Hi Guys! Sorry to be so late checkin' in! We're good down here, got our rain after the temps. were above freezing. It has been a rough winter. Most everything was killed down to the ground, I'm not complaining, I know you have that every winter. We had hard freezes in Dec., Jan., and Feb. The only thing I have blooming are violas. I wish now that I had planted snapdragons and petunias last fall. You know when you get lemons, you should make lemonade, so while everything is cut down, if I can get a couple of days above 70, I'm going to pressure wash the fences. I took down most all the free standing trellises and arbors, and moved to the driveway, where I will pressure wash then give them a coat of cedar stain before returning to the garden. I've got a gazillion poppies up and growing, so looks like it will be a good year if spring ever gets here. Maybe this winter will set the chili thrips back on their heels for awhile. Jim

tragusa3--the 60 or 120 day extension of the option to purchase was my first reply too--give them a breathing period to reassess what what going on...but they did not want US in the driver's seat since an extended option would still have maintained our right to purchase as the negotiated price. They did not want any boundaries on their decision making according to our realtor. She called their realtor asking for a 6 mo first refusal contract and they reluctantly gave that...Talking to our realtor initially, I did not feel that she would have support us if we said sorry--we want to continue with the contract. She said "You can't make someone sell a home if they don't want to---" which I thought was wrong if there was an enforceable contract and you were willing to invest a lot of time and money with lawyers---She just wanted us to drop it...period...almost seemed more like she wsa acting as their agent instead of ours. You are right that cancer is not a trump card in other business dealings...in fact, we did forget to make a mortgage payment when our son was going through chemo and got a pretty nasty letter about being delinquent...when I called to explain, they just wanted us to know what would happen if other payments were late so we better get the checks in on time... life in general does not stop when people have cancer... dixiedoodle--yes, I was the person who was so upset when the developer cut trees we had expected would be there on the lot we optioned--and I remember I got some sympathic comments and some that said don't get all emotional because the developer did not owe us anything at that point in time. ...legally, these sellers had NO right to back out...cancer does not cut any weight there...so reacting emotionally and sympathetically was the only reason to cut them slack... People post lots of things on ths site--not just about the house they are building--there are posters on this site whose opinions I have come to value even if they do disagree with my opinion so I get insight from comments...no, I don't always agree with what people write either about my posts or others...don't think you do either from what you posted to me...isn't that the point of a board like this...I just was kind of amazed that everyone DID pretty much take this story at face value...yet most people tell you to check references and have inspectors review a builder's work and make sure both people have to sign the checks... I picked up the right-of-first-refusal "contract" yesterday about 5 from my realtor's office. Frankly, looking at it just made me feel more suspicious about this situation. Don't think any title attorney worded this or prepared it as my realtor said they had done. There are two pretty obvious grammatical errors that I, an English teacher, saw right away but that an average person might not. I think an attorney or legal secretary has too much exposure to legal documents and proper grammar to make those mistakes. They know that a grammatical error can affect the value of a "legal" document. So I think their realtor did it. It looks like it was generated off someone's office computer/printer, generic paper. The two copies we got have no original signatures of the sellers and their agent. There are no addresses/contact information for our names or theirs--although you assume theirs would be the house they were selling. There is no mention of why we are foregoing the original contract (the serious illness of their son) -- it sounds like both parties just decided to amicably change their minds---which is not the case at all. There is no notary wittness on theirs nor one required for ours so it can't be filed at courthouse to act as hold on property and actually prevent sale for 6 months...there is no indication that the sale price would be the one we negotiated for this contract...which is what we expected...they could set the price 100,000 higher--we refuse--and they lower the price by the same amount and sell 24 hrs later to whomever... Basically there is no way to enforce this---they could turn around and put the house up in June and we could do nothing...DH says that if we tried to continue the contract and they still refused and we sued to claim breach of contract, technically we have suffered no monetary damages which is the only thing a judge would rule on---having to buy a house that is more expensive or that we like less then theirs is too nebulous for a judge to set a real value on---taking them to court and having them evicted if we did win the suit is not exactly the way you want to introduce yourself to the neighbors... DH said that if they are the kind of people who would use an excuse like they did then he does not want anything to do with them and they are going straight to the big bonfire...I would just like to know the truth of the situation...

Actually, Jerry..we did have a pretty good frost two nights (?) before...(I covered everything). Then the heat wave two days straight right after...I've been finding some damage on two more hostas since...and it occurred within 48 hours of frost. It could be frost damage instead? I'm not that familiar with frost damage...cold damage yes, but that is different. Sandy, it always happens in May (a lightbulb went off in my head re your unfurling comment) and coincides with heat waves during the day. Last year it occurred around the same time or earlier as I have pics dated May 29/14 that show damage that is somewhat aged already...but the exception this year was that it wasn't fully leafed out yet. Bruce, Sandy, Jerry and Don - I asked for advice because I was waffling, sitting on the fence, ... thank you for giving me the nudge I needed. I really appreciate it and will leave her alone as recommended. . . and yes, I shall enjoy the beauty, Bruce. :-)

I would dig it up once it’s gotten a bit larger. When you do dig it up, dig several inch out around the plant and deep enough to get all the big roots. This doesn’t even look as big as my pinky finger so don’t put it in too big a pot. Maybe an 8” would do it to start. Use a good potting soil when you do plant. I’m no great expert, but this is what I would do. Good luck and post a photo later this summer to see how it looks.