Richie, I started a post called, 'Richie, where are you?' Can we continue on the new thread..this one is a tad long, and takes forever to download. I'll never remember the questions you asked, so I might as well answer here..lol First, how are YOU doing? I hope your're well. And your mom? G/f? About my new Gardenias, I'm very upset. I guess the weather did more harm than I thought..I doubt any gardenias will make it..the temps were just too cold. I dont know if I should notify the owner or not, since he waited a long time before shipping. All the leaves are frosted, every last one. I dont know what to do. They turned black and crisp. I didn't mention it because I was in denial, hoping I was wrong, but they've pretty much had it. BTW, the nursery ships wonderful plants, it's not his fault. It's my fault for not asking him to hold them longer. Sounds like you got a bunch of new plants too..it must be the season, or maybe we can blame it on a full moon..lol For us in Il it's the season..tonight rain AND snow! I dont want to see snow until next year..lol Foxtail, Ming, Spreng and Plumosia Ferns are well, but need new, big pots..they are huge. In fact, you know those huge square pots to plant outdoor plants? The pots I'm talking about are orange, square. I might end up potting ferns inside each planter..the problem is I need 4 and they've gone up in cost. If they're 7.00, I can afford it, but if they're over 10.00 I'll have to devise another plan. Dividing! Variegated Ginger needs a huge pot too..gotta find a place that 'gives away' free pots..lol.. You're lucky you finished gardening..family helps..my family have no interest in gardening, so I don't ask. A lot of digging and planting..sigh..I feel like spraying weed killer, but won't..can't because of the dogs for one. Our little dog would be rolling in it..lol.. We had to give him an emergency bath a few mins ago..dh took them to the woods, and that little brat found a mud area..of course he came home with 4" of mud on his little body. He ran up to me, telling me he needed a bath which he got. The sink was filthy..he had enough dirt to fill up a plant pot..lol.. Richie, dont forget..I started the thread here on GW looking for you. Please answer on that thread..my puter takes too long to dl long threads..thanks, and I know I can speak for others, we're glad you're back..hugs, Toni

Congratulations! As Rebecca said, yes, weave in your tail. Be sure to go up and down, not side to side. Side to side will take away from the stretchyness provided by the ribbing at that point. (I once did side to side weaving on a sock where I changed colors frequently, and it really make the sock hard to get on.) Can you join at cast-on so you don't have the dip? I join by the trading stitches method. I don't know how others do it. Yes, picking up stitches for the gusset is the hardest part. I usually pick up 2 extra also. I bought double sets of needles and worked on each sock alternating back and forth so they were both done at the same time, but I have never had "second sock syndrome" where I didn't want to start the second one. He wants to play with your masterpiece, your fabulous creation!!!??? LOL! Oh well, at least he takes an interest in what Mom's doing. Tell him you'll knit him a pair to wear one of these days. Cute story.

Thanks for that, Digit! I will now be posting pics again—even if they only look like ugly links! I have SO many things blooming in my yard already I’ve been WANTING to post some pics! But have more I need to download/upload (never have figured out which is which!) into the computer first—that I hadn’t bothered since I “couldn’t” post them anyway! Will do it in the next couple days! I don’t have a google+ page! And I don’t intend to ever have one! If I sign up for google+ my WebAlbums will be TOTALLY messed up—as I discovered when I tried to help somebody, last fall, try to figure out how to use Picasa and WebAlbums! It’s a total mess in WebAlbums in “+”, and as near as I can tell, once you sign up for it it’s TOO LATE, and the “new and improved” version (NOT!) is all you have access to anymore. As a matter of fact, if some of your pics really did “disappear,” I wonder if that had something to do with it! I haven’t “updated” Picasa for a couple years either (I just keep telling it NO when it pleads with me to update it!) ‘cause I’m afraid that’ll somehow get me into the google+ version—and I won’t be able to opt out of it again! I REALLY don’t understand why these companies keep trying to “improve” something that’s already working really, really well! (google maps REALLY screwed up their “maps” too, IMO! But I still have a link to Olde Google Maps—that still works! If they ever discontinue the olde maps, I don’t have a CLUE what I’ll use for maps! Bing, IMO, is at least as bad as the “new” google maps! HELLO out there! STOP “fixing” things that don’t need fixing!!!) (And my avatar on FB, which I haven’t signed into for a year!, is an airplane! And that’s the only place I have an avatar at all!!!) I don’t know why you didn’t “need to” change your setting to “enable” PMing, but maybe that’s something else they’ve changed recently—like putting in the ability to enter your zone (tho I’m gonna leave mine in as my “last name!”) When I went to that page I had to change the settings to get them right to enable PMing. Maybe now it’s the default when GW folks get into the houzz site. But there is SOMETHING that needs to be “fixed” for David, because there’s no “message box” visible on His Page, and until that’s there, nobody can PM him. I’m sure it’ll all get straightened out! We are, gradually, getting back to “our old GW!” Never would have believed that when I showed up here the first day and went—SAY WHAT????? I’m really impressed with the admins and all they’ve done! As for me! Maybe I’ll take some more pics tomorrow! Skybird

Someone above was wondering why chickens and not ducks on weather vanes. I really don't know, but I can put forth a guess. On US farms a century ago, most had chickens and roosters running loose (free range) but not many ducks. Ducks are water loving birds and will leave the barnyard if they find a pond or stream nearby. Chickens will range around the hen house, but always come back to the hen house to roost at night or for shelter during a storm. Its the Rooster that appears on weather vanes. His tail feathers are more ornate than the hen. Farmers observed the behavior of chickens as a weather forecaster. Chickens will head for shelter during a brief shower and wait for the rain to let up before venturing out again. An old saying was present in the community I once lived in. It was said that if the chickens came out in the rain, it will be a long rain lasting perhaps most of the day or more. By this, it would be natural to associate a weather cock with a wind vane. Wind vane? Its called a weather vane I do believe.