There's a clock in a stove in a house that burned in a canyon near us; the burn was 15 years ago at least and the house is gone but the clock still works .... can that have honorary mention? I don't know how old it is though.... We fight with a half propane-half -geez I dunno, kerosene? - that part is gone -- range that predates 1950 every summer. Parents' waffle iron from the 40's still works. I want it but my mother gets very offended when I ask for it. Her grandkids will be too old to enjoy waffles soon.... I have a hand-held beater from the 60's. Love that thing. It's turquoise - what more could you want? It wont work unless you wear an apron. :)

Yes, Bossy so so true. We had out of town relatives visiting and DH's sister who lives 45 minutes away invited herself and even asked to sleep over. She more or less included herself in all of the downtimes. She herself was scheduled with the same relative for her own visit in her own home. At the end of the weekend, when the relatives were off touring, DH had words with his sister. He felt that by her being there ALL the time, he did not have a chance for a one on one conversation with the niece. She told him, "Well, what was I supposed to do? Wait until the middle of the week when they said they were going to visit me?" DH told her yes, that this trip was for the relatives to take their kids to see NYC and we were just a part of the story. I think if DH "liked" her this would not have been an issue. She is a widow on a limited income and we basically give her a place to live and help with most of her expenses. He is a really good brother to someone who is very manipulative, and I think this is why he lost it with her. They will work it out. This is his only sibling left. But, hopefully, she will realize that she can't just decide how and when she should be included without asking first.

I bought a couple of those hosta from Lowe's as well. They are Monrovia, so I assume they monitor for HVX. They had Diana Remembered, which will probably do well for me. I bought one called Color Glory, which probably isn't Color Glory (also known as Borwick Beauty). And if it is, it probably won't do well for me (it's an Elegans sport) . But for just $7.99, it was worth the shot. bk

I am in zone 6, Canada. I have many hosta in containers. Most are dormant but some are not. We are experiencing a hard frost now for a few days. I have moved the nondormant hosta in more protective areas and some in an unheated shed. I am planning to put them back outside again when the daytime temperatures are above freezing. They should go dormant soon. As you are in zone 7b, you are in a much warmer zone. It is not OK to leave them in the shed now until spring if they are not fully dormant because they will continue to want to grow. Growth will be poor. They need to be dormant before you store them for the winter.