Holy smokes, Jess, I'm glad I checked in again. You look like a little garden gnome among the giant plants. Looks like you will be all set for Halloween. I will have to post a picture of my one and only tomato plant. Poor thing. It has three tomatoes on it. One the size of a marble and two ping pong balls.

Aww shucks!! Thanks for all the good wishes! Adopted, you have *no* idea. Some of the details I left out were as follows: -The first time I ever walked onto that property (more than 2 years ago), I "felt" as if it were mine. I even called my DH and told him that I thought we should look at this house, because it feels like ours. To my utter shock, he came over and said the same thing. -After talking ourselves out of/back into the house, we go see it again. (This time, I was the realtor.) I get that same feeling again. -We put the offer on it last summer. I tell my DH that I "know this first offer won't go through, but I feel like we're supposed to make it anyway. I know they won't take it, but I feel like we'll come to better terms later." I tell everyone I know the same thing. When the deal didn't work out, I wasn't all that disappointed. -When trying to work out the contract, the sellers tell me that there are 2 other couples that have made offers. I "know" immediately that they won't work out. I tell DH that I normally would be worried, but I'm not, because I just know it's our house. Weird, huh?? And Snookums, I will be posted ad infinitum on the pool forum....the pool area of the new house is a disaster!!! Again, good bones, but needs *so* much work. Wheeee!!!

A shallow grave was not uncommon when hand dug by one individual on private property, especially in winter. Vaults were not common either. There are cemeteries in southern Illinois containing graves without vaults. Sometimes this is evidenced by a significant depression over the grave. For example, I had a grade school friend who was hired to mow a cemetery one summer in the 1940s. He was merrily making his way across the landscape with the mower when he and the mower sunk into a grave. Now, this young man was on the superstitious side and he thought for sure that the dead was about to grab him. He scrambled from the hole and ran from the cemetery. It is only in the last 60 years that some of these communities have passsed ordinances requiring burial vaults. Before that, it was the family's choice. A number of families short of funds buried without vaults; Some did it for personal belief reasons: There is a passage in the bible when paraphrased reads: You are made from dust and to dust you shall return. The reasoning is: Why prolong something that is going to happen anyway. Without vaults, wood caskets eventually decay and collaspe. Sometimes, a collasped grave makes a void under the surface and is not apparent until someone steps on it. It is dangerous to the grounds keeper and to anyone strolling the cmemtery. A vault requirement has become commonplace to protect from this hazard. Your theory of murder of Dear Addy is very plausible, but consider other possibilities: 1. Addy keeled over from heart attack. The shocked husband did not know what to do and buried her just as she fell. He surmised that he would be under suspicion. She would have been fully clothed and with shoes. Embalming is not necessary if the body is buried within 3 days after death. In early America, embalming was a luxury and not commonly done. It became popular during the Civil War because it was necessary to preserve the body for a week or more to allow time to ship the body and for relatives to gather for the funeral. Many soldiers were buried on or neaby the battlefield where they fell - some in mass graves. These bodies were not emblamed. 2. Addy died by an accident. 3. Addy committed suicide. Such an event would have been hush-hush. The 6 yr old: I know it was possible to put a 6 yr old on the train and semd her from Denver to Chicago. I myself would have not done this. I would have required an adult escort. I guessing she was put in charge of the Conductor who would have seen to it that she got off at the right stop and to answer her questions. Passenger service was much more personal in those days. But if i had been that little girl, I'd been very afraid. I would not have sent her alone on such a trip. There are too many things that could go wrong. Maybe her birthdate is in error and she was older than 6. An Aside: In my family search, I found an ancestor who died during a harsh winter. The ground was frozen deeply and the cemetery crew was not able to dig a proper grave on time. (They did not have bull dozers, back hoes, or nimble tractors back then. In frozen ground, graves were dug by pick and shovel.) A wake and funeral was celebrated on scheduled. The casket and body was put outside to freeze. The "stiff" was left frozen until the grave could be deepened. He was interred about 2 weeks after the funeral.

DG, that is hilarious! I have done stuff exactly that dumb and more that's even dumber. Isn't that feeling weird, though, when it washes over you and you realize what you just did? It's almost like you want to dart your eyes and look around real quick to see if anyone else saw you. I hope your plant - or it's little brother - comes back. Carol