Norma...what a lovely, *loving* tribute to Keebler and what a beautiful dog! Gosh he's even gorgeous in those awkward "teen years"! At about 6 months old all of my dogs always looked like they were just ears and long legs. :-) I especially love the pics of Keebler with the grandchildren - it's so obvious that they loved him and he them. The pic of your grandson looking into Keeblers eyes and Keebler looking into his says it all about wonderful Keebler. I know it's not much comfort now, but Keebler really was a lucky dog and I can see in his eyes that he knew it too! He had a good life! :-) I loved the letter to God too...that was so cute! And the beautiful tributes from Eden & Sue. So I hope you don't mind but I want to leave you with just a few of my favorites too: Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. LOL, I have to remind myself of that *all* the time! :-) A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. We wonder why the dogs always drink out of our toilets, but look at it from their point of view: why do humans keep peeing into their water bowls? EPITAPH TO A DOG Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the Virtues of Man Without his Vices. This Praise,which would be unmeaning flattery if inscribed over Human Ashes, but is just a tribute to the Memory of "Boatswain," a Dog who was born at Newfoundland, May, 1803, And died at Newstead Abbey Nov. 18, 1808. - Lord Byron - Norma, I wish there were something I could say to make you feel better (though I know at the moment there is not). It's so hard losing our loving companions. And so sorry to hear about your loss too Jain. It's been eight years since I lost Spike and almost 10 years since I lost Willie and though of course life goes on, still, every time I think of them, I wish I could have them back here with me. It's kind of weird cause the love and the grief is so real, but you think a lot of people wouldn't understand, would think "it's a dog". But, luckily, we have this place and these people to talk to, right Norma? Shannon is playing in my head... Ei

Dear friends, thank you all. I am moved beyond my ability to adequately express it. I am too close to my garden to see clearly if I have managed to convey anything beyond a love of pretty colors. I can see what others have done in their gardens, but my hopes interfere with my vision when I look at my own. I have tried to convey a sense of order and beauty in a chaotic world, a place apart. Pamela, your kind words tell me that in part at least, it is working. I'd like to follow up on Jon's comments about friendship. For me the best thing about this electronic revolution is not the ability to gather information, useful though that is, but is instead the friendships we have formed through the internet. Whether it is Pamela and Carol and MichaelAT here in California, or Zeffy in Pennsylvania and Lori in Maryland, or Jon off in the ancient kingdom of Wessex, or indeed, the many other friends I have met here who have become part of my life, I most likely would never have encountered any of you without such a thing as Gardenweb. My life would have been the poorer for that. Rosefolly P.S. The brownies are Karen's. By popular demand she is not allowed to bring anything else to a potluck these days. Pretty much all the other baked chocolate has fallen away once people have tasted her brownies.

Katkin sorry I have not gotten to you sooner about the B PUP. My son in law has been in the hospital for a week so I was helping with their baby Yes I am exhausted but thankfully son in law is back home. This week end was Indian Rivers Hurricane Expo so I did the Master Gradener booth and my daughter had to do their booth(they do shutters) without hubby.My sweet hubby helped him out even though shutters are not his thing!Katkin if someone else is jerking on your garden aprons with puppy dog eyes saying they want it then that is ok. I will wait for another time to adopt the B pup.Let me know.If you could email me your phone number I could call you as we tend to do things spur of the moment. ----Also thanks to all who read my story. There are plenty of seniors who would love ANY attention so find one and love on them!

Thank you, everyone!! This tree makes me smile everyday, and it is positioned perfectly so that when I come downstairs every morning to get some milk for the little guy and make my coffee I see it in the window. As I have shared, I fell in love with this tree the moment I saw it, and my $12 adenium trip to JJ's turned into a pricier venture... but I got a STEAL.... are you ready...?? Wait, should we make it fun, any guesses as to what I paid for that tree? No Clue, Thank you! you are right, Steven would surely question the love balance if he could put it into words, luckily he's got a very small arsenal of words thus yet. ;o) He does enjoy the hobby, he gets to pump my foliar spray bottle, help me mix soil, and of course splash in the water as I mix fertilizer, lol. Jen- Much as I'd like to take the credit on the landscaping, I can only admit to purchasing the house very much because of the landscaping. I spend a lot of my time outside tending to it, but I cannot take the credit for the beauty that surrounds me. Wish I could... Thank you for your enthusiasm and for naming all the plants, I am now going to google so I can finally have names for the lovlies in my garden. (yes, that is how green I'm not) Peg, gosh it does smell so nice! I surely don't deserve such a perfect tree, I am lucky to have noticed it hanging outside one of John's greenhouses. What a gift! Stuart- Such a compliment, thank you! The tree is perfect, we fell in love instantly. I stuffed it into my 4 door sedan to get it home, lol, had to move the carseat and everything. I wasn't leaving it behind. My husband was out of town, so I got home and unloaded it myself, made dinner and put the kiddo to bed, then opened a bottle of red wine. From there I dug a giant hole, somehow managed to get it out of its 15 gal pot and into the ground it went. I expect that I will have a fantastic full sized plumeria tree someday. One might also assume that I will now live here forever, lol, I can't leave that tree behind! Love the names you've chosen, there's nothing to dislike about lobster bisque or my tree, lol. Curiosity got the best of me and I sent some photos to John and he suspects it is what they are now calling "Yellow Gina" although it is called "mongolia" in the catalog. Thank you again everyone for sharing in my enthusiasm, I am smitten for sure!!