Hey Jo - didn't you know acting out in front of an audience is noraml; looks like those handsome young guys are having a great time for Grandma's birthday!! Was that ketchup spread out on that plate - yummy, good for FFs! The grans are are adorable - well, I guess I shouldn't say that because they are aren't babies anymore. But they are pretty darn handsome - could break some young girl's heart when they get older. Was that pic at the table (the one in the house) at your house. It is so bright and cheery. BTW, thanks for explaining TSL. Oh, and you gotta share taht perpeller cup. That sounds like a pretty nifty toy. Hi eloise. I think you are right - Spring Fever is here for sure. I just bought a new grill and can't wait to try it out. Then I'll be out, right there with the grill. My neighbor was supposed to pick it up Friday but I think he was just plain tired and didn't want to say it. He told me he would pick it up early Sat but I went to a Prayer Breakfast for the United Negro Women's Conference and couldn't go until later in the afternoon(I take my 86yo aunt every year and it is such an enlightening experience being around so many empowered women so I don't mind having to leave the house at 7AM on a Satuday!! The food is good too!). My neighbor never responded to my calls after I got back but showed up early this morning. I was a litle disappointed because yesterday was perfect weather for grilling and enjoying the patio. It was a little cold to try to get it all set up today. Besides, even though I told my neighbor it would take 2 or 3 guys to move the thing, he didn't line anyone up to help (MEN, they just don't listen!!!). So it was just the 2 of us trying to pick that darn thing up over the side of a pickup truck. I was so tired after that fiasco that I really didn't feel like dealing with it. It's all put together, but hooking up the tank and leveling it, and learning how to use the contraption, etc, just wasn't going to happen today. If it's nice tomorrow, maybe I'll throw a burger or two on, after work. Here's a funny - we eventually had to slide the grill down a make-shift ramp. My neighbor tilted it to the side and I held it until he could jump down off the truck and help slide it down the ramp. While I was waiting for him to help hold it, ALL the wait was on my chest. Boy, I would rather have had the reduction surgery -- LOL!! That thing was soooo heavy - my arms feel like wet noodles for sure! OK, long story, but excited about the grill and after all is said and done, it turned out to be pretty funny how the thing ended up on my patio. Hope my neighbors weren't taking pics!! Anyway, glad you too are doing OK (and hope everyone else is too). Eloise, how's your car (hope I don't jinx you by asking)? Jo, are you hanging in there? How's your painting coming along? Really happy your birthday turned out to be a good week for ya. Hugs to ya! Off to get ready for another week at work. gng

None of this looks like infected tissue, Northern Orchid, though I'm going to be watching the all-dark leaf end to make sure . . . I worry that bit of leaf might die, but it might not lead to bigger problems I wish I knew what the normal growth rate of this plant was, 'cause maybe it's just really slow, but I don't know, and even though it's not a "bright light" plant, our winters here are so dim that I got concerned. James, it could certainly be colder next to the window, especially at night. Our nights are still down in the mid-40s, and I know the air next to windows is usually cooler than in the rest of the room. It could be getting cold drafts :| At any rate, I've moved it away from the window spot to a new temporary spot (need to put a nail in the wall to make it a new home), and we'll see what happens.

Dave, the chorus line has left the building and is en route! Holy moly but that is an awe-inspiring sight! I keep looking at the pictures and my brain freezes...but my eyes just can't drink in enough. Anyone starting to get into hostas and looking at these photos would be thunderstruck. To maintain around 500 hostas (potted) is one thing - but to have them all looking like divas is quite the testament to your love and dedication of hosta. 1st picture:. Who is the top-left-of-center one with wide yellow center? 2nd:. Blue cupped one? 3rd is a gorgeous ripple brigade! 5th&6th Love the forefront two together (?) Amalia is a standout. Incredible, Dave. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed my coffee that much more very early this morning with this post. I hope you have a wonderful day today.

Lisa--so amazed you did it, and so proud of you for doing it! And am so thrilled it was good for you. I've had two other friends who did it, as well. Very rewarding for both, just to know. One of the friends and her family bonded and see each other. Wasn't as good an experience for the other, but she was grateful that she knew about it all, finally. The deer incident affected me more than I thought it would. First, the reality of it and how to handle it. How sad it was to see this creature in such distress. And how problematic it seemed to wonder about the appropriate way to deal with it. It's like we live in the country, with all the critters around us; and yet we live in the country with neighbors very near to us, save for the forest directly across the front of our immediate property and behind our immediate property. GDW felt strange, walking across the street and shooting the poor thing in view of whoever might be driving by or outside. I felt a little freaked when I went out to help him load her into the truck, and two vehicles drove by about that time. I don't think they saw the deer, who was in a bit of a ditch right next to the road, but I felt kind of like a criminal. Had push come to shove, we'd have felt fine about our actions had we been asked to explain. I suggested we call the game wardens, but GDW said the chances of them being able to come right out were slim; so that's when we loaded her into the truck to go to the burn pile. As it stands now, she is still in back of the truck; we will unload her tomorrow nearby, with the nice game warden's blessing. He said I might be surprised to know how many calls they get like ours. And he told me to thank my husband for him, in choosing to put her out of her suffering. And here was poor Garry, with one eye swollen shut! He waves it off, and any of the rest of us might, too. But he is definity hampered temporarily. Now if he was going to be like that from now on, he'd get used to it. We've been laughing about it today; I found myself thinking, "Let's see; if I lose an eye, which one would I prefer to lose. Definitely my left one." hahaha I've been loving binge-watching Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown series, connecting with people all around the world through food. I had only caught 2-3 of the shows when I had TV. Liked them, but not the way I do now. Eileen, it's your fault. How little I knew about Singapore! And now I know a LOT about that supercity/super country. (AND my new favorite, Asian foods and learning to fix them!) And it sort of lit me on fire with how little I know of other cultures. I won't be doing any traveling (not any more than necessary now), but I will travel through books and excellent documentaries. I am absolutely blown away by these journeys of Bourdain's, and the care and attention that team took, to present important and worthy shows that illustrate societies around the world and our commonality. And the sadness many of the countries have gone through, might even be going through now, and the buoyancy and resiliency of the people. And how he manages to bond/communicate with them in these episodes, and also to introduce the rest of us to these people all around the world, a bit of their history, and the common love of food. Great show, glad I finally am watching it all. And so with this great Asian way of cooking, it has ignited and changed to some extent, the way I want to grow veggies. I see a lot more greens in the future. Sigh. I hate salad. BUT when I watch or read about Asian cooking, greens look good and fun! LOL Thanks, Eileen. It's a little late to be planting some of what I want to, but have gone out on a limb with a few. But will be putting in a few more greens tomorrow. I got my garlic order in to SESE before they ran out; I got my coral honeysuckle order into Almost Eden (I had it in the cart and just remembered yesterday that I hadn't punched "Order.") So did that. And you guys know how it goes. Couldn't order JUST one thing, so also ordered some rainbow-kinda colored echinacea--a couple of them. That was because my present grown-from-seed ones have done so splendidly. I was so so ticked off today pulling Bermuda out of the front shop bed and the back Bermuda bed. I hate Bermuda. I'd rather have mud or dirt in our "lawn," or crabgrass, than Bermuda. YES, it's fairly easy to get out with my Hori Hori, but it's every brutal inch or two, and in the front bed today, some of it was 10 inches down. Thing is with those two beds, I didn't properly prep them in the first place and work to get it all out. Hmm. On the other hand, the soil is so much better now and deep enough, and loose enough, that it's easier to get out. So. I guess it's okay. My concern is the established plants. I may end up having to take them all out, just to get all the Bermuda. I hate Bermuda. Will sign off. Life is fragile, we must remember to appreciate every single day, even Bermuda grass days. Maybe especially Bermuda grass days. We're dealing with it, we're fixing it, inch by slow inch! And so far, I'm digging it up faster than it can grow . Diligence will produce victory.