Hope I wasn't being too buttinsky on that Cat. I just hate to think something would happen. And you are so right about the gifts he gave at the time of the divorce. That's really going to suck for the giftees.

I would never want to live in a nursing home. I'm not ready to think about all that just yet, but I'd still hate to be alone like that. At least at my home I have my pets and my books, etc. A nursing home would be like being in an old person prison.

I managed to borrow a tiller today!! Yippee. I'm so excited. So I can actually till the rest of the ground, rather than breaking it by hoe. Of course, it had to rain yesterday evening pretty substantially, so I will have to wait until at least tomorrow afternoon to attempt anything and I tell you I'm foaming at the mouth. I feel so behind!! But in a few short months I'll forget that I had so many problems and will be happily chowing on my great food.

I have a question for ya'll. I have terrible problems with squash vine borers (evil, evil grubs that they are). So I've read about a bug barrier made out of agricultural fleece; this keeps the moth from the plants during egg laying season and is removed when the blossoms are ready for polination. Anyhow, there isn't anywhere I have found to buy the fleece stuff, so I am frustrated. I am trying not to have to buy online, so I have come up with an idea. Tell me if it won't work, or at least point out flaws so I can work on it to make this idea work. I was thinking of getting a roll of screen (like for windows) and putting some stakes out (say about a foot tall or so) to make a tent type of thing over and around the rows. And clipping the edges with the u clip things into the ground. I figure this would work as it will let air and light through, but the mesh will be to small for the moths to get to the plants and lay their evil eggs. I know the screen will get how, but I figure if I put enough stakes out to create a pretty good frame, the screen should never touch the plants and then at the end of the time I can roll it up and use it again next year. What do you think? Are there any things I haven't thought of that I should plan for? Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

I like being given all kinds of viewpoints when it comes to the federal government and elder care, lefty. For me, seeing my mother requiring nursing home care was heart-breaking...and three years after her death, it hasn't diminished. You may recall my posting about her difficulties and how, after Dad's death, Mom received $50 a month too much in SS benefits to continue to have in-home care, thanks to the Bush admin's Medicare changes.

CONGRATS on finding a tiller! I think you've come up with a workable idea to protect your squash, but I'll look in some of my gardening books and see if I can find a suggestion that is better. Good luck.

EDIT: OK...LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE GOT THE RIGHT IDEA, LEFTY...AT LEAST FROM THE ADVICE GIVEN AT THIS SITE, AND THERE ARE OTHER IDEAS AS WELL.

Squash Vine Borer Control

Good point about not planting them in the same place. I try to rotate everything, especially because I grow so much stuff in a small spot, I don't want to totally deplete the soil.


Thanks for the link.

A gorgeous Saturday...and I managed to find the newly tilled ground dry enough, so I planted my potatoes and onions. HOORAY! Just in time, too, because more rain is forecast for tomorrow and into Monday.

My husband and I worked all afternoon, planting....are you ready?...(Big Drum Roll......): Corn, three kinds of beans, (we laughed because there are Italian, French, and American beans so we figure we have a multi-cultural garden) red onions, turnips, collards, summer squash, okra, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers. Still got room for egg plant, broccoli, and brussel sprouts...when I can find the plants. I tried growing egg plant from seed last year and failed miserably. No carrots this year, either.

It was so hot today...85 by 3 pm...and wouldn't you know it...the air conditioning system has gone bonkers, and of course I won't be able to get anybody to see to it until at least Monday.

Our A/C went out on friday and we ended up having to replace the entire freaking system. They came out on Saturday for no extra charge, I'm figuring this is because they made a million dollars off of the whole new system. But at least we do have air now. Sleeping when its 85 inside the house at night isn't very pleasant.

How do you get onions to grow in the summer, Cat? I have to do mine over winter and pick in early spring, else they just go to see (which are quite pretty), but they don't "grow" at all in the summer here. Same for garlic, potatoes, Brussel sprouts (sp?), cabbage, broccoli, etc...all that kind of stuff is winter grown here. Sigh.

It's a gubbbermint consparacy, by gawd!

Glad you got yours fixed, lefty...at least I can leave the windows open at night and sleep comfortably while I wait for the system fixers to give their verdict. I'm just hoping they'll come out tomorrow instead of putting me at the bottom of their list. The night temps go into the low 50s until about the first of June.

I don't know why you can't grow onions, unless it's the type you're trying to grow, or you're just too far south, and/or your soil is too sandy for summertime growing. My uncle used to live in South Carolina and he said he couldn't grow potatoes because the soil was too sandy. He always got potatoes from my parents.

Air conditioning system is fixed...took the tech a few minutes to locate the problem, a wire that had broken in the outside unit.

RAIN! RAIN! And the veggies we planted last weekend are beginning to peep up from the ground...along with the weeds! It's amazing how fast those weeds grow and, with all the rain we've had in the last few days, it's too wet to get into the garden and nip the little monsters in the "bud." We were going to mow around the garden today, too, with the bushhog but that won't happen either. I know we need the rain, so I will just have to put up with it and hope to find a dry spell next week.

Got up at 6 am to take a 10.5 mile bike ride with my husband. The valley we rode through was cool and beautiful, with corn in the fields and cows in the meadows watching us ride by. We crossed several creeks that are again sounding like they did a few years ago because we have had a lot of rain lately. Watched the sunrise over the mountains and managed to make it up all the hills...this time.

Hope TVNL members' weekend is going wonderfully well. Mine has been busy, busy, busy. I'm trying to get my house back in order. Had some good family visits over the last three weeks and I've let a lot of daily chores go. My garden has "done its do" and all that's left to harvest are the potatoes. I made some Sweet Basil Jelly from the large basil production I had this year in my herb garden. It's delicious when spread on some cream cheese and eaten with whole wheat crackers. I watched a bit of the Ted Kennedy coverage on a variety of channels, too.

We're having a large yard sale at the home of my late father-in-law, an inside one, so if it rains, hopefully those faithful bargain hunters will still stop by...and purchase something.

Good luck with that. I hope you had a lot of people working with you, having it in the house must have been hard! You are a better woman than I, I would probably just call the salvation army and ask them to pick-up. The only time I had a yard sale, we had torrential rainfall and hardly anyone showed. About 9 hours of preparation and I think I made $20 altogether!!!!

Good luck!!!

I was rather surprised that we had people stop by when all I did was stick out a couple of YARD SALE signs in the front yard. No other adverts at all. And I had no help except for my husband on Saturday. The pricing had taken place the Saturday before and I did have another person helping with that.

One woman bought $25 worth of stuff, and another fellow bought a couple of things for $10.00. The others were interested in tools and my husband told them that when the sign said TOOLS above the YARD SALE, they would know he had gotten the workshop organized and ready for "business." The workshop is large and requires many hours of sorting and deciding what is to be sold and what is being claimed by family members. Most of the claiming has been done, so now it's just down to organization....which takes loads of time, and we can't be down there every day.

So, $35 we didn't have before and it's been rather fun to organize it, lefty. Some real good bargains, too, for lucky persons who decide to stop...a huge mantle Christmas wreath, very nice, is priced at $10 and the wreath storage container is free with that purchase. Another good buy is a large container of Christmas lights, going for $10 with the container, and another large container of many rolls of nice Christmas wrapping paper, labels, ribbons, and lots of holiday stuff...container and all for $10. Some nice clothes, too...going at a bargain price....a hardly worn leather and suade men's jacket, black, made by some fancy clothing store in Scotland, is going for $25...size Large. Got a horse? A multi-colored horse blanket, one of the best I've ever seen, is a steal at $10. A funky man's coat, size Large, very thick wool, made by Montgomery Ward...$10.

I am going to do it next Saturday the same way, only I'll try to get started earlier. A few people were just curious about the house and wanted to know if it was for sale, too. It is...but no takers, so far!