Coffee and...part 10! :-D

Whew! I got online about 5:30 to check this thread and just then the electrical storm put a surge on my lines. Fried one of my cheaper ($50) surge protectors so badly that I yanked the cord out of the wall while it was happening. It still smells so bad that I've put it outside but the nasty smell lingers. Looks like the main expensive surge (the fried one was plugged into the good one) protected my computer and monitor, though. One lucky woman here, although not over the trauma. I'm still shaking.

Plus, no insurance, nor any recent back-ups of my data. I could have beeen up the creek big time. There are scorch marks on the carpet and the baseboard... guess that happened while the surge protector was jumping, hissing, throwing sparks and making dreadful sounds. All the cords show black scorch marks...

This message was edited Mar 27, 2005 6:26 PM

Wow, Darius, that is scarry! I'm glad you were able to get it unplugged before it started a house fire or fried the other surge protector. I never thought of doubling up on them, it looks like a good idea. Welcome home with a big bang!

We are getting that gentle rain along with some wind. The next few days are forecast to be about the same. I need to do some riding this week, rain or not. I just hope it is all over by next weekend when I'll be doing the first endurance ride of the season in central Washington (state that is). Riding in the rain is miserable especially when it is all day and we have to finish the miles or get no credit for any of it. I need to find some rain pants that I can ride in so I will go to a place that has a lot of bicycle stuff and see if I can get bike rider pants that will work for me. About once or twice a year I get caught having to ride in the rain, so I'm just about 12 years late looking for rain pants. We could get a wet spring now that the weather pattern has started to change.

Yesterday afternoon I made a big batch of oatmeal cookies with raisins. (Sure I'll share.) Then when I started to prepare dinner our sink drain which had been getting slower and slower, finally decided it was plugged and I had 2 sinks with water in them that was going nowhere. I poured baking soda down the drains followed by vinegar, then tried boiling water. Still plugged. My hubby used the ole rubber plunger and after quite a bit of work got it unplugged. Lots of icky black chunks of stuff came up into the sinks and got sloshed around on the countertop, so I cleaned it all up with cleanser and then wiped things down with bleach before getting back to dinner. It was almost 9pm when we finally got to eat dinner, then I said to heck with the dishes and went to bed since I had to get up in just a few hours to go to the barn. They waited quite patiently and got washed today. I am very glad that drain didn't plug up earlier in the week when I had a housefull of company.

We were planning to have an Easter Sunday brunch at the local fancy hotel with our son and daughter-in-law, but our son has the flu. Later this afternoon our DIL showed up out here with a pretty azalea and a can of pirouettes with chocolate hazelnut filling. She knows what we like. She said the house was getting pretty small with a sick man at home and she needed to get out for a while.

Last night when I went to check the sheep there was no activity outside but there was a ewe in the barn with twins that had been born earlier that day. It is really slow now, but they have me checking the flock because the weather is bad. When I go to my ride if the weather is bad they will either do the checking themselves or put the ewes into the barn overnight since there are only 23 left. Every year we have a bunch of stragglers, and a few that aren't pregnant for some reason. Eventually there is a cut off date, usually late April when any ewe that has not lambed gets sold. On a farm with a lot of animals it helps to have the young ones born in a short space of time becuase they can all get the same handling, pasture, weaning time, etc. It streamlines things a bit. Those who will lamb too late for us will fit somebody else's program.

I hope everybody had a nice Easter. See you later.

darius, when we have a thunder storm, John insists we unplug the computer even though we have a surge protector. Too many direct hits around here on the power lines and telephone lines and if it's powerful enough, it will jump any surge protector. So now computer for me during storms.
We lost 3 modems before we took on this policy and no problems since.

Morning every one,
It is not a nice one around here , rain, rain and more to come till tomorrow
at least it is not snow..
Sorry, have nothing to eat to go with your coffee maybe one of you has a goody or two.
Darius, what a scare you had!! I hate thunderstorms, always feel like crawling under the bed, my kids used to think that was soooo funny.
Maria

woodspirit, I usually unplug my computer as a safety measure too, but this thunderstorm was at least 5 miles away. Not close enough that I thought we'd get it... and we didn't. Just a surge. You can bet I'll be more cautious now.

I wonder how the electronics upstairs fared... Mark is back in MS and Robin has a new boyfriend in Alpharetta where she now spends weekends...

Oh Darius...I'm so glad nothing absolutely *horrible* happened! I'm not one of those storm watchers either...I prefer my basement. It might have something to do with the number of tornados that went through Okla when I was a kid. No Way! I'm a scaredy cat. LOL

I'm babysitting again so you'll probably not see me for a couple of days. Today, it's a beautiful day outside again, and I'm planning on introducing my DGD to digging in the dirt. (Her mother would probably kill me...hahaha...good thing I have a bathtub, eh? :-D)

Well...Hi to everyone...catch you when I can.

~julie~

Good morning! : )

Rainy day here, but at least no storms! I've cleaned up half the kitchen but not yet enough to get to some baking today, and somehow I don't like to bake when it's so damp anyway. Feels like a good day to make soup, if I have any ingredients other than stock. Maybe carrots and beef barley...

I did manage to drag some of my big hanging containers outside yesterday, and one big pot of epi's. At least they are all getting a good drink although washing the fish emulsion right through the pots today. I noticed yesterday that my astilbe is beginning to come up, and a few hosta nubs breaking ground. Just hope we have no more frost... the 14" hanging baskets are heavy and wrought iron to boot. 12" ones aren't too bad as they are either light wire or plastic.

Darius - you still got some nasty weather headed your way is your creeek rising?

tsunami warnings again 8.4 off coast of Sumatra

Yikes, weather making the news again! I am always nervous around thunder and lightning. We have had our well hit two times - fried it good and had to have a new one put in = very costly!! We footed the bill on the first one and then a friend told us that insurance would cover it -= next time it did!!

Darius - your situation sounds really scarey.. I have a surge protector thing on the computer, but it was a $15 dollar one and I doubt that it is very good. Even crazier that the storm was a ways off.

It is 55 out today and I put some plants in the greenhouse for the day to soak up the rays. I will take them in tonight as it is still very chilly when the sun goes down. Would you believe the weatherman said snow for Friday!! LOL - roller coaster stuff still!!

Just got a call that my former boss got the axe - I really feel for him. He was not the best, but not the worse either. His wife has a good job, so they will be fine. I remember going thru that stuff with DH and it was not fun!. Don't wish that on anybody. Newsflash just came on the tv that they are cutting more jobs in this neck of the woods. Gosh, the economy is so terrible here = really scarey. If our house wasn't paid off and the kids near, I'd give thought to moving.

Planted a ton of seeds today - it's time!! Hope I have good germination!! So far it's been pretty iffy. I've just about finished another bag of choco chips....just can't keep my hands out of them!!

Meat loaf for dinner!

Economy is terrible here, too. All 3 of our plants closed and there are no good jobs to be found. All we have is tourism and service jobs are notoriously low pay. That irritates me with hotels as they make good profits and expect their front desk people to dress well, but don't pay them a living wage. I just can't imagine American not being a leader in manufacturing, but that's what is happening. Not good.

Nope... and any real comments I could make would be banned by the Acceptable Use Policy here on DG. I concur with Dave's Policy but sometimes I wish we could vent...

Darius, glad that you are OK.
Tulips peeking up a bit more, so warm today-got to see the neighbors' baby on her walk-just one year old last week. More small houses on the road for sale- one more large one just pouring foundation; next years taxes!!! Talked with one retired neighbor-he just put his up for sale...
Light industry not doing so well here, some govt jobs cut, but with the UW- still bringing in jobs-select area.
Had graham crackers with melted chocolate between for dinner-basic food group for today.
Take care all,

Darius, spoken very diplomatically :-) agree with everthing anyone has to say.
Maria

Lots of daylilies coming up here... but I fear they are Ditch Lilies. Some of my astilbie and a few hostas are showing signs of growing, plus blooming helebores and Daphnes. Chives and parsley are doing great!

Hi everyone,
just popping in for a quick visit. I'm really enjoying the job. SO much to learn...66 different commands and functions all with the Ctrl, Alt and F keys. Whew! Big test tomorrow and then the 3rd and final on Fri. Then the typing test and side-by-side survey. That one's got me sweating!

Got up to the mid 70s today. Hurray!! I did a walkabout and found lots of tulips and daffs up, plus more alliums and some other bulbs (forget what they are, maybe Pushkin.....sp?) Irises are showing new growth, as are a couple of salvias and the black currant bushes have big buds on them. There's nothing more exciting to me than seeing what made it through the winter!! It'll be a bit till I see any hostas and lilies. :( Patience, patience... all in good time. :)

Had a busy weekend on the road. Drove to Jamestown, IN on Fri. eve and Sat. Picked up DH's motor (bought on ebay) then drove up to Oostburg to my sister's, Sat. eve. (First time I drove through downtown Chicago with DH sleeping.) Went to church with them Sun. Two of her kids played trumpet and another played the flute. Really was a celebratory service! Had dinner with BIL's side of the family and headed home afterwards. (I waved when we went by Waukesha, did you see me, M5?) I-43, I-94 and I-90 were all very busy. Traffic finally thinned out a little when we got north of Mauston. DH slept till I stopped for gas in Tomah. He drove the rest of the way home. We got stuck on the bridge over the Mississippi cuz someone decided to 'kiss' the concrete sides - took them half an hour to tow it away. Pretty uneventful trip. Oh yeah, DH is delighted with the motor. (Big Wup!!) lol

Back to a bit of studying. well, in a minute..... darius - ufta! that's one scary storm!! SO glad the charge didn't go up the cord and zap you - kinda think that yanking it out while the charge was going thru it wasn't the recommended action? (What were you thinking??????????) Yeah, I know, I'da done the same thing probably - sure glad you're okay.

Saw a story on tv a few weeks ago about a lady who was paralyzed from MS. She was in her bathroom during a lightning storm, got zapped big time, and the feeling came back in her legs. All her MS symptoms are gone still today! That is really amazing, I think!

Okay, okay, I'm going. I'll take my tea along. bye all.

Aw, gee Kooger, I did'nt see you go by, I have to stand on the roof to see the I43 traffic, although when the wind is right we can hear it....lol. Thought I was the only nut case that took road trips to pick up motors and such. Last one was up around Green Bay, last summer. We had a leisurely Easter dinner at our favorite chinese restaurant, and I got to use the leftovers last night, which meant I got out of cooking for two days in a row ...woohoo! Doesn't take much to make me happy does it?

Ever figure out how many meals you've cooked in your lifetime? It's staggering. Figure, from when you got married, using conservative figures, probably 15 to 20 a week. Times 52. Using 15, that's about 800 a year. Times how many years you've been doing it. In my case, that's 50 years. That comes to 39,000. No wonder I can't figure out what to make for dinner. I've burned out my cooking hard drive in my brain.

Speaking of which, hard drives, that is....our computer place recommends that in addition to having a surge protector for your computer, you use one that allows you to plug in your phone line as well. I learned this, of course, after mine blew out in a storm, because the power surge came through the phone line. And cost me $$ to get it fixed. And our lights didn't even flicker during the storm!

Spent time Sunday pulling out last year's snaps and allysum, which I leave in as protection over winter so they will reseed. (sounds like a good excuse, no?) I see some tulips peeking out, and mini iris, and my two year old forsythia has one little branch with buds on it. Yesterday my back and legs informed me that I have been doing waaay too much sitting and reading ....ouch! But today I feel pretty good, so I think I'll go tackle the mums, do as many as I can do before my back starts complaining and whining again.

Have some of that nutty banana bread on the counter, had some 'nanners that were getting a little too ripe. Then I'm gonna get busy and take down those mini blinds in the bedroom and replace them with SHADES!! I'm so sick of trying to dust all those annoying little slats that never really seem to get clean. Have a great sunny day, everyone!! Catch ya later.

M5,

Just a reminder, you can make plant tags from those mini-blinds. Cut them in pieces on the diagonal and they poke into the soil real easy. If not for you, tradem at a roundup.

Molly
:^))))

mmmmmmm, banana bread is so good. Thanks.

Hi Peoples! Obviously, I'm sitting with the baby who is peacefully napping at the moment. Yesterday we spent most of the day outside. I didn't get much done...too busy watching Angel push around a little ride-on car with one of my garden decorative frogs placed lovingly on the seat (Her "baby" LOL...and trust me...I do think this child was hoping for a prince to pop out of this frog...it got jillions of kisses. :-D)

DH got my bench built for the mini-greenhouse units I got earlier this year. Right now he's putting up the lattice panels around the base of the bench so I can "hide" my extra pots, containers, other stuff I can't find room for anywhere else. It's going to be my job to paint the lattice...I wonder if he thinks having Angel's painty handprints on everything is going to be "ok" with the color scheme. LOL

I'll go out in a little while and take a couple of pictures of the new bench, and who knows, maybe I'll even get time to post one (*and* one of Angel at the same time. hehehehe No proud grandma, here. LOL)

On my to-do list for today I'd like to get that package of Daylilies DH bought for me (like I needed *one* more daylily. ;-))

OH! Remember that duplicate order I was telling you all about? Well, guess what? I got the second Weeping Pussy Willow tree in the mail the morning. I called the company immediately and told them the problem was supposed to have been corrected. THIS time I got a credit for the tree that was duplicated AND I get to keep it! (Cool, eh? :-D) Oh well...I warned them that there was going to be a problem...I kinda figured I'd be receiving at least one more tree...and I also kinda figured that I wasn't going to pay for it. And, of course, I kinda figured that they wouldn't want me to send it back. SOOooooo...~big grin here~ Now I'll just "figure" out where I'm going to plant it! LOL

Oooops...gotta run!

See y'all later!

~julie~

Julie, that's pretty good figuring.

Kooger, SO glad you like the new job, and even the challenge built-in. Relax, you'll do fine on the tests. : )

Julie, save me a cutting in a year or two... and don't forget to post pics of the bench.

M5, my surge that got fried had outlets to hook up telephone lines, and a cable line. I just hadn't re-hooked them up last week when I got back from FL with my computer, fortunately I think. Probably would have fried the telephone & cable too and perhaps even the modem if not the whole computer. You can bet I'll be looking for a new and better one that protects all those components (except for a direct strike).

A year or so before my mother's stroke, a power surge took out her telephone, tv, computer and most of the kitchen appliances like disposal, mixer, diswasher, toaster, coffeepot, etc.

Kooger-good luck on that test.
Plants coming up-cool. It is still feeling like spring today.
Julie-keeping fingers crossed for that other order error-love those weeping bushes.
Stuck in waiting room, but they have this computer and coffee=-helps pass the time.
Want to get out and start cleaning up the yard-maybe will uncover some snow crocus.
Happy spring to all.

congratulations Kooger.
Julie,what happened to the third one????

Julie, you can send the third one this way, I'm sure I can find a home for it. LOL

Past the test okay - 94%. Had 100 on the first one. One more test to go. Took a typing test today too. Got a 71 on it. So only the final test and a side by side survey and I'm in. We were 'on the floor' for 2 hours today by ourselves - with 2 team leaders hovering over to help us out of some oopsies! I didn't screw up too much, just forget what macro is for what message. I made flash cards and that's helping. Another thing, all typing is done in caps with no apostrophies; questions are ended with a 'Q' and the only punctuation used is '!' and $ and . for money. That takes some getting used to.

Supper's about ready so gotta run. later.....

Good morning. Early morning here, just before 3am and I'm starting to get sleepy again. No lambs tonight, but last night was busy. We don't have many left, and today or tomorrow we will get them into a place where we can determine which ones are pregnant and which need to be eating somewhere else. There are always a few of those.

Kooger, your new job sounds like a very interesting challenge! I'm glad you found it. sure sounds better than day care to me.

Yesterday I noticed that I have something blooming in the messy chrysanthamum bed. It is a small bulb with light blue and white flowers like little bells, some Russian name with a P. Last year I noticed they had reseeded quite profusely and were comming up like grass. In fact, I pulled out a handfull of them and noticed the little bulbs on the roots and quickly replanted them. My neighbor will get some of them, we both forgot last fall, out of sight out of mind. Today I need to get out there and cut off the old bloom stalks on the mums so I can see these pretty little things. I have alyssum that reseeds in another bed so I moved some of that last year to fill in along the front sidewalk which is in the shade most of the day. In mid summer it just gets too hot for it in it's original spot on the west side of the house but the transplanted stuff did ok so I expect it to look even better this year. I needed something low and soft in that area because I drag the hose over it a couple of times a week and can't have more plants there that will break off. Tulips in the spring are the exception. After that it has to be soft and low and like only morning sun.

Today's weather should be better than yesterday when we had a series of snow squalls and strong wind. I did manage to hang out two loads of laundry and they got mostly dry in the wind before the first squall came in. The smell of clothes that have been dried outside is so nice I usually feel that it is worth the effort even if I did have to put on my winter jacket and stocking cap to go hang them up, and then bundle up again to go take them down when the snow started to fly. I was thinking "what's wrong with this picture?"

Duplicate pussy willow trees, well, no wonder that company is in trouble. How is the quality? I was tempted to order from them.

Time for more sleep, see you later when my eyes are open again.

Well...I've spent too much time reading posts on DG this morning. It's 7:00 a.m. so I only have about 15 minutes to write a short one, and then 15 more to get my basic chores done before Angel gets here. I think I'll be sitting out in the rain tomorrow, trying to plan out my planting strategies. But I guess that's just the way things work out when "Mom" decides to take on a babysitting job instead sticking with the project she's worked on all winter. (~sigh~)

Angel and I checked on my IBLF seedlings yesterday...at first she tried to grab a few...but granny taught her that they were just 'babies' and we had to be gentle with them. We gave all a nice drink from my little squirt bottle filled with chamomile tea...of course we played in the water a bit before it got to the peat pellets. :-)

Then we went outside and checked for new 'babies' in the WS containers in the garden. Angel had been completely driven with curiousity to find out what was was inside up to that point. And now...well...they're "Her (as she says "mine") babies."

I got the pictures of my greenhouse system taken...and even got one resized and ready for upload so you can see it. But I decided to wait and start a new thread with it. It seems that when we get this many posts one picture is all it takes to slow the download of the thread to a drip. I'm hoping to get a new thread going sometime this morning.

Kooger! I'm SO happy for you! For me passing tests was always the hardest part of getting any job. I know you're going to do fine...but I'm wishing GOOD LUCK anyway!

One more thing then I have to get moving. In spite of the mix up with the orders, I have to give Spring Hill a '10' for the quality of their plants. I've ordered from them before and was always very pleased with what I got. These Weeping Pussy Willow trees *really* are the 3-4 ft tall trees they advertise. And actually, I think these are more like over 4' tall. Not bad considering they're only supposed to grow to 6-7' tall.

As for the 'third' tree...LOL Customer service found ALL the orders and cancelled all the duplicate items that hadn't been shipped. I'm sorry. There won't be any to share. ;-)

The second one got planted by DH and will quickly UNplanted by *me* as soon as I can get out there with a shovel. I want it in a big container until I find just the right spot for it. (DS found me a 35-40 gal decorative clay pot and saucer during the winter...and I'm thinking the WPT would look fantastic in there for the summer.

Well...I gotta run...sorry...there's so much more I wanted to write, but no time.

Have GREAT day!

~julie~

Good Morning... : )

Mi sister is here (sans kid) and we're off to TN to look at houses in a bit. Couldn't book a room there for tonight because it's the middle of a 2 week NASCAR event there but Nathalyn found rooms 30 miles away.

Have a great day, and I'll be back tomorrow night...

Hi all, checking in for a bit. Good Luck on the house hunting, darius. There's gotta be a perfect one out there somewhere, got your name all over it!

No work today. Going to the Dutch Consulate in Mnpls. to get the papers signed for my and DS's citizenship. Got all the papers except the marriage cert. and passports and they said after we sign today, we have an additional 13 weeks for them to arrive. Ticks me off that the other kids can't get it, but such is life with governments and lawmakers. I have an hour to be out the door so I better get off my hiney and get ready.

julie - i did the daycare thing for my DGD for 3 years when DD lived at home. I KNOW why we're programmed to have kids when we're young. They just poop you out after 40!!! LOL But those years are precious and I'm SO glad I had them!

Mary - glad to hear the 'rush' is winding down. Read this in the local blurb last night - a ewe just had quints, one died from pneumonia. She's had 15 lambs in 4 years! Pretty amazing, I think. Triplets, triplets, quads and quints. The owner says 'Blackie' is a keeper because she is black and has really nice wool for spinning. She's a Suffolk, which is not known for multiple births but they think she has some Fin in her background. (That's from the article, not me, thought you might find that interesting, since you're in the biz.)

Time to run..... have a good day all.

Have good trip...and GOOD LUCK house hunting, Darius!

WA HOOOOOOO!!! I just got a phone call and I've got TWO whole hours (and a few minutes!) I get to use for for MYSELF!! I just might get those pics posted AND my plants watered before Angel arrives.

Bye for now! BBL
~julie~

hi julie - we're posting together again. lol glad you get a few more hours before the real 'fun' begins. :)

I posted a picture of our sheep some time ago, they are registered suffolk, white with bkack faces, their babies are always totally black at birth and always have twins.
Maria

Good morning, again. Really this is the better part of it. I only woke up because the cat throught it was time and she was digging me out from under the covers with one sharp little claw. After she got me awake she settled down for a nap.

The most lambs I've ever had experience with were quads, two of these sets were from crossbred mostly Suffolk ewes, and the others were from my Finsheep crosses. I sold the Fins and their crossbreds after a few years because although they had lots of lambs, the lambs were very small and got chilled very easily. Somehow I managed to keep most of them alive. At one time I had a small flock of purebred Finsheep which I did buy because of the multiple births they are known for and also because of the wool quality which is very soft and excellent for making baby clothes. The breed is quite fine boned, don't grow fast and so didn't really fit in well with my program, even the crossbreds didn't grow very well. If I had been selling to a handspinners market I would have kept the Finsheep. The Polypay breed is 1/4 Finsheep, with 3 other white faced breeds in equal proportions, and is advertised as a breed with good quality wool and a high birth rate. The Suffolks I had nearly always had twins, produced a few sets of triplets and were much less trouble. The multiple births are an inheritable trait so I only kept replacement ewe lambs who were multiples.

Gotta run, lots to do. Have a great day.

Not much doing here today other than glorious weather!! But storms coming in after 6pm tonight. I vaccuumed out the car and washed the inside - much needed after a winters worth of gunk inside. Even took the mats out of the back as they had all kinds of dirt and stains on them - washed them down and they are hanging to dry now. Also got the blower out and blew out the garage - looks mighty fine if I do say so myself!!

Gosh the noon news just came on the more awful news - cutting drastically from the schools (2 of my kids work in schools) Seems like Mich is really in a down swirl right now. They were saying the city is in almost as bad a shape as during the great depression. enough said....

kooger- good luck with all the paper signing - makes me nervous for ya!

darius - have fun house hunting!!

mary - those lambs sure do sound sweet - I am a sucker for any newborn animals - good thing I can't see them in person or I would be begging for one

DGS is on spring break next week. We are taking him to the 'grossology' thing at the museum - sounds right up his alley (where do boogers come from etc) grandkids sure keep ya young!

Take care all...

that's funny, that it was Spring Hill, they've shipped me duplicates too. I had to stop dealing with them because they wouldn't ship my plants by the third week of April.

Living stuff in boxes absoulutely crispy critters in hundred plus heat and by 2nd wk of May we're guaranteed a coupla such days. Repeated requests for earlier shipment were ignored and they arrived fried [two yrs of this] and they refunded my money both times. Still, I prefer to deal with a company whose left and right hands are co-ordinated.

They could not make exceptions to their shipping rules, ship by zone, not location. I'm zoned by how cold it gets not by how soon it gets HOT.

they are not the only mail order nursery who doesn't "get" it either. ~Blooms

Yippee!! I'm celebrating! Everything went so well, we were in and out of the consulate office in 1 hr. in Mnpls. And the best part, I only had to pay for myself (US $192) and DS just slides in with me because he is a minor. DH had to sign that he does not object to his son receiving Dutch citizenship, I gave him all the papers, we signed in triplicate or more and that was it!! Wow!! Some people know how to get things done right. Now he sends it to Chicago and the final approval rests with them. Hopefully it will be back in a few weeks, he said. I can apply for the passport anytime after that and DS can apply for the passport any time from now until he is 28 yrs old. (I wondered why so long? but I didn't ask. lol There's not always a reason for these laws, they're just there!)

We stopped at Northern Tool and Equipment and DH found some tools that he absolutely needed (especially the creeper, he ran over the old one! lol) I grabbed a few dodads too.

Now I'm hitting the hay... going in to work early to make up the 8 hrs I missed today - it's required to make up any training time and if you miss more than 8 hrs. , you have to start the training class over. Don't wanna do that! :)

YippppppEEEE! Hoooooray!!! WA HOOOO!!! For Kooger! Not only are you well on your way to getting those tests finished for your new job...but getting that 'alien' stuff wrapped up at the same time! I'm so excited for you! (Sure wish there was a jumpin smiley I could put in here!) LOL I'll bet you're nearly completely 'bushed' I hope you got good night's sleep and that today will go perfectly for you.

Kooger...you're SO right about parenthood being bestowed on the younger ones. Being one at 59 is not what I bargined for. LOL Today I'm pooped out and SOooooo thankful I don't have to mentally try to keep up with a toddler...forget about physically keeping up. There's just no way I'm in good enough shape for *that*. :-D

Mary...you make the sheep/lamb/wool business sound fascinating. When I raised dairy goats all we were interested in was milking records and butterfat levels. I probably would have fallen flat on my face if I had had to understand all the in's and out's necessary for a sheep rancher.

Blooms...so Spring Hill has a reputation for not keeping their orders straight, eh? You know, it seems to me that a *lot* of nurseries would benefit from asking the *customer* when they want to take delivery of their merchandise. Especially when that customer lives in an 'iffy' location. I guess they must *think* it's simpler to go by zones than to listen. Those mistakes must cost them a fortune.

Sarv...now you've gotten your vehicle all cleaned out, wanna come to my house and do mine, too? ;-) Boy the road salt sure makes a mess of things for us in the snow belt, doesn't it?

We had some bad storms in our area yesterday afternoon and last evening, too. Marcia G's area was under tornado *warning* for a while but I didn't hear whether there were touch-downs and/or damage. Marcia, I'll be glad when you check in.

Well...I finally got to see my very first crocus! (First EVER crocus!) They are SOooo tiny. Of course, the ones that opened were from one of those grab bag deals somewhere along the line. I have some bigger ones that opened up under the mulch..but now I have to wait a day or so to see the others bloom. Those are HUGE! hehehe (Can you tell I've never seen these before? LOL)

I have tulips and dafs and grape hyacinths and alliums *all* an inch or so above the ground. And I've moved mulch to see if other stuff made it through the winter. This spring is SOOOoooo exciting for me. So much to look at, so much to watch, SO very much to do...and HALF the time to do it! LOL I'll get it done...I might not be very good shape by the time summer is over, but I *will* get it all done. :-D (yeah, right!)

Could someone pass me that coffee pot...my back just doesn't want me to get up and walk over there right now. hehehehe (Plus, I'm feeling a little lazy at the moment.)

Well...that's it for the moment. I'm sure I'll be back in a little while. I'm going to open a new session on this thread and put my pictures up.

See ya in a bit.

~julie~

Ok! The new thread can be found at this link:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/495294/

AND I finally got the pictures uploaded...and would you believe, without a hitch! (Things are going smoothly in the DG for me this morning! :-))

~julie~