Well, I guess itÂs a week of birthdaysÂwow! Trying to remember if Babs has been here since I arrived but drawing a blank. Maybe sheÂll drop in to say hi on her birthday. I do not have that much spring color yet; hoping the shrubs pop after this rain to brighten things up. Cyn, I canÂt believe youÂre going to reach 90 today! My neighborÂs violets are spreading into our yard. ItÂs not that I hate them, itÂs more that I hate not having a choice about getting them, lol. Trip to one nursery was a bit disappointing. They have a display of plants they grow in their greenhouse so everything is still young. More variety will be offered when shipments come in and I realize itÂs still very early in the season. Thought youÂd want to know that I bought a new pair of rockers in honor of all your birthdays! (snicker) They are sooo comfortable, Drema, that toe knuckle doesnÂt even have to bend! Supposed to help tone your calves and bum, too, but they just feel great. DD loves hers and suggested I might like them. No problem getting used to the curved sole either, I put them on and wore them home. Just noticed I was so anxious to start walking I forgot to lace the top eyelet! HereÂs a pic standing in the garage doing a contortion act so you can see the side sole. Must start thinking about dinnerÂpossibly meatloaf and scalloped potatoes. DH wonÂt get home until later this evening so itÂs my turn to cook. Anything I donÂt have to stand at the stove gets my vote. Hey, Chelone!...waving you back here :-)

I am SORE - spent 2-1/2 hours bent over, yanking the dreaded oxalis pes-caprae (Bermuda Buttercup) weed out wherever I could reach. It's times like this I can't imagine having to take care of something bigger than our 1/6 of an acre. How do people do it? Maybe they hire help, I can't imagine being able to do it all by oneself (as I do). The weeds will come back, of course, so I'll need to do another round in a month or so. Yes, definitely time to bait again with Sluggo, too! The bearded iris have been blooming for over a month, and the white callas are finally starting to bloom too. They are one of my favorite pairings. And the freesias and ranunculus are putting up buds, all ready to bloom soon. I can hardly wait - I love those two bulbs. I never used to like ranunculus, but the new Bloomingdale hybrids totally won me over. And who can resist the sweet perfume of freesias? This was a bouquet from last spring - I meant to cut some callas and iris today, but was just too tired after all that work!

Thanks Kathy - I especially appreciate your comment - as you give me such joy with pics in Fall and Winter!!! The country-side right now an explosion of flowers.....trees are about to bust with green. I am so in tune with these things. Spring is not a symphony, it is a cachaphony. Cheers, Nancy.

Greetings from WARM up north! today we are expecting a high of 20 - or 68 degrees, don't you just hate metric, yesterday when i was in a&p i got lunch meat and it went like this 5 slices of cdn swiss cheese, 1.50 shaved cooked ham, 3.00 of oven roast turkey breast and 1.00 of 3 other lunch meats! - kid looked at me and i said hey, i'm too old for this metric stuff. anyways i talked to sandra and cheryl (my friend) for about 10 minutes she's doing fine and looks great as always, here me with greasy hair in a pony. i actually have started a new quilt, guess i'm out of my funk but i'm so tired all the time. and i'm glad this is our long weekend and since dd is trilled about this new computer i don't think she'll be wanting to go out anywhere. i have a ton of veg. seeds and flower seeds and since this is the weekend to plant i don't really know if i should because of the cold weather funny how things work out -- may long weekend - plant seeds, and you can't wear white shoes or purses before then, who made that rule i wonder. love the new computer, the screen is huge - 17 inch, dd is going to show me how to use msn or whatever, so maybe we can chat live, i'll let you know if i'm a good student. (oh, radio just said it was 11 out - 52 degrees). baby Matthew will be 22 on Monday - can't believe it, where did the time go? if i could have done anything different raising him, i don't think i'd change anything, well maybe, i just wish he'd learn to drive! i will admit I THINK WE have great kids, oh well i won't get sappy now. al has had 2 pains in his shoulder and has had 3 sprays of nitro already today, i'm hoping it's the weather, but last night he had trouble getting up from a laying position and we had to help him get up, so i think i better stay close to him today. dd is skipping last period of school this afternoon - i know because i'm picking her up, she says the classes are getting smaller and smaller each day, i guess the kids know they won't be passing so why bother going, one class only had 5 in it yesterday. well it's time to give insulin, if you're going out there and it's your long weekend too, please, please drive carefully! debbie