Patrick, What a wonderful gift to your mother and sister, and loving tribute to your late dad! It's one thing to dream up a grand project like that, and quite another to labour at it month after month, as you have done. And you have such good taste! Your lyrical descriptions have sustained me while waiting for my first Molineux buds to open, and I have saved for reference your treatise on fragrant roses. You are so right about The McCartney Rose, it's a monster! I hope you will not regard it as bad etiquette to add pictures to your post, but I would like to dedicate these photos of McCartney to your huge heart and enterprise. This plant has been in the ground since 2005, I can't imagine what your mum's bush was like! And a close-up of those amazing blooms: I would love to see what you have done there and also with your own garden creation. Do hurry up and post pictures! MayBee

Thanks for the input everyone! I went out this week and test drove a number of cars, but I'm going to wait until the 2009 Honda Fit and Civic come out in September before I make my decision. As of now, here are my impressions: the Prius, I saw one but could not test drive one. The one I saw was being reconditioned to sell as certified used. If I want a new one, it could take 6 to 7 Months! Some parts come from China so production has been at a standstill since the earthquake. I won't be buying one anyway. The controls look like a rocket ship, and although the visibility from the front and sides are fabulous, it is almost impossible to see out the rear window. I'm sure my height does not help. I test drove the Matrix while I was there but I did not like it. The steering was not as responsive as on our Hondas, and the ride was rough. Next I tried out the Pontiac Vibe. I did like it a lot; it is very comparable to the CR-V but less expensive. It is a bit bigger than I wanted though. I drove the 2008 Fit (which I reaaally wanted to love) and although the steering was responsive, the ride was rough and the road noise was awful. The seat height can not be adjusted and I felt like I was sitting in a hole, I could barely see over the dash! It also looked like the interior was made of cheap plastic, I expected better after driving around in our CR-Vs. They are supposed to be fixing these issues on the 2009 model so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I also tried the Civic Sedan while at the Honda dealer, I really liked it. The ride was smooth, the steering responsive, the blind spots were minimal, it was very nice. When the 2009s come out I might try the coupe out. Unfortunately the hybrid version has a smaller trunk because of the battery. Next I test drove the MINI Cooper Clubman. Boy was that fun! I loved driving it around! Unfortunately it is not very practical here in Illinois as a main car. The first time it snowed I would be plowed in! It is really low to the ground. The last car I tried was the Scion xD. I really liked it! It was exactly what I was hoping the Fit would be (and almost exactly the same size). So now I have to wait until mid Sept. for the new Hondas to come out and I can make my decision and order my car. Depending on the dealer they said between 4 and 8 weeks for delivery (other than the Prius). If anyone else has a suggestion I will look into it. I do prefer a wagon over a car since I do haul stuff sometimes (furniture, wood, etc...). I agree about never buying a silver car again! We have a Silver CR-V and a mist blue (almost a silvery blue) CR-V. Where ever I park there are always several identical CR-Vs! I'm thinking of getting red or blue. There are not that many cars in our area in those colors. At least 75% of the cars in our area are silver, gray, white or black. Joanne

68 Bridgestone Dual Twin 175 (Original thighmaster) 72 Kawasaki 500 Mach III (The Widowmaker) 73 Honda CB500E 78 Kawasaki KE100 83 Yamaha YZ125 83 Yamaha YZ490 (The Boat) 84 Yamaha FJ600 85 Yamaha YZ250 The original thighmaster -- named such as it had a rotary 5 speed transmission. The engineers thought it would be a good idea coming off the highway on short ramps to not have to downshift through all those cogs, but rather upshift once more and volia you are back in first. This works great until you forget what gear you are in and grab 1st at 50mph. More than your thighs flex when that happens. The widowmaker put down nearly 60hp but handled like a chipmunk on crack being chased by a broom. Scary bike. The boat -- aptly named as the best 2 days of this bikes existance was the day I bought it and the day I sold it.

"Unfortunately, the system encourages hostility/resentment by those who feel they are due more, as the OP, and those who feel they are charged with paying too much, likely as the OP's ex" Here's the problem, in my situation: BD has no idea what the costs of raising a child are. Nor does he care. When we were married, we started off with a joint checking account. He didn't like that because he didn't want me spending HIS money (although it really is OUR money). So he decided to divide up the bills. He paid house, car and groceries. I paid all other bills including ALL expenses for our DS. If I ever ran short, I would just ask him to pay or buy whatever the difference was. He liked that better because he had control over his money. But what happened is that he got a very skewed version of what our household costs were. So now, he doesn't see the CS as support for his son. He sees the CS as the Ashley bill; much like the electric bill or the water bill. He flat told me this "You know, now that child support is raised I don't have to help you with sports costs anymore". I said "whatever". So he thinks that his $90 a year he paid in sports costs made up for his not paying the correct amount of support for 4 years. I'm not hostile at all. And the "system" didn't cause my resentment. I was resentful before the "system" was ever involved. It has always been his view that I take care of all DS's expenses. The difference before was that he was paying for food, shelter and transportation. Have you ever been so broke that you had to sit down with your bills and figure out which ones are urgent to pay and which ones can be put off until next month? I have. Well, BD does that with the Ashley bill. When he's broke or out of work (like right now) or moving or whataever, he decides that the Ashley bill can be put off until next month. Because he doesn't see it as supporting for his son. So he missed his May payment. By that time, he had been out of work for 3 months. I was actually very impressed that May was the first payment he had fully missed. He had only paid partial in March. So, I called the AG and asked about the procedures when a person loses their job. Basically, they don't garnish unemployment until a payment is missed. Okay, that's cool. But they also don't charge interest until a full month's payment is missed. So, basically, if he makes his June payment on time, there are no penalties. That makes no sense. So it's as if he never missed May's payment at all. I'm not out for penalizing him, but where is the incentive to make the payment ontime? I bet he makes his credit card bills ontime. BTW, gini, thank you for correcting my mistake on the calculations. I knew that was the right way to do it, but I was trying to get a quick number and figured it up that way.