Hi Stephanie, I am so very sorry for your loss and I feel the pain you and your family are going through. I have been there before with a special feline friend that I had for 13 years and it is painful. Currently, I have been blessed with a very special, extraordinary canine family member that I love beyond words. I have had him for 5 years now and he is my best friend and brings me enormous joy. The thought of his passing makes my heart hurt and brings tears to my eyes. I am certain the reality will be completely devastating. Your story made my eyes water. Again, heartfelt sympathy for your loss. The memorial is a wonderful idea...for many reasons !!! I do agree with Barb...don't be in too much of a hurry to get it done NOW. I am also somewhat of a novice, which is how I came across this forum yesterday. RESEARCH is the key to success !!! There are so many factors involved and if you don't do the "homework" chances are good that many of your efforts, not to mention the cost will be in vain. There is alot of information to be had here and I am sure you will get some valuable advice and suggestions. In addition, check the web. Just search for EXACTLY what you are looking for and presto, there it will be...eventually. Ha-Ha!!! A suggestion for you that I found extremely helpful, check out the Texas Cooperative Extension (through A&M) for your area. I can't send you a link, because mine is for Bexar county. There I found everything I wanted to know and then some (finally). Size, color, planting instructions, pests and disease, drought and freeze tolerance, growth habits and pictures too !!! I printed out a page that gave me 30 choices(customized) of flower with all of the pertinent info. included...PRICELESS !!! A few years ago I planted a LOVELY garden in my front courtyard. LONG story short, a lot of thought went into this masterpiece of mine. Trouble was that I was going for the VISUAL. Let me just say that it wasn't nearly enough and the longevity wasn't there and yes, I did use all perrenials !!! So that this loving tribute will last for years to come....do your homework. It will take some time, so be patient. It is spring,I am in a beautiful new home(blank canvas)I want to plant NOW. I learned my lesson the hard way, so now, I am INDOORS doing my homework !!!! Your motivation for your garden is much more important than just wanting to see the pretty flowers, so take your time. That in itself can be a form of tribute too, not to mention therapeutic!!!! Good luck and give updates !!!

I read this list a few years ago....it always makes me laugh. A real one that I was involved in. Had a very early stopover in Chicago years ago....two friends and I were in an almost deserted terminal, when an older woman came up to us almost in tears. She said she couldn't find the gate for her flight to Cincinnati... that the gate where she was sent was for a flight to Covington, Ky. We told her that the Cincinnati airport WAS in that city, she agreed that the airline had told her the same thing....but she insisted that everyone else was mixed up - that she KNEW Cincinnati was in OHIO!

I have been working on my pie crusts for years now and I think I'm finally starting to get fairly consistent good results. I went through a phase, a few years ago, where my crusts were embarrassingly tough. Fortunately, I seem to have worked my way out of that phase and my crusts are now usually tender and flaky. I use the Crisco recipe. I measure out the flour and Crisco (and the bit of salt) into a bowl and then put that in the freezer for 30 min before cutting in the Crisco with a device that I believe is called a pastry blender (but which has always been called a "pie crust maker" in my family). Then, I gently mix in ice water, a tbsp at a time, with a fork. When it looks like there's enough water that things will hold together (probably less wet than you'd expect...just wet enough to hold things together), I gently form a ball (minimal handling), just gathering most of the bits together into my hands and pressing gently together. Then, I wrap the ball tightly with saran wrap, gently squishing it into disc shape during the wrapping process. I put my crusts into the refrigerator to rest, usually overnight. I've come to believe that resting them in the refrigerator is absolutely crucial. After they've rested, I gently roll them out, lightly flouring things as needed to prevent sticking. Most of my pie crusts are turning out fairly well now. Before I started resting the crusts in the refrigerator before rolling them out, some of my crusts were very tough. I have never tried pre-baking the bottom crust for a cooked pie. I usually do bake my pies for longer than the recipe calls for, though, to avoid undercooked bottom crusts. I do cover the edges, to prevent them from getting overdone. I keep a close eye on pies during baking and I usually also end up putting a loose sheet of foil over the entire pie at some point, to prevent overbrowning of the top crust. Cherry pie is my favorite! :-) The next time I make one, I am going to try those TJ cherries. Edited for swypos. :-)

2006 Edition of Trees of Seattle says there was a 41 ft. Hiro-ha-katsura at the Arboretum at that time. Its accession number indicates it was acquired in 1946 (without delving further, into Arboretum records it could have been anything from a seed to a tree of some size then). The book also mentions a planting of 3 at 1123 16th Ave E, consisting of two on the street and one 25 ft. tall in the yard. With 2 regular Katsura sharing the planting strip with the 2 C. magnificum. You can find out where other trees you are interested in are located in the Arboretum by looking at their web site. Walking around collections like this, with extensive plantings of trees and shrubs - often with some time behind them - is a good way to get a feeling for the visual character of various kinds. And how much space they may come to occupy. Trees of Seattle - Second Edition http://www.arthurleej.com/tos2.html