You all are so kind Mary- that huge shrub is a rhody.. starting to bloom right now- let's pray all this rain doesnt dash it all to bits this year! I hate that. Gotta Garden.. yes- I am goign to try the larger rocks when i get a chance :) You all can notice the difference? I look at these pics and think- gosh for all that work- it doenst show much of a change! :( Msscarlet- thank you for thinking my home is pretty. It's a little hosue- but i think it's kinda cute.. and i hope i get the cottagey feel across. I hear what you're saying about that blue spruce that blocks the view. it will only get bigger too... but here's the thing.. getting rid of that ONE might not make a difference- as you cna see in the pic- there is a HUGE one next to it and and even bigger one next to that one!!! haha. at first i hated them but I am rather attached to them now.. and this small one is the only one i can attempt to decorate for christmas. haha PLUS- there is actually a VAST amount of space betwee that spruce and the first corner bed by the house.. the angle the photo was taken at it straight one.. but coming from the other direction yu can actually see th ewhoel house.. i'll try to take different shtos for you guys and you can tell me what you think. Now Gladno1.. yours is the silliest question..hahahakeep bermuda grass out of my beds? You make me laugh!are you kidding me? what do you think i do all spring- march to may!! I dig out all the bermuda grass and re-edge my gardens.. it's horrendous. if anyone knows any trick- please tell me.. but i'm with you gladno.. this stuff is eveil. the only good thing is that it requires no water and stays short in summer and crowds out the weeds. however- it is EATING my driveway too.. can you believe it??!!! now you know why i need hired help right? all my energy goes into keepig bermuda grass out of my beds. haha

Lisa: I have several seedlings I started back in 2010 and bloomed in 2011 with Ledgewood Silver Linings as the pod parent but pollen is unknown. If I had Ledgewoods with low bud count,and I wanted to cross it with something, I'd pick a parent with high bud count that is a known high bud count producer and see if it would produce offspring with higher counts. Not foolproof but for me, I'd try it to see what happens. These are pics from last year and I would say I got no more than 5 buds that opened on one scape. But then again, they were only a year old (at least to me) so I give it 2 more years before I decide what to do with them. Unfortunately I don't know who the pollen parent was. Julia

I got my oldest potted palm, my queen palm as a seedling at a trip to Florida when I was around 8. Once I got that palm I was definitely hooked and every year when my mom planted annuals, I'd pick out a palm or 2 to go by the pool. So if you include that, I've been growing palms for over a decade which is kind of hard to believe for me! I learned about cold hardy palms during that time, but I didn't plant my first palm in the ground until I was probably about 14-15 which was only about 5 years ago. I've killed lots of palms in the process, I lost one of my favorites this winter, my butia because I'm not home a lot during this time of the year. I also let a lot of plants die outside this winter because I don't have the room for them all indoors, but I still brought in around 100 plants so there will be more than enough to take out in a few weeks! It's a hobby of losses and gains, the only thing that I can say for sure is that my yard gets fuller and fuller every summer. The difference from 2009 to now is incredible but I still have a lot to learn (but not a lot of space left!). My goal for this spring is to try and increase my palm and plumeria collection, I have a lot of plans for this summer! haha -Alex

Wow -- thanks, everyone, for responding! It's fun reading about what you're working on. Mscsippy -- I don't have photos of any of the stuff I've made; and none of the stuff that's currently in progress is at a point where a photo would make much sense, because my camera just doesn't seem to take decent closeups (they always manage to end up out of focus or blurred in some way - I guess I need a tripod!). But, I'll try to get photos of all of these things as I finish them. Taigen -- my paternal grandmother tatted. I have many beautiful things that she tatted. I tried, but failed, to learn to crochet, so I don't think I'd be able to master tatting, either. Cherbo -- you're much more sane than I am! Moni -- your secrets are safe with me. ;-) Donna37 -- I haven't done any embroidery in sooo long! I'd like to start up again with embroidery and also counted cross stitch. I've got a counted cross stitch Christmas sampler that I started soooooo many years ago! The horrid thing, too, is that there's not that much more to do to finish it. I have completed many, many counted cross stitch projects, I just don't know why I've never gotten around to finishing this one. One of these days... Dances -- my sister wants some fingerless gloves/mitts, so that's a project that is on my "to do" list. I'm sure this Winter will be long gone by the time she gets them. LOL! But I, too, have vastly different yarns on each of my projects-in-progress, and I'm certain that must be why I have so many going at once. Eliza Ann -- knitting is supposed to be very good for relaxation and stress relief. Maybe you should spend 15 or 20 minutes knitting each evening to help relieve the stress of getting your house ready for sale. :-) Linda -- that is a really cute poncho, and I love the color! I also think it would make a cute skirt (not without a slip/petticoat of some sort, though!). But, as I've said, I can't crochet at all, not even one stitch or chain or whatever it's called... :-( Donna Loomis -- you're my hero! Keep adding to your list of projects so I won't feel so bad, ok? :-) Zipper -- I'll be sure to pay attention to what I'm doing when I finally get around to the Baby Surprise Jacket. My niece isn't due until mid-July, and since it's her first, it could easily be late July or early August by the time she delivers, so I'm counting on having enough time to finish the two baby blankets that I'm working on (I've already given her one, and all three are totally different from each other); and I also want to get some booties and caps done, too. Janie -- I haven't experienced the "knot on the wrist," but I HAVE suffered from cramps in my left thumb from gripping the left needle too tightly when it's a small size needle and lace weight yarn. Another reason why I like to have a bunch of projects going with different yarns -- so I can relieve that stress on my thumb. Socks -- I keep each project in a separate bag, and I always have paper and a pencil (mechanical pencil, so I can retract the lead) with each project so that I can make notes as to where I am when I stop. And I try to always stop after I've finished an odd-numbered row, which somehow helps (like a placebo, I'm sure!). Susanjf -- yarn outlet??? WHERE??? Ivamae -- what color poncho are you going to make? Jannie -- your project will turn up when you least expect it! What size bamboo needles were you using? I use bamboo needles for everything that I knit that is knitted on straight needles. I also have the Bamboo Sister interchangeable circular needles set from Plymouth Yarn Company, and some fixed circular bamboo needles. One of the baby blankets is being done with the Plymouth interchangeable bamboo circulars, but for the other I'm using the Options Harmony Wood Interchangeable Needles from Knit Picks. I love those needles because the points are much "pointier" than on the bamboos, so it makes it easier to knit lace weight and fingering weight yarns. I've also got an afghan going on another size of the Harmony needles and the varigated-color yarn is nearly the exact same colors as the needles, so it's a challenge! Sheila Joyce -- what a great thing you're doing! I'm a tight knitter, so I certainly hope that no one ever has to attempt to finish anything I've started... Would using a smaller hook (than the one called for in the pattern) help at all? Have you tried taking the partial cloth into a yarn store to see what they can recommend to match the thread?