Let's just say that I've lost 25 lbs this spring. It is GOOD for you, if the back can take it. I have too much else to do potting things, to worry about providing shade for the unused (by hosta) space at the north end of my garden. So, taking matters in my own hands, I called the folks who put in the privacy fence around the garden. I explained what I wanted. A 10 foot tall sturdy latticed wall with 2 passageways at each end of a 40-45 foot long pergola/shade thingy which will have a T on top like telephone poles to throw out a bit more shade and give a frame for my vines to cover it. Vines are a whole lot quicker to grow than trees, and I don't want to shade the entire space for the entire day. We have to allow for morning sun, and just keep the blooming afternoon sun off the hosta. The openings on the lattice will be squares, not diamonds, and quite sturdy to accommodate the heavy nature of some vines. I've seen wisteria with a main trunk big around as a tree, squeezing the life out of the structure supporting it. It will provide the final section of wall for the hosta garden, making the entire 100 foot long garden mostly safe from the killing summer afternoon sun. Yet, it will let me SEE the garden from the deck. Oh, I have some great ideas and I do so thank my DH for egging me on with creating this paradise of a garden right on our own little city lot. One entry to the garden I've already named "Stargate" which is the place for visitors to enter, when we have any. That's where the streaker 'Stargate' hosta will be with a suitable icon identifying it. Then the other gate, over by the Teahouse entry, is the "Moongate" with my little Maltese's Moon Walk to keep his feet dry, bless his heart, and there will be the Moonlight Mirage, Moonlight Sonata, Moon Struck, and other such hosta. Each "gate" will be 4 foot wide, and I can pass through with my dolly and wagon hauling piles of mulch bags, bark bags, and loads of heavy pots on the way to the perfect spot. This pergola will be the crowning glory, the formalized look of a walled garden, a secret place, a paradise. I often think that in the Bible when God placed Adam and Eve on this earth, he put them in a garden. God's idea of Paradise on earth is a garden. It feels that way to me, and that is the concept I hope to achieve. Back there, the feeling is of peace, joy, the dropping away of the mundane world. I can hope for nothing better than this.

BK....getting photos off the phone. Do you have an Android smart phone? Then you can get the Flickr or Photobucket app for free, and when you take your pictures, send the ones you want to Flickr. Failing that, do you have a phone charger that is also a USB connector to your computer? Hook it up and MOVE the photos to your computer. They might not be 8mp photos, but some might be good enough for identifying stuff. Sugar And Cream does fine here too. You'll soon discover you like it almost as much as So Sweet. Consider trying Sweet Innocence with its very wide white margin. You can ID it 10 or 20 feet no problem. Here's Sugar And Cream on the far left. and Sweet Innocence as well

I went for drawers in several places in my home because I wanted to be able to get to the stuff on the bottom without first taking all the stuff off the top. I didn't leave it out the way your DH does, when I had stacking bins, but I sure hated all the work of putting things back together. And I love that I can open the drawer w/ one hand, put the stuff in w/ the other, and close the drawer (3 steps, compared with taking off the boxes, taking off the lid, picking up the item, putting it in, putting on the lid, and restacking the boxes--6 steps) There's an organizing maxim that says, "make it easy to put away, even if it means it's hard to get it out." That's why I switched to drawers in all those places--it's one-handed putting-stuff-away. One note: I have those Sterilite drawers, and they don't safely stack more than 3 high--*maybe* 4 high if the stuff on the top is lightweight.. The weight of the ones on the top make the sides of the lower ones start to bow, and then it's hard to open them. This is a bit less of a problem in the shoe-box size (partly because the sides are shorter and therefore stronger, and because the drawers can't hold as much--but it's a definite problem w/ the next size up, and I'd think it would be worse the larger you go. I've thought of putting a wooden shelf (either attached to the wall or w/ legs) to fall just above the third layer, to support the upper two rows, thereby relieving the lower 3 of the pressure. But I'm too lazy. And I think it's time you started making your DH help w/ his OWN mess! I'm serious; this isn't good for him! And, you will just end up throwing even more money away on storage products he doesn't use unless he gets with the program. Sure, buy those multi-drawer storage chests. Then make HIM help you fill them up--ask HIM how to organize them, what should go w/ where, which things he gets out most often, etc. And if he leaves something out, give him 15 minutes to put it away after you remind him once. Then throw it away.

Okay, here's where we now stand. The roofer who oversaw the roofing job (not the roofer of record), seems to feel he is responsible, since I first contracted with him. He feels that the reason the water got under the drip edge where it did is that the gutter had been raised in order to pitch it the "correct" way, and it was not low enough, that the drip edge was going into the gutter instead of sitting above it. He wants to either cover the fascia board with aluminum and run it up under the roof with a bead of caulk, or, place the "flap" of the drip edge against the fascia board and put the gutter up against it so there is no opening for the water to get into. I had the rep from Tamko at the house. He feels that the color problem resulted in the run between colors not being discarded, told me it RARELY happens , and is suggesting that the roofer swap about five sections with other sections from an upper roof, and hand seal them. He insists the integrity of the roof will not be compromised, and that it will look perfect. He also says that Tamko has no liability for color, that their warranty does not cover it, and he spoke to both roofers, partly in my presence, and partly while he "hid" in the driveway. I have to assume Tamko is going to pay for this work, but I was not told anything other than that someone else from Tamko would come to the house to look it over, and make arrangements. He then said that I would be asked to sign a release after the work is done. Interesting, in light of the fact that he is saying Tamko has no responsibility, that they simply want a "happy customer". I am not sure I am happy about them pulling out sections of roofing and replacing it, so I would like some opinions here. I had another roofer come in to give me some ideas on the ice damming and backup situation. He also mentioned aluminum on the fascia, he did not get up on a ladder so he can't comment on the drip edge, but he also mentioned another product which is "sticky", like the shield, which he feels he could put on the edge of the roof behind the gutter. Will this work with everything that is already in place? I feel like I have just spent over $13,000 for a nightmare, and I don't want it compounded, but the only reason we even did the roof was because of the backup of the water after a snow, and this problem has not been remedied.