shabbybeach...here's some I found browsing online. The ** are my favs for you...being a singer and all ...since you sing while you garden! Your porch is so beautiful and if the rain barrel is at the front of your home, then I assume it will be at a porch corner. I like the elegance of your wicker furniture & your lovely purple hanging plants... I hope you can tie those items into the painting (or whatever you decide to do) on the rain barrel. This is on my DH & I "to-do list" yet this summer...we also have a clear white barrel. Have fun! --------------------------------------------- Don't empty the water jar until the rain falls. - Philippine proverb The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. American Indian Proverb **Let the rain sing you a lullaby. Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water. - Sweedish proverb Falling on the dusty path-- summer rain. - Mike Garofalo, Cuttings **God made rainy days, so gardeners could get the housework done. Author unknown **I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again. - Arthur Freed What runs but never gets tired? Water Have you watched the fairies when the rain is done, Spreading out their little wings to dry them in the sun? - Rose Fyleman --------------------------------------------------- Or, shabbybeach, you could use children's rhymes like: It's raining; it's pouring. The old man is snoring. He went to bed and bumped his head, And he wouldn't get up in the morning.[1] I hear Thunder, I hear Thunder, Oh donÂt you ? Oh, donÂt you ? Pitter-patter raindrops, Pitter-Patter raindrops IÂm wet through, IÂm wet through. Or if you like "spiders," there's: The eensy weensy spider Crawled up the water spout Down came the rain And washed the spider out Out came the sun and dried up all the rain And the eensy weensy spider Crawled up the spout again. OMgosh, I better quit...my retired Youth Librarian Asst. job is showing! But I can see your little GD would love doing finger rhymes while playing on your porch! Jeanne S.

We recently had an invite to a party that read "the courtesy of a reply would be greatly appreciated" along with the phone number. It was for our niece's 21st, I didn't ring because we had told both my BIL and SIL on different occasions that we were coming. My husband told me a few days before the party that most of the family members invited had not replied at all. This was for a catered sit-down meal that had to have definite numbers ahead of time.

Hey, thanks for all of your fast feedback - it's fun to wake up and find postings waiting! Okay, "Honey, stop the car" is out. I have never seen a sign like that used before and thought it was amusing, but can see how it could get on someone's nerves. I hate cutesy realtor-speak as well. I specifically do NOT want to announce my bed/bath count right off the bat. We have a 3/1.5 which isn't unusual for our area. However, we had two couples that were very interested, yet ultimatley decided they wanted two full baths. No one is going to want this house because of it's bathroom count or three ordinary bedrooms. Why will they want it? Because of the wonderful floor plan and our family room addition (we added on a beautifully designed FR with loads of windows, skylights, FP, built-ins). Because of the 1st floor laundry or large eat-in kitchen (both are unusual around here). Because everything expensive has been replaced or updated recently - roof, windows, furnace, a/c, hwh, electrical, new paver patio, new landscaping, garage door & opener, fence. The baths are new. The kitchen cabinets are 15 years old and everything else was updated when we did the additon. I feel the kitchen is in a good place in that you could rip it out without feeling guilty, but it isn't so old and ugly that it would be painful to live with if you had to keep it. How do I say that on a sign - LOL! Back to wording... you all have convinced me to drop "maintenance free". I was trying to convey the idea that everything has been updated, and "Updated throughout" is probably better, non? I'll probably go with "open floor plan", simply because "great floor plan" sounds like there isn't anything else positive to say! BTW, this is a 50s ranch, so there were no wonderful architectural details to preserve and the renovation really does fit the flavor of the house. We were very conscious of that going into our project and hired an architect to make sure it was done right. Of course we will have an info box with the sign, as we have had the entire time. I played around with the sign and could put another line of info on there, so it would read... for sale 1900 square feet open floor plan updated throughout 555-5555 www.blahblah.com Any thoughts? Nicole

there are a lot of little ones who don't/won't start talking until they are older. My nephew was one! Nothing wrong with him, just two lots older sisters who said everything for him, (and with those two, getting in a word of your own can be a challeng!), and he wasn't ready yet. When the child is ready, he'll start talking and you won't get him to shut up! The reasoning behind teaching an infant to sign, is that the "terrible two's" aren't as bad, because they don't get frustrated because they can't communicate since they can usually get their point across by sign. Dilly_dally, LOL! At least you must not have told them you were pleased to meet them improperly, then! The direction you are holding your fingers can make all the difference! That was explained with the above example, very emphatically by my instructor at the time. As the friend of a deaf person, you have my thanks for your efforts in making it easier for your customers. I'm sure it was appreciated. My DD is a photographer who has several deaf customers. She doesn't remember much of the signs themselves that I had taught her, but she finger spells a lot! If she couldn't remember, or didn't know, a sign, she finger spelled everything for them that she needed to. They were repeat customers for that very reason. Firemanswife, You are great! And what an accomplishment for your. You had great doctors. My friend, Gale, has/had an implant. She still did more lip reading than hearing, last I talked to her. Unfortunately for her, she had severe back problems and had to have surgery. Every time they had to do an MRI, they had to remove the implant and she would get an infection. And when she had surgery, of course the implant wasn't in because of the infection, and the nurses ignored her when she needed help, because they couldn't just answer the bell over the intercom. I don't know if she still has the implant or not. The only contact I have with her right now is thru email. Please ignore any typos. I am typing on a rubber keyboard and think I have typed a letter or made an upper case, or space and it didn't type! Tami