My parents made it to Israel a couple of years before my Mom passed away. They had wanted to go for years and years and when their parish was running a trip they went for it. Mom had a hard time getting around but she was always a trooper and seeing things that held so much significance for her spurred her along. A year or two ago I read they've irrigated parts of the Negev desert and grow melons down there. Probably other things by now. I'm not sure where they grow the plants and cut flowers they export but it's becoming a sizable business sector. That botanical garden is tremendous from the website information. OT...triple_b, I got my father some "own root" roses from Heirloom Roses for Christmas. We were so upset when they arrived in May because they were so, so tiny. The miniature "Love Potion" (24" @ maturity) has 5 buds on it that are ready to open! The floribunda "Wistful" just bloomed and it was a gorgeous lavender. We didn't cut it because it's the only bloom showing so far. The lavender floribunda is right next to a 34 year old red floribunda that's almost denuded from black spot and/or rust but still blooming its head off. The lavender floribunda and other new little rose bushes haven't caught the blight(s) and I'm hoping their rating of "very disease resistant" holds up as time goes on. If my condo balcony wasn't so dark from facing north I'd have a couple miniatures in pots. Spend so much time here at my father's though I finally decided "we" needed some color so found relative sanity in starting gardens. I've quickly found out why I chose to live in a condo...LOL...a LOT less work.

It's humid here, but not as humid as it is in the Carolinas or Georgia and some bee balms do well. To be honest, I have had more trouble with them due to lack of rain. I have one tall lavender flowered one that gets mildew early in the season, but a red one I was given in a trade has never gotten mildew. The 'Petite Delight' and 'Petite Wonder' do well and also seem to need less water. (One is growing in full sun in well-drained soil.) Most catalogs (on-line or hardcopy) and nurseries should offer mildew-resistant varieties. I've gotten most of my bee balm from plant swaps, they are super easy to root and divide. They usually don't cost very much either, so if you get one (and it survives) you should be able to split it within a year or so. kent

Nanny you might want to look into the pants that are made of wind resistant fabric as they are very light. Also the wool and silk underwear at Sierra is weightless and very warm. You wouldn't need jeans as they aren't warm anyway since they are cotton. I found that the convertible pants are essentially wind resistant fabric and therefore are very warm while taking up no room and drying in minutes. When it got really cold I put on a pair of tights under them and they were exceptionally comfortable..and I am a person that is ALWAYS cold. Heavy tops take up a lot of room and instead if you layer several light tops you get way more warmth and less weight plus more options. Just a thought to help you with your plans. Good Luck and have a wonderful time ! c

One of my old cats use to love to drink out of a glass (I think she liked it an extra bit when she thought it was a person's glass of water). As she got older, had more health problems, and needed to drink more water, I sometimes got in the habit of setting a glass of water out somewhere near to where she was. Her brother loved to drink from a dripping faucet and could manage to get in the tub to drink out of that dripping. Sometimes I plugged the tub and then he would have a little reservoir of water to play in after a few minutes, and I could turn off the drip. Could or would your cat get in the tub? Sometimes they like ice and if you throw a few cubes into the water bowl it will intrigue them and get them to drink a little more. Good luck.