I went ahead and ordered a small batch of seeds to get me started. I could really use some input on some of these. One question though, when a chart gives a timeframe for planting, can that time frame be altered? For example, if it said to plant something by a given date, I'm assuming that would be a standard variety. So if I purchased a variety that matured faster, I could plant a little later? Forgive my silly questions, I truly have no idea. I'm the only person in the world who can kill the "unkillable" types of houseplants. So anyway, with my seed purchases, I figured if I couldn't plant them now, then I'd just wait until next spring. So, I bought: Silver Queen Hybrid Sweet Corn Cilantro a Lettuce blend as well as red sails lettuce Baby Boo pumpkins Cherry Belle Radishes Roma tomatos Perfected Detroit Beets Tendersweet carrots Giant Magic Hybrid pumpkin So, in my example, I found a general virginia planting guide (i'm assuming it would be a bit different for me, than say the folks in northern or western va). The guide says pumpkins through 7/15. But the hybrid pumkins I bought mature in 95 days, as opposed to 110 days for some other varities. I'm sure its way too late for planting tomatoes this year, so I'll be waiting on those. If anyone knows anything about my selected veggies, I'd appreciate some input. Thanks!

Most crinums do require a lot of room. Some get pretty tall and the leaves are long. They also make offsets, which increase their circumference. This is how you get a nice clump and multiple blooms. When planting, try to pick a forever spot. They do not like to be disturbed and may not bloom for a couple of years, when moved. They don't need to be divided every few years, like some bulbs do. A good smaller crinum is 'Summer Nocturne'. It is shorter and the leaves are not as long, so it requires less space. It does make offsets freely, so will increase that way. The bloom is white, blushed with pink. As you can tell, I love crinums and have grown quite a few over the years. I'm in my 4th garden now and hope not to move again.

This page talks about the "links" I'm referring to. It does not say how to automatically re-arrange items. When my computer went into my computer guy they were listed in the order in which I put them on the list, date order. When I got my computer back all of a sudden they are in alpha order. Somehow he clicked something that put them in alpha order. I know I could call and ask him and maybe that's the best idea. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/about/customizelinks.mspx Thanks, Ginny

Interesting thoughts -- we could all improve on paperwork storage in our homes. Two things I think I'm doing well that differ from the above mentioned Script, and someone else might find some ideas in my methods: Taxes. Yes, like Script, I am scrupulous about maintaining records for my taxes. About a dozen years ago I went to the office supply and bought two big boxes of BRIGHT GREEN folders (green like money). I labeled them Taxes 2000 ... Taxes 2001 ... Taxes 2002 ... Taxes 2003 ... and so on. Given my family's typical lifespan, I made enough green folders to take me to age 110 -- probably more than I'll need, but I'm ready! They're all stored in my file cabinet, taking up very little space. Now when I receive anything tax-related -- a charitable receipt, an end-of-the-year bank statement, whatever -- I have a place to file it. In April, I have a place to file a copy of my taxes, and I can go back and see previous tax years. For the rest of my life, this system is in place. Death folder. Ours is a notebook. Two identical notebooks, actually, since we have two children. Our girls are young adults now, but they've never dealt with an estate -- even if they don't open it 'til they're old, it'll be useful to them. It contains a lot of stuff: - A personal letter to the two of them - A list of our wishes about funeral and items we'd like donated to various family members or charities - A list of things they must do immediately; it starts with going to our house and taking possession of the dog, but it also includes small details like canceling our voting registration and destroying any medicines in the house. At every turn this list includes addresses and phone numbers, including the lawyer we suggest for probate, the funeral home our family's always used, and family members who should be contacted. - A copy our will; they know what's in it -- everything split between the two of them - A list of our financial assets -- bank accounts, investments, insurance, deeds/maps of real estate ... when our youngest became a legal adult, we made the two girls co-beneficiaries of every account; note that this was done before either was married, so our two kids -- not future son-in-laws -- will own these items. - A list of the bills we pay each month -- electricity, phone, even the guy who cuts our grass. - Official copies of our birth certificates, our marriage certificates, and the girls' birth certificates -- they might not be needed, but the girls won't have to scramble to find them - A flashdrive with all of the above in digital format plus photographs that might be useful in putting together the funeral Our rule: We keep two years of tax returns in the notebooks ... the reason being that someday an accountant will file our final estate tax return, and he or she will want our last two years of returns -- so every April we pull out the notebook, discard one old return and insert the newest ... so our rule is that every April we look over the notebook and update anything that's changed. For example, last year we changed bank accounts, and someday we hope to add items concerning grandchildren to the book. Our girls know that the notebooks are stored in the safe, and they know where the key to the safe is hidden, and they know it's labeled with a misleading name so that a thief wouldn't look at it twice. Last thought on this notebook: Though this project took us the better part of a year --- we kept remembering one more thing, one more thing that really should be included -- we didn't find it difficult emotionally. I suspect that if we were older and/or one of us were in poor health, it might've been different.