Good Morning! And back to reality for most of us I guess.

I was so disorganized this morning getting TCS off to the school bus. Note to self: find stuff for the morning the night before....

pm2 - flooding the yard won't do here; not big enough, and not flat enough, and besides, we are only a five minute drive or ten minute walk from the arena, which has generous public skating hours and is free for kids, courtesy of the local Police Association. Same wwith the local indoor pool. Part of what attracted us to this town was the availability of these facilities.

Cindy, I don't think my rant about $ should result in changing our money management system: it does work well. I think this is part of the "communication" theme. My family simply doesn't share my level of anxiety or my philosophy of using what ya got for whatever. I was just ranting. I am trying to work on communicating my concerns to them, and I think it is working. Just slow.

Someone commented on withered leaves etc. relating to orchids. Mine were basically fried in the solarium window and I was certain that they wer done for, but I put them outside in a bright but shaded area and watered them frequently. We had a lot of rain last summer so it was also quite humid. I was surprised to find that they recovered really well and most have spikes now. They are potted in a commercial orchid mix and I mulched the surface with some leftover cedar mulch from the garden to keep the moisture a little more stable. I am as surprised as anybody that they recovered. I think Deanne has had similar experiences this year.

Yes, I have about 30 Pelargonium cuttings growing in the solarium window. The ones I had in pots outside last summer were huge and beautiful, but I just couldn't bring them in - too many, too large. Although thinking of Deanne's banana tree gives me pause. Anyway, I took cuttings of them all, and potted them up in plastic beverage cups with the colours written in marker on the cups, so I will know next summer which is which. I have cut them all in half once already, and I am not allowing them to bloom until May. First time I have been so organized!

Trying to get back into my pre-holiday state. House is tidy, beds made, laundry on. Today's JJob: taking down the tree, the last thing to do in packing up Christmas. This week I really need to tackle floors too - they are gross.

For some reason, this post was rejected on the Winding Down Idyll thread...

Cheers,

Julie