Analysis paralysis IS more common, with the Internet and with huge number of choices. There was a thing in the paper that just going to get a pair of JEANS (even a guy, not me) brings 100 or more options. Even this forum can instill paralysis--wait wait, back up, big picture--I know I do that. Back to raised bed. Along lines of making it good enough but not overly good (or expensive), and at risk of incurring more paralysis, you might think about whether you are going to use some trellis, tripod poles for veggies, etc and then think, will I have a problem with what will "go" with my proposed box? So you might want to reserve some $$ for some of these raised-bed veggie-supporting accessories of nicer construction or materials, and/or keep the basic bed from getting so "fine" that you can't grow peas. I'm thinking of something that might remain in the bed during the winter and provide "vertical interest" and so might be designed to be inherently attractive as well.

Friday will not come too soon this week. I had meetings on top of meetings , and cant seem to reduce the piles o paperwork. Every meeting of course results in more tasks to perform ! Furthermore , I think my fridge is leaking out of the ice-maker connection in the back. Time to visit the Sears appliance store. Cindy, so great of you to help your friend in need. I hope she can get her life straightened out and get back on a better path. Sometimes all we need is a breather.Twiggy ! I had a Twiggy haircut for awhile, however was not quite able to duplicate her wardrobe due to chest issues. As I recall she basically had none. Brenda your cloud pic is wonderful! Thats the type of thing that is so difficult get on a photo-for me anyway ! Denise, Portland has the same honor system on their lite rail , thought the have afree zone downtownI got to Napa by way of San Diegomy DH and I moved to San Diego when we were first married so he could take a position with a company there. We really didnt like San Diego that much even though we lived there 10 years-it seemed kind of provincial in a way. We knew that we wanted to raise our kids in a smaller city, that was no more than an hour from a major one, was reasonably close to a major league ballpark , and number one consideration for me was the growing season, and what could be grown.We spent many a vacation checking out small cities in the west. We picked Napa, subscribed to the newspaper , and up we came. Ive never regretted it. Ive been here 20 years. However, who knows if I will stay . Many of my family members continue to move to Oregona gardeners paradise !!! I will always be an LA girl at heart though , wherever I go. People make fun of it, but growing up there in the 50s was pretty damn cool. Love the blue fence ! Deanne, I started with acrylics but I didnt like the drying issue so I switched to oils. I cant draw very well at all so I only paint things that require very little of that skill. Some of my paintings are pretty bad-those are hanging in the garage ! I only have a few that are actually in the house. I really enjoy painting but dont seem to have much time for it right now. I know Ill take it up again. Marian, I do lots of different activities with the Master Gardeners, which usually involve teaching classes on gardening to the public , writing newspaper columns , manning our booth at the Farmers MarketSorry you dont get to see your family as often as you would like. I dont either bug the family looks happy as usual, but what the heck is that blue plastic thing that Reed is in ?? I guess Im not current on the latest baby accessories ! Mary that pool looks mighty inviting! Mariann, yes to the little bows (ala RoseMarie) and the flip, though my flip was just not as good as Shelly Fabares. OK , time to sign off-where the heck is Chelone these days ??? A big howdy to everyone Kathy in Napa

Hi Erasmus: I learn from what you wrote above, thank you. Forget-me-nots like clay soil and cool wet spring. Kim is right that it can be invasive, it spreads to a HUGE patch in my Mom's 5-acres land. She also has a peppermint and spearmint patch the size of a master bedroom. Mint is super-invasive. Below are the invasive plant which I tortured myself with before I discovered fragrant roses: 1) Mint - 5 hours to kill. I gave to my neighbor: they spent the entire Saturday killing those idiots. 2) Zebra Grass, or Ribbon-grass. It took 3 people to dig up the super-deep-root clump, and 1/2 hour per clump. 3) English Ivy ground-cover. This should be banned from the planet earth. They are known to destroy mansions, choke large trees to death.... if you plant too close to the window, they can crawl inside and choke you to death while you are sleeping (just kidding). I spent 40+ hours and 1 year killing them, plus spraying Round-up into my house foundation to get rid of the roots. I was cursed eternally when I bought English Ivy for $10 from HomeDepo. 4) Pink Yarrow - I was shocked when I saw HomeDepo selling this. My Mom gave me 1 branch, it spread even to my lawn. I spent 1 year and 50+ hours killing them. They spread both by roots and by seeds. 5) Gout weed - this makes a stinky ground cover. 10+ hours killing them. Purple and white alyssum are the best ground cover, since they are annuals, and don't spread to one's lawn. 6) Italian Parsley - 1 hour killing them. Now I sink a plastic bucket 6" into the soil, both ends cut off, to keep mint and parsley inside. 7) Dr. Huey's roots - I spent 1/2 hour digging them up when I killed Knock-outs, that's why I like own-root roses. We have cool and rainy weather for the past 2 days, now Lynnie is red like Knock-out, very much like Jeri's picture in HMF. Lynnie is far prettier than Knock-out both bush-shape and flower-appeal. Annie prefers acidic soil and water for best growth. She was stunt from my alkaline soil and water, and NOT from the frost. Ever since I gave her acid-fertilizer high in nitrogen she grows like crazy: She was super-tiny in June, after 1 month with acidifying the water with used lemon rinds, she doubled in size. This pic. is taken this morning:

I too, fell in love with crape myrtle years ago and bought several which didn't live out the year. 3 years ago, I watched a new Lowes store that was built right in the middle of the prevaling wind in PA. I live on a hill side that gets really bad winter winds and temps sometimes in the teens and near O. Yesterday I bought a new crape myrtle from a new nursery with an extremely, very chatty owner. He said that they have evolved over the years to be more and more cold hardy. This same thing has happened to alot of shrubs/trees over the years as they want to expand their sales...so my NEW motto is, if you love it, try it! Life is too short... who cares if I have to pass up a new outfit for a new plant! I haven't found this to be as true with periennals tho-- seems alot of the time they just want to sell them. I have seen some that shouldn't be sold north or Carolina, so I pass them by. I've evenseen them labeled as a periennal with absolutely NO zone information! I love all these forums. YOu have taught me so much in the 2 weeks I've been "surfing".. I'm not a newbie to gardening,but now I know so much more! Faye...in MD