Well, well - hello, Louise. A pleasant surprise to see you here .... ;o) By the length of what I wrote, you can tell I'm as snowbound as you. Louise (I'll let the cat out of the bag and tell you that's her middle name, so it sounds foreign to me) and I are good friends. We've traveled together to far parts of the country, mostly in search of knowledge, but for new experiences too. We've also attended dozens & dozens of educational events together. She is (next to the 'Fred' we both mention) probably the best person I've yet met at identifying plants by name and being able to tell you what their cultural wants/needs are. I wouldn't think of going on my spring pilgrimage to Detroit to buy all my plants for the dozens of containers I put together each year as garden display plantings without her. She's a skilled plantsman & is always very eager to learn. ;o) I really intended for the thread to address keeping up with what's new, and being open to new ideas, techniques, innovations - not being stuck in the rut of being insistent that there is only one way to do something and that change is bad, but it looks like the experience:knowledge thing is winning out, so we'll go there. Louise asked: "Als friend Fred, and mine, at 94, is still learning, and hes thoroughly enjoying every moment. To me, that is poignant proof that seeking knowledge has some interesting, and beneficial, side effects. What do you think, Al?" I thought Fred was 92 and here I find he is 94. I was at his 90th b-day party, but I guess the years are passing more quickly than I realize - and women are sooo much better than I, at keeping track of important things like birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates. Why is that ......? I think that Fred has passion. He is passionate about people and he is passionate about his plants. He loves nothing more than to be among his plant friends, learning and teaching. He was the first person to actually give me any guidance in my bonsai endeavors, and the thing he told me, tried most to impress upon me, didn't sink in at first. I don't remember his exact words, some 15+ years ago, but what he told me was: if I want to be successful in growing bonsai, I MUST learn about plants. I must learn how they work and how soils work - otherwise my efforts will be, at best, only frustrating. I didn't have the sense to believe him then, so I jumped right into bonsai & soon learned he was right. It took only a few short months for experience to teach me just how much I didn't know. I could have plowed blindly ahead & depended on experience and trial & error to guide me, but I started studying, and I can say that (like Louise asked about) the side effects of what I learned have been so very beneficial. I NEVER could have come to where I am today as a plant person w/o my focus being primarily on knowledge. That doesn't mean I'm inexperienced, at all, and every day my experiences validate some piece of knowledge I already have. It's the same for you guys. You can read something in these forums that one of us has learned and all of a sudden, a light goes on, or you might retain it in your memory & a month from now, your experiences might cause you to recall what you read & you say "Oh Yeah! NOW, I get it." This is another case of experience validating knowledge. Louise & Mentha both mentioned cooking as an analogy, so let me paint a picture: Imagine two people who know nothing about cooking - no experience whatsoever. The first person (I'm going to make him a guy, because I'm the cook around here) ;o) is put in a huge kitchen with all the utensils & everything needed to create a 10 course gourmet meal including a fancy desert for Louise and Mentha. Not gonna happen - right? The second person is schooled in all the cooking techniques - knows how to make the sauces, studies presentation, knows exactly how baking powder makes the biscuits rise and how proteins in meat break down to make it tender - this person is essentially an educated idiot. So, if you put him in the same kitchen ...... It prolly STILL ain't gonna happen - right? Which will come closer to being able to present an edible meal ... The person with no experience or knowledge, or the educated idiot with no experience? Let's take it a step further. The person with no experience or knowledge is left to his own devices, but he doesn't seek knowledge beyond what he learns by his own experience. He plods through the kitchen day after day making mistake after mistake ruining meal after meal and having failure after failure, until after a lifetime of trying he might have figured out how to make a presentable gourmet meal. Back to the educated idiot now .... ;o) He keeps studying & studying - learning fresh, new things & techniques. His first meal was a dismal failure, but a week later, he makes a meal that's pretty good. A year later, he is still studying and making fancy dinners with wonderful presentations. 5 years later he's a chef at a fancy restaurant. 10 years later, he has his own cooking school and is teaching other chefs what he's learned so they can benefit from his knowledge and experience. Why is this? His meager, but growing experience is validating time after time what he already knows and he has eliminated 90% of the trial and error mistakes the other cook depends on almost exclusively for knowledge. Where is the cook who embraces nothing new & refuses to learn? Still stuck in a rut, plodding along and unable to even make proper sense of the results of his actions or what he observes in the kitchen. I could easily have made the analogy about greenhouse operators or hobby growers like us, but as a friend is fond of saying, "We work with what we have." and a cook is what I was given. ;o) Al

Good morning all... I got the snafu cleared up with the checks, except I have not contacted Checks Unlimited yet. The customer service lady was very apologetic. Naturally it was not the store's mistake...it was only the check printing company who was at fault. Whoohoo! I have a new perm! I feel like a new person. :-) I enjoy visiting with my hairdresser as much as I enjoy getting a perm. We have so much in common, and talk non stop. She came up with a lot of good information for what I need, with my remoteness and my ailing DH. Her mother had lived with her the past several years, and passed away recently, at 91. One of her suggestions is that I get a Tracfone with prepaid hours, for emergency calls, espacially, both at home and on the road.I plan on checking on that. She admonished me to NOT get on a chair when doing things like the chandelier job, and told me of a neat stepladder that Walmart sells. ( I told her I had stood on a chair for that job.) You gals are all great inablers. and so is she. :-) I took my camera on my trip out, and got more pics of the devestation along the roads and in town. It continues to boggle my mind. I stopped at the One Stop on the way home. One of the local First Responders was there. She pointed out how much worse the fire hazard will be in the woods this year, due to all the downed limbs and trees. As you all know, our home is surrounded by woods! Nothing gives me a greater fear than a wild fire coming through our place. The predicted rain is beginning. There is the possibility of severe weather....hail and tornados! Just what we need! I got more yard work done yesterday afternoon. More limbs put on piles, and some clean-up in both front and back beds. How I hope my strength improves. The pain and fatigue are overwhelming when I try to do such jobs. I feel so sorry for Michelle, and all others who suffer from chronic pain. Only those who do so can understand what it is like. And the sad thing is...the difficulty definitely increases as one ages. 20 years ago I was doing many of the same things that you all are doing now. I scoffed at the older ladies who kept saying..."Wait until you are my age". Of course, having Fibromyalgia, and arthritis at a fairly young age puts one in a differant category than those who have not had such conditions. Honey, I can understand the job at the florist saving your sanity. When I first got on line it was a 'life saver' for me. Being a member of the Idylls was an added help. then when I goofed up here, the other forum that I was posting on was my mind-saver. I fulfilled my needs there, and am very seldom posting there anymore. My mental and physical setbacks are a constant condition that I struggle with. Having a deteriorating Dh adds to the struggle. I feel as though I am at a higher plateau this year, but who knows when I will plunge again? As I said, I work at it constantly, and I have lots of help...some of which is at a much higher plane. :-) The story of the kitten and the mama cat is very heartwarming. It sounds very much like something both Nolon and Tim would do. I am happy that anothr kind soul took them in. I am not able to do the heavy labor that you spoke of , Honey. I once could, but no more....But I do understand how helpful it can be. My finaces prevent me from getting outside help. My houseplants are an aid to my 'therapy', but they are such a drawback when and if I want to go somewhere for a few days. Even if it was not for staying with Nolon, I would have the plants and the cats to be responsible for. Neighbors would willingly tend to the cats, but I would not,could not, expect them to tend to 100 or so potted plants.:-( I appreciate your kind words, Honey. And the kind words of others also. They help sustain me. V, you have a very intriguing house. I love the pics of the stairway.And the paint color is lovely. Michelle, I hope you can keep your vow towards your place. I certainly did not foresee what all has befell both our house, and ourselves. Having sufficient finances to hire help would make a huge differance also. I never realized how badly a house can deteriorate over the years. I had never lived in one this long before. I can certainly understand the condition of your parent's house. I am sure they did not blindly allow it to get in such a condition. Saucy, I will pass on the rats. Our cats are more than I need to maintain. :-) I am afrad the rats rather creep me out! Eden, I love the story about Bella's dream. What a great tribute to her grandmother. Wow, Kathy! You are catching up on the rainfall aren't you. That is great. I am afraid painting is not the solution to our house's needs. There are too many repairs that need done first. About the only things in the interior that could be painted without major repair first is the woodwork and the kitchen cabinets and cupboards. If they were refinished it would perk things up a lot.The cabinet and cupboards need hingework, but otherwise good enameling would really help. Norma, sorry about your friends RA. I know that is a devestating condition, but varies with it's intensity. It was first thought that I had that, but ruled out when I was not showing the conditions that go with it. Your take on Michelle's parents home is similar with mine, and your DH shares Nolon's lack of interest. Of course, now he is unable to do a lot of the things that he once could. Mary, I am so happy that David's activities are looking up. I can hardly imagine what a relief getting back to a more normal day is to you both. And it is great that Annie had such a nice visit at her aunts. I hope the nerve pain is soon gone. There is no worse pain than nerve pain. Marie, you had such a handsome family! How good that the photogapher had the children smiling. All of the old pics of my relatives are so solemn looking. I am not as good at detecting resemblances as many of you are. I do not see my parents in any of my siblings or myself. My brother comes the nearest. He looks guite a bit lok our dad. If he were dressed the same, the resemblance would be more noticable. We do not have the crossbills here. They are farther north, even in the winter. The main bird of that coloring that we have is the purple finches, and they have been rather scarce the past few years. Honey, your check experience was lots more humiliating than mine! I probably would have never returned to that store. Since I have I new hairdo, the folks in that store will not associate the new me with the earlier snafu. :-) Marian

We had a situation with a similar set-up in the big city near where I live a few years ago. It was hard, given the kind of publicity the fellow got, to hear both sides of the story. The man loved his dogs, and they got plenty of exercise. I saw them around town a couple times a week, and they were consistantly healthy. He may have spoken sternly to them from time to time, but didn't physically discipline them. But there were two side to the story. He had a whole pack of dogs and didn't control them especially well. One ran out in the road and was injured by a car. It was only then that the powers that be decided to remove the dogs from his control. Although the dog survived (lucky dog) and no people were hurt, dogs running into the road in a city are just more accidents waiting to happen. One thing that many people chose to ignore, too, was that this was not the first time the dogs had been a nuisance. They overwhelmed little children carrying treats on the sidewalks. They blocked the sidewalks. The dog owner did not always pick up the waste, as city ordinance requires. He was an intelligent man, quite willing to live his life outside the normal expectations of society. And quite adept at portraying his lifestyle as a free-spirited, romantic one. The dogs were well cared for, but they were a nuisance. With our humane society, it's like pulling teeth to get them to take action. I wonder if there was other, less romantic, more practical reasons the animal was taken away.

"If they get approved for the loan those far more educated and experienced in evaluating finances will have made the decision." The problem with those far more educated and experienced... is that the risks to them are spread out and will likely have little impact on their day to day lives. The person who locks themselves into a loan (or situation) that they cannot handle, is likely to suffer much more. I agree that a 50% down payment is wonderful and if you were talking about somebody who knew what they wanted out of life and had demonstrated the means of getting it, the risk would be lessened. However, somebody who is still in the midst of trying to figure things out and whose income potential is limited, even a 50% down payment is not optimal.