Tiffany....Thanks..How much I wish I could live south where you are....I always wonder why the heck I was so blessed to live in the area I do when zillions of people live in all the warm spots I wish I could where I could sport t-shirts and shorts every night outside and sit along my fragrant plants! Toni....You and your soaking your plants! I give you much credit since I never do this and I thank God for some reason no critters are carried in my pots! I feel so bad for you knowing how bad your knees are and how supportive your son and husband are..right..lol I can't imagine you doing that all by yourself and in pain at the same time..At least I can minus the pain in my case. Let's hope that Praying Mantis did all the bug removel for you before you do..:-) I will spray all my plants again with Fish Emulsion and then pick and choose what gets systemics and what gets natural oils...If there are no bugs, the nothing... Stush..How have you been? So good to see you too! I have been keeping in touch with Chris these days and was thinking of you....I am hoping you and your wife are fine these days and staying nice and warm:-) Nothing of mine is inside at the moment....They enjoyed this day of over 75 and tomorrow again..Low's in the mid forties are ok just for a few nights... Hermie..Thank you...No worries...I hope your plants fared well too...Some plants just hate cold feet for sure and after growing plants for years, you begin to understand them and their dislikes well... By the way, watch for the new thread I am going to start about Pest's to benifit us all and Google if anyone should look them up! We need to help many others about the fears and worries of pests and how to deal with them in many ways....I think it will help thousands... Mike

I'm 4 days past the Mohs surgery now and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with my healing! Stitches come out on 15th, I'm sure I'll be able to make a better assessment then. The Dr removed an area about the size of a pencil eraser, much less that I was anticipating. He did need to cut a little above and below the removal area to curve the stitch line around the tip of my nose rather than a line straight down my nose which would have been more visible and perhaps causing a nostril to flare out. I have 10 teeny stitches on a still swollen nose but I'm following instructions carefully to give myself the best possible outcome. I have a Dermabrasion appointment scheduled for 2 months from now, which my DR said will help to reduce visibility of the scar. I think the worse past of the process was the lidocaine injections in the tip of my nose. That hurt like hell! Thanks so much Lynn for getting in touch with me! Sue

That photo of Tent Rocks is incredibly gorgeous. I read more about the national monument yesterday and definitely want to see it. Sable, thank you so very much for the very helpful suggestions! I hope you and your DH will be planning a return yourselves very soon. You're bringing back some memories to me now, as I do recall how beautiful the drive is into Los Alamos. I also remember how gorgeous the golden cottonwoods are in the fall. (And the rustling of the leaves! Is there a better sound than rustling, whispering cottonwood leaves? I think not.) We're going to have to rent The Milagro Beanfield War again. I know we've seen it before, but it's been a long time! I think I do remember going through Truchas at some point on a previous trip, but it's been so long since I've been out to New Mexico (and I do have "CRS Disease" - y'know, "Can't Remember Sh*t" - ) that I'm thinking much of it will feel new to me again after all this time. This itinerary is still very much a work in progress, but here's what I have so far. Would definitely like to ensure that we make the best use of our time by combining a couple of different sights per day if possible - still being mindful of the "don't overwhelm him" mantra I keep repeating in my head re DH. ;-) Day 1: Arrive late afternoon Day 2: Spend the day in Santa Fe (buy groceries for condo!) Day 3: Petroglyph National Monument Day 4: Taos: Take the high road up and make stops along the way TBD; visit pueblo (call ahead to ascertain opening hours), drive out over Rio Grande Gorge Bridge; drive back down 285 thru Ojo Caliente - possible stop at mineral springs there Day 5: Jemez Springs? Still undecided. Pretty drive, but if we do Ojo Caliente on Day 4, we won't do the mineral springs in Jemez. Could just take the drive and detour at some of the other pueblos going and returning, maybe plan to have lunch in Jemez. ETA: Would also be interested in a visit/trek to Jemez Falls and possibly exploring other trails in the area. Day 6: Los Alamos / Bandelier. We'll spend most of the day hiking in the monument. Day 7: Spend another day in Santa Fe - maybe. Might look into a half day trip in the morning, then spend the afternoon in SF and have dinner out there that evening Day 8: Tent Rocks National Monument Day 9: Head home Any recommendations/suggestions on this tentative schedule?

Nice link Bourbon! I do know about the Champaca. I've tried sprouting the seeds a few times without any luck lol. I may just order a plant. Its another one I would have to put in the greenhouse though and I am running out of room. One of the reasons I started adding more roses is to have more color in the yard during the winter months here plus I don't have to put them in the greenhouse like many of my plants. I really need to move further south! Champaca is also called The Joy Perfume Tree. Chanel no 5 is supposed to mimic the Ylang Ylang tree. I am probably gonna get shade for this but I don't really like Chanel no. 5 lol. I do like the smell of the Ylang Ylang tree. Something must get lost in the transformation to perfume. I haven't smelled the Joy perfume yet. This is a great website to search and read about tropical plants. I have only ordered seeds from here because a lot of their shipping seems high but its a good resource to read about stuff. https://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?uid=Michelia_champaca I also have a couple Michelia figo aka banana shrubs which I can leave out in the winter here. It smells just like bananas and vanilla. They aren't as widely grown in North FL and they were when I lived in Louisiana but they should be.