Awesome plants, all - wish I could have been there. Denise, it's also named Deuterocohnia. Quincy Jones once wrote a song about it. Well, he really wrote 'The Dude' but he meant The Deut. Please read the following and see if you find any disagreement with my statement. ______________________________________________ Who is it That walks the street with all the action? (It's the Dude) Who is it That always gets a hot reaction? (That's the Dude) VERSE 1 Don'tcha' go makin' no mojo moves 'Round the Dude (Don't try no funny bizness.) Don'tcha'you be coppin' no attitude With the Dude (Hey, hey here comes the Dude) THE DUDE SPEAKS Hey everybody in the neighborhood, The beauty's on duty, better hear me good. Sister e-flat tomato, brother b- flat balloon, Somethin' funky's goin' down better listen to my tune. I graduated from the college of the street, I got a Ph..D. In how to make ends meet. Inflation in the nation don't bother me, 'Cause I'm a scholar with the dollar You can plainly see. BRIDGE He's a winner 'cause it's in his blood. Ain't nobody who's out there like him. Any corner in the neighborhood, That's the place that you'll always find him. Soft talkin' with a rap so sweet, (He does it good) Ladies call him the candy rapper. (They want his love) He's the only one that's really cool (He's really cool) That's the reason why he's the Dude. CHORUS Who is it That ain't got time for foolish talkin''? (it's the Dude) Who is it That looks so clean you can't ignore him? (That's the dude) VERSE 2 Don'tcha go mess with His walkin' stick--not the dude (Don't try no funny bizness) Don't you double-cross him He's super slick--he's the dude (Hey, hey here come the dude) THE DUDE SPEAKS AGAIN I'm a stone cold taker, I'm a piggy bank shaker, An' I don't waste my time talkin' trash. So if you go to my school, You gotta learn this rule-- Don't let your mouth write a check That your body can't cash If you never had it, Don't pay it no mind. I know you're gonna get it, If you take a little time. Take a piece from the east, A piece from the west Put it where it feels good-- Let the Dude do the rest CHANT See him steppin' down the street No forgettin', he's the Dude. See him steppin' down the street Don't forget it he's the Dude ______________________________________________ Here is a link that might be useful: It's the Deut!

Carol, It is true that it never ends. I think my poor non-gardening husband thought for a long time that at some point we'd get to that point where all we do is just plant and harvest. Ha! The list of things I want/need/must have is long and I normally am not someone who wants a lot of stuff....unless it is gardening or cooking related. I'm low maintenance too. Tennis shoes, blue jeans, tee shirts, hats and gardening gloves. Well, and seeds and stuff. You know what I mean.... Tim does laugh at me, but he too buys me what I 'need', and even those things I 'want'. He even listens to me talking ad nauseum about gardening even though his gardening involvement tends to be limited to (a) rototilling soil to make new beds and such, (b) pounding 6' and 8' metal fence posts into the ground for me, since I'm only 5'3", (c) lifting heavy stuff like hay bales and bags of mulch, (d) eating the harvest. I have a long list of wants including a greenhouse, a high tunnel, a cold frame, a hoophouse and cattle panel arches to grow things on. I really, really want a real root cellar, but don't know if that will happen unless we win the lottery (and we don't even play the lottery). I'd be really low maintenance if it wasn't for the gardening addiction. George, I really like the way you have your seed beans on an easily distinguishable support so nobody gets confused. It is good you're seeing some rebound with the bean plants. Now if only the warm mild weather lasts a long time before cooling down! Glenda, I overwinter a lot of plants in the garage because it is very well insulated and we are zone 7b. Last year (admittedly a warm winter here with only a few nights in the mid- to upper-teens) I overwintered my brugs in pots and had blooms all winter, but had to drag them outside every morning and inside every night. I normally start seedlings inside on a homemade light shelf in the guest room. (The guest room really doesn't have any room for a guest!) It is upstairs though, and when I start carrying them outside to harden off, that's a lot of trips up and down the stairs. I also have a screened-in porch on the west side of the house. It has two real walls and two half real-walls with the top half of those walls being window screens. We cover the screens with greenhouse plastic in the winter and it is great during the day but cools off too much at night. If we ever take out the screened portion and put in real windows and turn it into a sunroom, it'd be a great place to raise seedlings in winter. I've always wanted a hoophouse, but your comment that they don't hold heat backs up what I always "knew in my gut". That's why I haven't got a hoophouse already....I felt like it wouldn't hold heat very well. I have built temporary hoophouses using PVC pipe and 6 mm clear plastic to use as a season extender in early spring when a severe late cold spell threatened after plants were already transplanted into the ground OR in the fall to get past the first freeze and then have several weeks of Indian Summer left for growing. Ilene, I need a book like that. : ) I don't know when we'll get around to building one, but one of these days we will. Before Tim joined the local volunteer fire dept. in 2004, we had all the time in the world to work on projects like that in the winter. Since then, not so much. He loves the fire dept. though, so I can't complain about the 'to do' list that he never quite gets around to doing. Jay, It is all your fault. All of it. Cease and desist from posting photos of your cold frame and then I won't want one so much. : ) Of course, after you build your high tunnel or greenhouse (or both!) you must post photos of that. It'll give me one more thing to nag Tim about. Dawn

QUOTE "I live in a rural area with no codes." Unless you live in the state of Montana that statement is untrue. While there are many regions that have no local codes or code enforcements such as permits and code inspections, that does not mean to imply that there are no codes. Legally it comes down to the AHJ (authority having jurisdiction). If your community has not adopted a code the AHJ is then the county, and in those instances where the county has not adopted a code the AHJ is then the state, with the singular exception of the state of Montana, which has no codes. While I am sure someone can find the exception that proves the rule, generally for electrical the AHJ's have adopted the NEC (National Electrical Code), but be careful here. In the NEC it will often list a rule with a number of options. Generally even though the local code is based upon the NEC the state or local code will define which of those options is to be used in your region and in some instances the local code will have requirements above and beyond the basics listed in the NEC. Now you may take the argument that you have no local code or code enforcement, therefore you are not overly concerned with code requirements but that may come home to haunt you later. By example; In some rural areas in the state of Ohio the only permit and inspection required for a single family residential structure is to install a septic tank. Given that they are lacking any form of permits or inspections many home owner/builders and sadly far too many fly by night wannabee contractors are simply using whatever spit & glue technique that seems to suit their level of ambition or budget, but then, with no inspector who is to know how you built the house? Who cares if you have 2x4 floor joists so long as you have genuine Italian marble counter tops? It's only those parts that we can see that really matter anyway, right? WRONG; This attitude has gotten so far out of hand that the courts are overwhelmed with liability suites and insurance rates have skyrocketed. My sister is a real estate agent in Ohio and she told me that since the bank shakeup many banks simply refuse to issue a mortgage on any structure that has not passed a code inspection. She then showed me a list of over 500 homes in here county alone that must be listed as "Cash Only-NO Mortgage due to non-compliance" In addition, many insurance companies have hired their own inspectors and sent out notices that they will not renew a homeowners policy until the structure passes a code inspection. Just two years ago I had to completely re-plumb my Mothers house so she could renew her homeowners insurance. Just over the line in Mercer County Pennsylvania the lack of code enforcement became such an issue that they passed a law requiring all landlords to be registered with the county and all rental properties in Mercer County must be code inspected once a year. If it doesn't pass code you may not offer it as a rental space until it is upgraded to code standard.

Yes, beache, he'll be using it to "crash" here on many nights. My DS tried it out last night and said it's *really* comfortable. He hates my decorating style, but said he likes this couch b/c it's so comfortable. Just for grins, here are some pics I took of some of their other sofas. I would have taken home any one of these in a heartbeat. They are so my style. Mixed fabrics, leather, fringe, etc. They are waaaaay out of my price range, though. They start at around $4500 and go up to around $9500. And these were in the scratch and dent room!! Fabric/leather couch. The seating cushions are reversible from fabric to leather. It was probably the most comfortable couch I've ever sat upon. Leather/fabric chaise lounge: DH especially recoiled at the site of this one. I believe it was here that he commented about schizophrenic furniture designers. I love it though. One day I may be able to do something like that!