Hi Colleen, You are close to me living in Portsmouth!! We have been having some really hot temps lately...Whew!!! I would love to know where u find your Pine bark Fines...I have been looking for a long time and went with using Fir bark (Reptibark) from Petsmart when i make my gritty mix. I actually use a 1/4 inch screen when i make my mix. I use the smaller pieces that fall throught the 1/4 inch screen. the larger pieces that are not used for the gritty mix, i add to the top of my Plumeria Containers. I like the look of the fir bark and the Plumies like the cover to protect the roots that may be exposed to the hot sun. Instead of using them in the beds are somewhere else, i just sprinkle those pieces that aren't used for the gritty mix. All of our gardens love what ever attention that we can give them. Sometimes even when we cant go outside and work when our bodies wont let us, we sometimes find the strenght to do a little at a time. Even that makes me happy just to get something done whenever my body doesnt feel up to it. Any production is a positive, so keep up the good work!!! Small gardens are wonderful too! I like the look of all gardens, they all have different looks and i bet yours looks beautiful as well!! You are so right...all gardens are great!! Thats what we love and this is what gives me peace after a long day at work!!! I have made the 5-1-1 for some of my containers, but i seem to find that i like the gritty mix the best for most of my containers. Foliage Pro is difficult to find around here. I did order it on line. This is a wonderful Fertilizer that seems to be liked by all of my trees/plants. I did buy the gallon size so i will have it for awhile!!! The large Oak was from down the street. We had that bad storm that produced tornados last month and the whole Oak came down near the Park on Great Neck Rd. I'm glad you did fine someone to use the wood on your Cedar, i bet u were really upset losing that beauty of a tree. Knowing that someone will continue to use it will always make you feel better! Take care Colleen, Thank you for all of your kind comments!!! Laura in VB

1. Feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash. 2. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means. 3. Know more than 10 ways to order coffee. 4. Know more people who own boats than air conditioners. 5. Feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant. 6. Stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal. 7. Consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it's not a real mountain. 8. Can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Veneto's (and you're never more than 2 blocks from one when in town.) 9. Know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye salmon. 10. Know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, and Willamette. 11. Consider swimming an indoor sport, or is not a sport but a survival skill to prevent boating deaths. 12. Can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai food. 13. In winter, go to work in the dark and come home in the dark-while only working eight-hour days. 14. Never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho. 15. Are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers." 16. You can't wait for a day with "showers and sun breaks." 17. Have no concept of humidity without precipitation. 18. Know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind. 19. Can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you can't see through the cloud cover. 20. Say "the mountain is out" when it's a pretty day and you can actually see it. 21. Put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka. 22. Switch to your sandals when it gets above 60, but keep the socks on. 23. Have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain. 24. Think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists. 25. Knew immediately that the view out Frasier's window was fake. 26. Buy new sunglasses every year, because you can't find the old ones after such a long time. 27. Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway. 28. "Vacation" means going to Portland for the weekend. 29. You measure distance in hours. 30. Know at least eight people who work for companies that manufacture computer parts, airplanes, or athletic shoes. 31. Return from a California vacation depressed because "all the grass was dead." 32. Take a half day every July 1 to find your sunglasses and sunscreen. 33. Remember the date, severity, time of day, where you were, and how long you were out of power and phone service for every winter-weather event in the last five years. 34. Have ever called your insurance agent to ask if your homeowners policy covers falling trees, flooding, or mud slides or if the number of your favorite roofing company is on your phoneÂs "speed-dial" list. 35. Find a wallet with $500 in it, return it all to the owner and refuse a reward. 36. Used to live somewhere else. 37. Own more than 10 articles of clothing that have the names of microbrewries/brewpubs printed on them. Bonus for embroidery. 38. Wave at people who drive Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles like yours. Basically, you just drive down the road waving. 39. Think downtown is "scary" because you were panhandled there once. 40. You are sitting at a downtown red light. The light turns green and the car in front of you does not move. You do not honk. After two more light changes, you approach the driver to ask if they need any assistance. 41. You look in your closet to get dressed and you are stumped on whether to put on your fleece vest, fleece pants, or just go for the fleece jacket. Then youÂre stuck when you decide for the jacket and are confused on which of your six colors you should choose. 42. You use a down comforter in the summer. 43. Your grandparents drive 65 mph through 2 feet of water during a raging rainstorm without flinching. 44. You see people wearing camouflage at social events. 45. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked. 46. You think of the major food groups as elk meat, deer, fish, and berries. 47. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them. 48. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the BiMart store at any given time. 49. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat. 50. Driving is better in the winter because almost everybody stays home. 51. You know all the important seasons: Almost winter, Winter, Still raining, Road construction, Deer season, and Elk season.

Hi. My name is Amanda and I'm a garden-a-holic. LOL. Seriously though, I only began gardening this year and already have plans for probably the next two or three years. I live in Chattanooga in what used to be my in-laws' house. When we moved in, there were already some hostas, two crepe myrtles, several azaleas, forsythias, two peonies, and a few other things. Well, I am working towards ridding myself of the forsythia. They are lovely, don't get me wrong, but I find them entirely too evasive. And to me, it is simply too much work to keep them trimmed back to a manageable size for something that blooms for only a week or two. I can happily say that I've added much more than taken away. I have planted cannas, daylilies, roses, bearded irises, and clematis. I definitely have plans for more roses and daylilies and cannas - just not sure where I will place everything. I am currently trying my hand at rooting some rose cuttings. I have Seven Sisters, Mr. Lincoln, and Climbing Blaze all struck. It is hard to not check for roots, as I am not known for my patience, but I have managed to leave them alone for the short time they have been in their pots. Finally, my husband and I are anxiously awaiting the birth of our second son. My due date is August 25th, but it could honestly be any day now. Our first son is 7-1/2 years old, so this is almost like having a first all over again. Although we're certainly out of practice, we're looking forward to experiencing all the 'firsts' all over again.

Things not looking great again. Yesterday we discovered that 2 of our 3 new Totos arrived broken. I guess it's not that big a deal as they will be replaced, but now we have to wait again for new ones. We had a meeting with the GC on Tuesday night to discuss how things are going. It didn't go well. He says that I am nice to the whole crew, but not to him and that's why he barely comes to the house. He said the whole crew had noticed 'how I treat him' and that in 10 years of business he has never had this problem before. So now I feel uncomfortable in my own home. Now I'm wondering if it's me that's the problem. He called the following day to apologize for how he spoke to me, but I really don't much want to talk to him at all any more. He is asking us to eat a lot of extra expense (including most of the $940 Home Depot bill) because of all the 'extras' he has done including 'thousands' in additional plumbing work for free (?). He says we can go over the contract again but it will end up costing us thousands because he will charge for all the extras he's done. We appear to now be paying for wiring and other items I had no idea would be on the list. I thought he was paying for behind the walls stuff and we were paying for the 'pretty' stuff (including paint, but wiring??). My husband has stepped in to talk to him and yet I don't feel satisfied with that arrangement either. GC was meant to go to Home Depot for $80 worth of unidentified stuff (paid for by us) and when the Home Depot person called for our cc number (which GC no longer has) it was for $175. For 'wiring and boxes'. Huh? The problem is I just don't trust him and I guess the GC feels that and is (understandably) offended by it. But when we ask for receipts he flashes them at us and then says he needs them back. It's like the Hone Depot receipt debacle all over again. But we DO have extra issues that SHOULD be resulting in extra charges - the problem is getting numbers out of him for the extra issues is tough. So our sunroom leak issues and retiling (over the existing) bathroom floor are costing an additional $2400 on top of the $940 which he owed us from the Home Depot thing, but we didn't know that until he's ripped out carpeting and the place is a disgusting mess and we have no choice really but to do the work. I just wish he would tell us what this stuff would cost before starting it! I don't know what to do at this point. I feel like every time we question something he has a million explanations and excuses which never really tell you anything. He talks a mile a minute and you can't get a word in edgewise. I know we should be paying for the unexpected stuff, but the way it happens is so backwards and confusing to me and I end up wondering what is going on. Why for example have we paid $500 for insulation product as part of the contract as well as $814 in insulation as part of that Home Depot bill (that's NOT part of his $940 building materials which was all dry wall) and yet he says the remainder of the insulation in rolls downstairs isn't ours. It's his? He says we have to eat the $500 for insulation that was in the contract because he underbid the installation part of insulating and because we owe him so muc for the extra plumbing (which he hadn't mentioned before and we thought was included). Another example. He ran wiring for the baby's room high hats and ceiling fan. Told me the switch was slightly off center and not to straighten it or it might short. A couple of days later it stopped working. He says it's a coincidence and the wiring must have been 'chewed by rats or squirrels' and that it's an unforeseen issue. this seems like a remarkable coincidence to me. I thought if we contracted that he was installing 4 recessed lights and a fan, that meant they should work? The house has a newer panel with a ton of electric amps, but I guess that doesn't mean no problems. Maybe we're being unreasonable in our expectations. Apparently most people around here tell him to go ahead and fix unforeseen issues and just send them a bill. It's very possible as there's a lot of money around here. But we would like to know what things will cost in advance. He seems to take this as a personal insult. :( DH thinks he's on cocaine. I would not be surprised. I am exhausted and this has turned into a book. Sorry. Just needed to vent again.