Was gonna post this last night,...-sigh-...but,...once again I fell asleep at the keyboard. Sometimes this dang chair really is just way too comfortable. LOL! - Anywayyyyy,...sorry. Ahem,...now, to continue. Okay, so two days ago I received two more fantastic seed laden Christmas cards,... From tbbgardens (Trudy): A really nice, snowy card with a pair of Cardinal birds (my MIL's feathery fave), and YEAH,...Back Pearl Pepper seeds (another Wishlist BIGGIE!!), also Scarlet Creeper Vine (We have lots of chainlink fence here at our new place just begging for vines of all kinds, plus we also have an arbor out back), Hoya (Pretty! Flower stars!) and Anise Hyssop (From what I've read, this is one heckuva perennial herb! Great looks, great scent, and leaves for tea)! Never tried any of these, but now I'm sure gonna!! Thank you so very much Trudy, for the beautiful card and seeds, and for all the helpful information! :) From ruthz (Ruth, of course): A cool "Let it snow" card with a plastic window featuring simulated snow and a view of a jolly snowman, and no less than three more selections from my Wishlist!! Lemon Drop Pepper (Yessss!), more Black Pearl Pepper (Lovin' it!) and Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’ (Tallish, with purple-bronze leaves and white flower clusters - Niiice!! Thank you soooooo much, Ruth!! :) Cards and seeds received yesterday... From wishdesign (Jean): A cute "Share the joy of the season" card with a plush-toyish-looking reindeer offering symbols of the season as gifts. Now,...for the seeds (O Boy, O Boy, O Boy!!), first off, more Lemon Drop Pepper (Genetic diversity rocks,...who wants inbred peppers?! The more the merrier!!), Goji Berry (Majorly doing the Happy Dance!! Yeah baby!! Definitely a SUPER BIG TIME want from my Wishlist!!) and Indian Ginseng (Aswagandha - A medicinal herb for folks with insomnia, and the berries can be used as a substitute for Rennet in cheese making...totally rippin' cool!!). Thanks bunches, Jean!! Oh,...and the little red zippies, uber nice touch!! :) From missmojo (Lisa): A cool, handmade Christmas card, stamped with an image of holly and "Happy Holidays!", with purple Balloon Flower seeds (Yip-yip YES! My SIL only has blue,...guess who's gonna be wanting whose seeds now!! He-he!) Thanks a bunch, Lisa! :) Today's card... From dirtdaddy (David): How totally cool! An Elvis card! Could easily be the cover-art for The King's Blue Christmas single (if there ever was such)! - Ahhhh, now for the seeds! Man-O-man! More Black Pearl Pepper (Enough is never enough!!), more Lemon Drop Pepper (Like I said for Black Pearl), Thai Red Hot Pepper (Yeah! It's cold outside, stoke the fire!), Dr. Wyche's Yellow tomato (From the late Dr. John Wyche - Oooo, a real good one, to be sure!!), Jimmy Nardello Pepper (Sweet and light when eaten raw, classic Italian frying pepper, a favorite non-hot. - Hmmm, methinks a bit o' culinary experimentation is definitely in order), Bush Moon Flower (White Datura? We have Moon Flower vine, Morning Glory type.) Thanks loads, David!! :)

I agree that as parents we need to let our kids have their weird clothing choices and fashion faux pas. I, too, was a teen in the mini skirt/hot pants era. I remember being in England in the summer of âÂÂ69, on Carnaby Street, and some English teens asking why the girls in our group wore our skirts so long - and our skirts were all several inches or more above the knees. LOL But I also think that as a parent we have an obligation with our kids to draw the line at certain looks, certain trends. It is also our job to teach them to know that there are certain clothes appropriate for certain occasions. We have an obligation to set rules and say âÂÂnoâÂÂ. For example, my mom HATES jeans. I never was allowed to wear them until I went off to college and bought my own. So when we see my mom for dinner or lunch, my two sons know that they donâÂÂt wear jeans. I donâÂÂt have to tell them to wear a nice pair of casual pants, and nicer shoes, and a collared shirt. It is a small thing, but it makes her happy (and avoids a LOT of nasty remarks), making for a more pleasant gathering. We are not talking fancy restaurant here, often just a casual family restaurant where pretty much everyone in the place is in jeans. But that lesson hasnâÂÂt been a waste of time, either. They both seem to know when they need to dress up a bit - both have voluntarily worn ties, suit jackets, etc without being told or asked. Older DS went to his teaching internship prepared to wear ties and dress shirts and khakis every day - until his mentor (an amazing guy) told him he could drop the tie as it made the mentor look bad! LOL I find the ultra high heels unattractive - most women canâÂÂt walk in them and just look awkward. Add to that bare legs and mini skirts, and the look just says âÂÂcheapâ to me.

Athleta (a division of Gap) has a good selection of skorts in varying lengths. They are a little spendy but the fabrics are good quality, wash and air dry well, so are great for traveling. Some/most they carry aren't really running shorts, and they give the lengths in the ads. I remember well the no-pants rules. I don't recall having but maybe 1 pair of pettipants. They just seemed like too much to wear to me. I hated slips too. Give me freedom! I wore Villager skirts with matching sweaters in winter, and in the summer I maybe had a sun dress but it was mostly shorts or for school a short-sleeved or sleeveless cotton shirt and skirt. Madras plaid was big down here, and we wore loafers or keds without socks. I had a madras plaid shift too. This was right about the time the mini-skirts came in. My mother made me a dress from the designer Mary Quant, when I fell in love with a dress I saw by her. She made it longer so I could wear it to school, but oh boy did I love that dress. It was pretty much the same when I went off to college. We could wear jeans (rolled up a little on bottom) on weekends. But we always, always dressed up for football games. And that was when my hair was the longest I ever wore it, and yes, parted down the middle and totally straight (which it is anyway). Fun times.

Stuff like this is pretty easy to prove if it's actually true, and when it isn't documented people have a responsibility to mistrust it, but our society doesn't want things to be true anymore, they want the story to be the story they want, even if later proven a hoax, whether it be Swift Boat, birth certificate, Microsoft paying for sending emails, feel-good story hoaxes or otherwise. Today, people have the gullibility to swallow anything put in front of them and a deep-rooted desire to believe fraud if it meets their "wish it was true" list. You never go broke banking on peoples' gullibility. There's a "Nigerian General" proving it to this day.