Its probably just a pipe dream, but here it goes. WeÂve been talking and dreaming about buying a house ever since the hullabaloo began with the boys next door. They smoke (putting out cigarettes on our brand-new-paid-for-out-of-our-pockets swing and throw the butts all of the walkway and yard), party way too loud and generally disrupt our lives in very disrespectful ways. Plus, we get robbed once a year when the kids let out for school and are totally bored. I also miss my gardens that I canÂt have because the yard guy cuts down my beautiesÂand and and and and the list goes on. The two sides of the camp are, Ed wants to live in some suburb that is at least a thirty minute drive away from where I work so that we can get a bigger, nicer house for a smaller amount of money. I, on the other hand, would love to NEVER ever commute again, would pay dearly to stay where I am and have LF go to the best schools in Nashville. No compromise could be found. To top it all off, we ruined our credit a few years ago. Admittedly, weÂve been working on getting it straight for at least 18 months now (evidently it worked). Ed took it upon himself to ask about a house loan while at the bank one day a few weeks ago. We fought about it pretty hard because I really wanted to wait until the first of 2008 so that weÂd ironed out some of the wrinkles (like getting debt free, yes, weÂre that close again) and he didn't talk to me before he did it. I finally calmed down, did the math (including the taxes and insurance) and figured out we could afford a $XX house. IÂd decided that was my compromise. Talking to Ed, I agreed that I would move (even as early as tomorrow) if he could: A) find a house close to where we already lived, B) it was $X or less (but we could go higher if needed, IÂd just be happier if it was less), and C) did the legwork. Amazingly, the loan officer called and said that was the amount we were approved for a $XX, the exact amount I thought we could handle. I took it to be a sign. Last week, Ed was driving LF to camp through a territory close to work and saw a house for auction. He wanted to go badly. I encouraged him to go, warning, "You donÂt get to pay more than $XX". It sold for $X+70,000. BUT... he talked to the loan officer about what we could do since he's getting anxious, telling him we wanted a house that someone was dying to unload, could even be in bad shape (remember, we can do electricity (brother), plumbing (Ed), carpentry (Ed), carpeting (brother in law), landscaping (Robin)), but needed to be over on this side of town. The loan officer said he knew of a house in our price range, exactly as we described. We went to see the house all together after work last evening. When I met up with LF I told him what we'd been talking about, telling him it wasn't real, more like pretend playing and if he had a house what would like for it to be. He wanted a tree house and a club house. All boy. I told him I envisioned a covered back patio which attached the kitchen on the back of the house. I didn't tell him, I also envisioned a sunken patio that was also in the back yard because it was just plain weird. I couldn't explain why I thought it or have ever wanted something like that. It is in bad shape. You can tell no one has been there in a very long time. It is overgrown with shrubs and vines. There are cracks in the glass on the windows. Every window has a covering pulled completely down. The garage is filled to the ceiling with an old Cadillac sitting on flat tires, cases of bottles, junk in general. This appraisal site says Davidson County appraises its current worth at $XXX. I imagine we can get it for $XX if there's nothing too wrong with it. We can promise to take it as is for less and they won't have the headache, and we'll get to finish it like we want. When we rounded the back of the house, there was a screened in porch, covered with a roof, attached to the back door. How much you wanna bet it's the door to the kitchen? And, it had a smaller patio right next to it, with a 1 1/2 foot high wall around it. Not sunken, but felt that way. I was dumbfounded, but pleased to see that it fits even my imaginary ideas of what it should be. And it's on a road that has Robin in its name. Wonder what that means? It's all coming together, I hope!

The individual blooms of astilbe do not last very long. It is not at all unusual for them to go over or start to fade and dry (turning a rusty brown) in a month or so. In fact, very few perennials have a bloom season that lasts more than a few weeks to a month. Some folks like the dried look of the spent flowers stalks and leave them in place, others remove them. One way to extend the season of interest is to plant different varieties that have different bloom times - some cultivars are very early, others offer flowers quite a bit later. As to why the peach and purple didn't produce the colors you were expecting is hard to say......depends on what cultivars they are. IME, 'Peach Blossom' produces flowers that are a rather insipid and very pale color and they do not hold long. FWIW, flower color has typically little to do with growing conditions, other than too much strong light can bleach out certain colors. Otherwise, it sounds like you are providing pretty much the condiitons they want - a rich, organic soil and sufficient moisture and partial shade.

Greetings all! Since I've taken the time to enjoy this whole thread, I thought I would contribute something - woodie2, thanks for the link to the hanky panky, and I will look into those myself. On that same website, I found my favorite bra for work: http://www.herroom.com/Le_Mystere,Mys001-955,4.cfm I admit it is not my absolute most comfortable (that goes to my Wacoal), but it looks like a million bucks every day. I have several (they are worth the $ if you wash in a lingere bag and hang them to dry), and wear them every weekday. On the thong-wearing topic - if you are considering trying them, it is very much like learning to wear contact lenses. First, of course, you need a good fit (let me recommend the cossabella mesh thong). Then you will find that you can only wear them for a few hours the first day, then a bit longer the next time, and eventually, you don't even notice they are there. Would love to go au naturale myself, but there is no way - talk about uncomfortable. I guess we are all constructed differently!

I believe dogs have an instinct to keep their immediate area clean. Dogs that are kept for too long in enclosed areas may develop a habit of eating their poop, absurdly enough, to clean it up! When you see her eating the poop and scream, she may be linking your behaviour with the poop and not the eating. So the next time she poops, she figures I better get rid of this right away, or my human will be unhappy. You catch the dog and scream, and thus the cycle begins again. Puppy mill dogs may have learned to eat poop from their mother, who ate THEIR poop to keep their area cleaner. It might have a mineral deficiency and need different food (these dogs will usually also eat other non-food items like dirt or carpet fibers). The dog that pooped might be passing a lot of unabsorbed contents of their own food that makes the feces smell attractive to your dog. She may think she is simply eating dog food somebody left out for her. When you come screaming, she thinks "that woman wants this tasty food, I better eat it right quick before she gets it!". Sometimes dogs that do this are bored. My brothers dog will play hockey with frozen poops so my brother will chase her around the yard in the winter (when the birds are all gone and the squirrels are sleeping, she has nobody to play with). The dog starts to play, owner sees it and freaks out, trying to take it away. Dog is in his joy, being chased and having a fun game. Whatever the cause, there is a common theme here. We may not have caused the problem in the first place, but our reaction to it makes them do the exact opposite of what we intended. My grandparent's shi had the same issue. Impossible to housebreak, poop eater. They were going to have to give it up, as they were "snow birds" and couldn't see asking somebody to take on this kind of dog, even for a short visit. Since I work from home I offered to take the dog and see what I could do. Based on that, this is my suggestion: On the training end, literally taking the dog out every 20 minutes. If it did anything, instant incredible praise (your neighbours should think the dog just unearthed a golden nugget for you) and instant treat. If there are any messes in the house, they are quickly and quietly cleaned while ignoring the dog completely. Do not look at the dog, do not scold, nothing. And no attention at all for at least 5 minutes. In the house keep the dog leashed to you at all times. If it tries to wander away it probably has to go outside. After eating and drinking, after playing, upon waking from even a nap. Watch for the dog looking around, sniffing, walking in a sort of figure eight pattern. All signs the dog has to go. Every day with no accidents in the house, increase the time interval a bit (like, to every 30 minutes). Don't forget, go out with the dog and the second it squats, it is the BEST DOG YOU HAVE EVER MET. Dancing, singing it's praises, and don't forget that treat. Ignore any accidents, and go back down to 20 minutes. As for the poop eating. Ignore it until she is doing better with the training (going OUTSIDE instead of inside). No kisses, then ;). Keep the yard as clean of poop as possible, clean all accidents as quickly but as quietly and low key as possible (you don't want the dog to think it is a race for food). Crate the dog only when you are going out, and go out for as few hours as possible. Send a fruit basket to the neighbours. The second you come home, CARRY the dog outside. When it does it's business, be fricken JUBILANT and don't forget that treat. The crate is not to be used for punishment or time out, or for when you are tired of watching the dog. The crate is for when you go out, and for over night. The dog goes into the crate when you go to bed, and is taken out immediately when you get up (outside, pee/poop, happy dance and treat, leash and back in). Their dog wasn't ready to go the whole night yet, so twice a night I got up. If there was no accident in the crate, brought the dog out. If there was I cleaned up the mess and brought the dog out. No lights, no talking (except for jubilation if it peed or pooped outside). I gradually phased to once a night, then she could go eight hours. Now she can go from about 10pm to almost noon, I am told LOL. Send the neighbour a nice floral bouquet. If you want you can add to the above, the second the dog squats to pee outside you say "go pee". The second it squats to poop, say "go poop". Using that technique I can take my dog out, snap my fingers and point to the lawn and say "go pee" or "go poop" and she will. Pretty handy when you have to leave for a long drive, before going the vet, and so on She wasn't a poop eater, but pugs can be notoriously hard to house train and that method worked for her. If your dog is not excited over treats (and many shi's aren't) perhaps you know of a toy that she LOVES to play with, and trade a few moments of playing instead of a food treat. If you can't take that kind of time (by the way, it took three months and she still occassionally samples - but is fully housebroken) and it is causing disharmony in the family, please don't feel bad about giving the dog up. You did what you could, and gave it a good home as long as you could. If a trip outside yields nothing, quickly and quietly bring the dog inside. No talking, no scolding, no praise either.