all, I wasn't trying to lose weight so why bother? And now here I am sixty years old, terribly out of shape, not particularly interested or craving any kind of exercise and terrified that I'll soon be facing what others have mentioned: getting older and having my body give out on me. I know I have to get moving and yet it's feeling impossible. I hate having to squeeze in exercise by giving up sleep in the morning. I just can't face trying to break my day in the middle by going to the campus health center and sweating then coming back to the office. At the end of the day I cannot make myself go exercise, I'm tired and just want to relax.Weekends are for lounging around in paradise, not forcing myself to go run or walk or god forbid find a gym in the Florida Keys instead of enjoying the sunshine. Not sure why I'm so blocked but I have to find something physical that I like or at least can stand doing, that I can do regularly and that will keep me fit and healthy. Still trying to figure out what that is and then JUST DO IT.