Yes, Katamari is the rolling stuff up game. Its really addictive for such a simple game, and theres three of them. The part I like the most is the amazing effort they put into the music. I found some of it on youtube and it ranges from techno to jazzy lounge music, swing music, Im pretty sure someone even snuck a gospel peice or two in there. While Iw as writing yesterday I stumbled across someone who had done an orchestral version of one of the themse that made my jaw drop. Video game music is constantly impressing me with every passing year. But anyway, back to gardening... Part of my problem with the space issue is theres a movement out here for the "Grow Biointensive" system. While I'm interested that they've managed to do so much with such small topsoil space, I've noticed all the beds dealing with the system need at least two feet of soil, dug down or in raised beds, and thats not what I have. My mum has been trying to push me in that direction, but I dont feel confident with it at this time since I wanted to get more of a feel for the general gardening situation since its my first time and all. Some plants still got pushed closer together than I would've liked but then none of us had seen some of these plants actually growing before. The cukes are doign better than I expected for being about 6 inches closer to each toher plant than I really wanted them to be, but we had such a huge amount of plants to deal with that I did the best I could. I think the funniest part about all this is while it is my first time growing a real garden, I've been growing virtual gardens since I was abotu 19, playing an online game called "Final Fantasy 11", which had a really complicated planting/gardening system most people didnt know about. That game system is actually what got me really focused on the seasons, when to plant, where to plant, when to fertilize, what plants grew better in what geological areas, and I even had a little notebook for a long time where I'd record the weekly cycle of my virtual plants in relation to the moon phase and exact time I made any modifications to the planting space. Even the gamers thought I was nuts, but I loved it! They'd even die off or give terrible results if I neglected them for too long, or give off better results if I got proper gardening tools, workbenches, and diffrent planters had diffrent effects too. Im getting better results with a real garden than I was in my virtual gardens though... Except for that one time I accidentally harvested 122 virtual onions. I can tell you, the cooks sure were happy with me.

Thank you so much for your warm comments. Reading them is the ideal way to wind down after all the hubbub. A2Z, the key roadside plants are 'Nearly Wild' rose, penstemon, shasta daisies, catmint, thyme, salvia, scabiosa, catanache (Cupid's Dart), 'Pawnee Buttes' sand cherry, and echinacea. There are also some oriental poppies and Siberian irises. I am adding more shrubs such as a groundcover honeysuckle, dogwoods, 'Summerwine' ninebark and 'Drift' roses. Next year I will also try some rugosa roses or something along those lines. The garden really is a mishmash collection that allows survival of the fittest. I am certainly not attached to any particular plant out there, and the whole thing just evolves over time. I would like it to be more shrubs and fewer perennials though, because deadheading it and cutting it back are daunting tasks. Next year I will sink some time into adding shrubs. (There are more photos of this garden in the first 'combination pics' thread from June). The clematis on the arch are 'Perle d'Azur' (2005) and 'Comtesse de Bouchard' (2007). I selected them for their later bloom so that things would be interesting in late summer. The arch is metal and was from one of those junky-type antique stores. Yes, I think it's 5' wide. Some day relatively soon it's going to collapse. You should see it sway in the wind. I have to cut back the clematises in order to preserve the opening in the archway. Otherwise they would join hands and seal the whole thing off! It's very pretty in the winter too - I cut about 2/3 of the clematis vines off but leave enough for some winter interest. We put sunflower heads on it so the birds have an easy place to eat (away from the cats). Mollie, the tour was organized by a local arts center. We were on the tour in 2007 and they had been asking me again for a few years now. I hope they don't ask again anytime soon. I need a enough years to pass so that I can forget about how stressful this was! I think I'd rather help out by being on the selection committee or contributing in some other way. I did learn things! The coolest thing I learned was all the types of native bees that live here. That was the highlight. I also learned that I need to use my compost, particularly in the greenhouse which is ailing this year. So yesterday I put down a 4" layer of compost throughout the whole greenhouse. Another visitor suggested I use straw as mulch in the raised beds, and I'm definitely going to do that. I hate spending money on mulch so straw is perfect and cheap. Oh, and back to the bees, I learned to use sunflower stalks as wintering habitat for them. DH did once consider making the sculptures as a profession. But the idea didn't resonate with him, I think because the sculptures don't have a function. The bicycles are a much better fit for him and use all the same skills. But thank you for the vote of confidence! Thanks again for being by my side (virtually) through the whole thing. I am still looking forward to regaining all my energy and it's great to have an 'empty' to-do list!

We participated in a kitchen tour just after ours was completed - it was a fundraiser for the NICU in a local hospital (where I sometimes work), which is the only reason I agreed to do it! We were told NOT to be home during the tour, but I trusted the volunteer staff to keep an eye on things. They were stationed at the front door, and posted in several places inside, directing traffic to the correct place. Visitors either took off their shoes at the door, or put on disposable booties, so dirt was not an issue. The flow of traffic from room to room was clearly marked, and the adjacent rooms were roped off. A local upscale housewares company set my dining room table with stunning crystal and china (no, I didn't get to keep it!) My house never looked so good! It was fairly stressful, because I changed my dining room light fixture at the last minute (something I had been meaning to do for quite some time), and thoroughly cleaned up the whole place, inside and out, ahead of time. I removed all pictures of family and identifying information from view, so it felt more anonymous. Yes, I still felt a little vulnerable letting strangers into my home, but it was a trust thing. I was very flattered to be asked. Tickets were pricey enough that only people really interested in houses/kitchens came through - not the casual/curious tag sale crowd. It was not judged, but we got really nice compliments and feedback (reported to us by the volunteers who were stationed at my house). Most people just looked and didn't touch, but some opened cabinets/closets, etc. like they were buying a house, so I suggest you clean the inside of your cabinets, too!

I am so sorry that I missed it, Robo! I initially signed up to "attend" your virtual baby shower (and did contribute), but this Saturday morning instead found myself in our car heading from our rented house on the Oregon Coast up to tour some other cute beach towns north of us. I was outvoted by my DH, Sis and BIL, who were anxious to get an early start. I'm so glad it went well and that you had a fun time, though.