March 2016, even if DG has the date wrong

Good I'm glad! I forgot of course that I HAD to be at work at 8 am for a new phone roll-out so I dropped them by at lunch.

Charlotte my granddaughter and I dug up another 183 iris today plus a couple of bags of the white and yellow narcissus. I'll drop these by in a day or two. I'm kind of excited because we finished digging everything in this bed that was around a telephone pole in the front yard. Those iris were so squished in there they haven't bloomed in years and they'll be glad to be moving to a new home. Just so you know most of these should be old-fashioned varieties but there will be some newer ones mixed in there. Did I ask you about daylilies? Is that something you guys want as well? i also dug some LA iris will you want those?

If you can let me know where you end up planting some of these I'd love to take her out to the old mill so she can see where they are and maybe next year when they bloom we can see them.

That's great Karen! Yes we could use some day lilies. I'll check on the louisiana iris and let you know. Yes I'll be glad to let you know where they are planted so you can take your granddaughter to see. It will be a fun outing for her!! Thanks so much!!

Thanks Charlotte my grand Morgan who is 7 was really interested in where the plants were going - she'll be a gardener some day because she was oh so concerned about them like they were babies - talking to them and worrying about stepping on them or forgetting one. I guess she doesn't remember going to the old mill because she was full of questions about it - specifically if there were people who lived nearby that could take care of the plants. We had a great time working together and since these guys were easy to dig and pull apart it was a great activity for us.

What a great memory making day for the two of you!!

Hello All!

Sandra, it has hurt my heart to get the texts regarding Ruth - it reminds me so much of what my Mom went thru. When they hurt all over, it is never a good sign because it means the heart isn't pumping correctly or enough and their muscles are actually oxygen deprived - so they literally are hurting all over. :( I learned that weeks after my Mom complained of the same thing. I have been praying for her and Lamar - it is so hard to go thru.

Elaine congrats on shaving that time off the half marathon! That is awesome! Leigh has been diagnosed as prediabetic so he is only a super low carb diet - and trying to shed some pounds. He has gotten pretty cranky - but I know eventually he will feel better from it. :)

Karen - good to see you back on here! That clematis is gorgeous and I love that old timey white and yellow daffodil!

Can anyone offer advice on how to find an old DG thread??? I have searched and searched with no luck! I remember reading a thread on here about a homemade fire ant recipe that the guy had managed to eliminate the fire ants in a cemetery he was responsible for upkeeping. I NEED that recipe! I remember it had diotenceous (spelling) earth in it, but I can't remember what else. The fire ants have successfully killed BOTH of my Cherokee Brave Pink Dogwoods - and I am ready for war!!! I was so upset to find out they killed it. It had already budded and had little blooms forming when they killed them both! I guess they taste good...... ugh!! but we have lost so many plants to them. I really need to come up with something that actually WORKs and not just moves them from place to place.

I have a hard enough time finding normal threads and updates since all the changes and when I search there are so many totally unrelated articles that come up that I can't find it!

Jess and I are working nursery today at church so I better get ready. She is actually already there because she is working all 3 services for volunteer hours for her human development class. Hope everyone has a great day!

Charlotte, one more question I also have quite a bit of an ornamental grass. Strangely enough I have ZERO photos of the actual plan but it is a grass that get fairly big but NOT like that huge pampas grass. This one is loose and the leaves cascade down and in the late summer it has plumes that are a purple color. It is winter hardy (the first one I bought wasn't) but I wondered if your group wants some of that? Here's the plume at least and I think it may be black fountain grass at least those photos on the internet look like mine.

This message was edited Apr 10, 2016 11:35 AM

Hey Genna good to see you posting and I can tell you are as busy as ever:) I always use corn meal to get rid of ants even the fire ants. I hear they will eat it and then explode because they cannot digest it. You said you were ready for WAR. I just sprinkle regular corn meal on the top of the mound and by the next day it is gone.

Is anyone out there going to have an extra cleome plant or two this spring. I guess I've lost all mine and I love those things.

Karen we have several areas with ornamental so don't think we need anymore but thanks!!😀

I always have trouble with ants. They don't hurt my plants but they are always shorting out something electrical!! I have had to have the outdoor electrical box for the pond replaced at least 3 times. It's on a 2 x 4 about 3 feet tall. They fill up the entire electrical outlet and triggers the ground fault and want reset. They also shorted out something on my air conditioning condenser one year. Kim told me about some product she uses and I bought it last year and sprinkled it all around my problem areas. It seemed to help. It is granular like the cornmeal. I can't remember the name. Remind me later and I'll try to find the box, I bought it at Home Depot.

Karen I checked and we do want the Louisiana iris. Thanks so much!!

I don't have anything to suggest, Genna, regarding finding the old thread. There is so much turmoil now with the new organization, I'd not know where to look. You might try googling diatomaceous earth and fire ants and see if you come up with anything. I don't recall hearing that one, but we did use DE sprinkled on our dog beds last year to get rid of fleas our dog brought in the house. He didn't have them (because of the med he takes to prevent them) but he brought them in the house. It took a couple of times to get rid of them but we did. I washed a couple of them but one in the garage I couldn't really wash easily so we just treated it.

The only way we treat ours at home is to use 2 different products around the same hill. One kills the queen and the other kills the ants in the mound (the workers). If you only do one thing it doesn't seem to work as well. One is like Charlotte describes, it looks like cornmeal (Amdro -?), the other is a gray granular product I think it's called Over and Out, and we sprinkle both on & around the perimeter of the bed about a foot out. On occasion we have to do a 2nd treatment.

They are hard to get rid of and multiply all the time !
I searched for a thread about fire ants and got about 300 pages, so I really don't know how to thin it out. I can tell you one thing, club soda doesn't work. Hot oil will work, but it will also kill the earthworms around the area too.

This is what I used last year. It worked for me. I had trails of ants all over my stone by the pond and deck. They were building ant hills under the rock I have stacked to edge the flower beds. They were marching back and forth between hills. This stuff got rid of them in sort time. It's what Kim told me to get. Same thing Elaine mentioned.



This message was edited Apr 11, 2016 6:07 PM

Karen thanks for all the plants!!! I must have been out back when you came. When I came in the dogs were barking and I looked out and didn't see anything. You must have already gone.

No biggie I was on my way to work but wanted to get them to you so you can plan how to get them planted. You are most welcome I hope they'll get a new lease on life where they can bloom and be appreciated.

Several of us went over to Memphis yesterday on a plant shopping trip. I really don't need many plants and didn't buy much. But it was so good to get to see Sandra for a few minutes. Sarah and I drove over together and we just made two nursery stops. The botanical garden annual sale and Dabneys. After Dabneys we left the group and did our own adventure. We ended up going to the Dixon Gallery flower show and we were so glad we did. It was free and so well done. There were fresh flower arrangements all through the galleries and they were themed to tie in with the paintings in the gallery. We then walked through the grounds and had no idea the trails and gardens were so extensive. We spent several hours there. There was a green house full of butterflies! They had been raised in the greenhouse and were everywhere. They would just fly down and land on a plant right next to you. They were going to release them all into the garden. Actually they could leave anytime they wanted as there were a couple of windows that were open. They had lots of tulips, jonquils, etc planted toward the front of the grounds but the rest of the garden was just a woodland garden full of gingers, native azaleas, ferns, etc. It you ever have a chance to go through it is worth doing. I had taken Jake to the art gallery but we didn't walk through the grounds. Jake has been to tons of art galleries everywhere and he was really impressed with the quality of art in the gallery. I personally know nothing about that - just thought it was all pretty

Sarah lived in Memphis for a few years while her ex husband was in dental school and shopped a lot there even after they moved. She remembered there used to be a William-Sonoma outlet there and we googled and found it was still there! I found a new pizzelle iron for 23.00 and snatched it up. A lady I worked with 40 years ago introduced me to pizzelles. My pizzelle iron is 40 years old and the last time I used it I thought to myself I really need to find a new one. I also got a really nice new 5 cup sifter for $9. We saw lots of other stuff we ewed and awed over but didn't buy. We stopped at a bakery and had desert for dinner before heading home. We went to Central Barbecue for lunch.

I was so glad to get to visit a little with ya'll, I know you and Sarah have loads of fun together! I texted Terrye last night and told her I missed her so bad !

I'm so glad Yall got to meet up!!! Wish I had gotten to see Yall!!!

PS Sandra have you heard anything on Ruth over the weekend?


This message was edited Apr 17, 2016 6:48 PM

Jeri what we all need to do is get together somewhere and just visit. Forget the plants.

I started working on getting my front beds in better order this afternoon. I got the smaller bed cleaned out and pulled grass out the stone outlining the bed. Grass likes to grow between the stone. Got a little bit done in the bigger bed but it got dark before I could finish. The lawn service is going to edge everything in front for me again this year.

Got most of my garden planted, whoo hoo! I worked about 4 hours on it Saturday morning. It was windy so I didn't get the newspaper or cardboard or mulch put out yet because of that but I do a no-till garden and have the paths established pretty much already and everything is already weeded so it's in pretty good shape. I still have to plant my okra seeds and some flower seeds but will hope to do that tonight.

Earl and I worked at the Botanical Garden plant sale on Thursday, and he also worked on Friday and Saturday from 9-1. He had to work plant loading on Saturday morning and said he would NOT do that again. They had too many chiefs and not enough Indians if you know what I mean. He said it was a zoo. We worked park-a-plant, which is where people bring stuff to hold while they do more shopping. The tables are alphabetized and we basically haul plants to the tables after they are marked and then to check-out when the people are ready to check out. It was busy but I'd rather be busy than stand around.

We went to my brother's for a cookout on Saturday evening as my other brother and my SIL were in town, so it was a little mini-family reunion with my DD, DGD, niece and her family there too. The weather has been so nice and I hope it stays just this way for a while.

Glad y'all got a chance for a short visit, Sandra, Charlotte, and Sarah. Y'all are right, we need an eatin' meetin' as a friend used to say....even if we don't do anything with plants, I agree.

Happy Tax Day!!! Right!!!

I agree Charlotte. That would be so nice.

I haven't had a chance to work my yard since Good Friday and all the nice head way I had made is gone now with the weeds being back. I can't seem to move forward for going backwards.

Ashley turned 19 yesterday. Hard to believe!!!

Went to my niece's house for a bar b q, Sat. for her birthday.

I can TOTALLY relate to the going backwards Jeri! It is a continual thing in my beds!

The fire ants have successfully killed both of my Cherokee Princess Dogwoods, severely damaged and possibly killed a weeping ? Peach (I forget the name) that I hauled from Forrest Hills on our way back from NOLA on Spring break 15..... And they are all around several other trees and causing problems. I hadn't seen this thread, but one of the things I read suggested Amdro so we did pick up some of it at HD on Friday night. We got a bag that is supposed to be broadcast in the yard I believe. It would take a lot of bags to do our yard, but we were going to try it around the trees and see if it seemed to work and then get more if it does. Those Cherokee Princess dogwoods were like 65 each - and I was going to plant some other trees this spring, but decided it against it until I can get them under control.

Charlotte and Sandra, sounds like ya'll had fun at your little gathering this weekend. I am planning to be at KA's if at all possibly in June............. is anyone else going?? I totally agree - we need a girlfriend weekend somewhere...... where we can eat and talk and eat and talk some more! :)

Jeri, I can't believe Ashley is 19! Man how time flies! Jess is about to graduate from college and it seems like just a few months ago she was starting elementary. A sure sign I am getting old I guess! We have made an offer on a house for her - but we haven't heard anything back so they may not take our offer.......

We went to Home Depot Friday evening and got 100 bags of mulch while they had it on sale...... I needed probably 200, but I couldn't haul that many. In fact, I actually paid for 120 to begin with and then we realized we were not going to be able to get it all on the trailer. It was already overloaded and so we drove home REALLY slow praying we didn't blow a tire! Made it home - and I had hoped to get a large part of it out on Sunday. I was in LR a good part of the day Saturday looking at several houses with Jessica. Then on Sunday afternoon just as I was about to get started in the yard, a girl who owns a house we had looked at back on spring break, let me know that it was back on the market and they were having an open house. So, off we go to LR again. We had really liked the house and they have done a lot of work in it, but the home inspection revealed several problems - the most of which is the house has got to have a new roof. So, we took a copy of the inspection in hand and examined all his recommended repairs and made an offer accordingly. I am really hoping they at least counter - but their price was very steep per square foot based on recent sales - so not sure they will consider our offer. If not, there is another house that we like that we will pursue I just think the one we made the offer on is in a better neighborhood! I think I managed to get 7 bags of mulch out.... so I have a ways to go. It was raining yesterday and raining again today - so I can't put out mulch or feed the ants! :(

My iris and azaleas are blooming and my weeds are going strong! LOL..... I sure wish we could save a little of this water til summer when I am sure we are going to be needing it!

I also purchased some chemical to wage war on Alex's bamboo. Anxious to get it out as well, but it has been raining at his house as well most days.

Jeri, I can't believe Ashley is 19 either! One of our grandsons shares her birthday (he turned 10) and his sister's b'day was yesterday (she turned 15). They sure grow up fast!

100 bags of mulch scares me to death! I can deal with 5-10 at a time and that's it. Of course I put out pine straw like there's no tomorrow. So much easier. I do use bark mulch in my paths around my 'sorta-raised-beds' but that's about it.

Genna, I didn't realize y'all were buying a house for Jessica. I wouldn't want to get something she (or you) will have to put a lot of work into. She sure won't have time and you and Leigh seem stretched already having to keep up Alex's house. I guess until he and Natalie decide what to do they won't know what their situation will be but it sounds like their house really needs a lot of TLC and maintenance. I'd hate to have to deal with that bamboo. Why people plant that is beyond me. Or any invasive stuff.

Elaine, Jim just gave me a lecture about nothing that vines are spreads. Haha!!!

Yes before you can blink they have grown and I'm old now according to her. I still work circles around them all.

I got the monkey grass sprayed for that old wire grass a couple weeks ago and it appears to be dead. Yea!!!

They do grow up in a hurry!!! Justin and Clint turned 20 the 13th of this month.

I'm like Elaine I would think an apartment or condo would be much better for Jessica. Safer as well as less maintenance.

When Genna says there is a lot of bamboo you just have no idea what she is talking about. I doubt that chemicals would phase it! The house next door to Alex's has created a total bamboo fortress ALL around the house. The only opening is a hole in front of the garage door. You can't see a house at all! That house is at the beginning of a big curve so with the bamboo and the curve Alex's house is totally isolated from the other houses on the street. No other houses on the other side of him. All commercial.

Justin really has a knack for getting jobs. He has a paid 40 hour a week internship this summer with a Certified Financial Planner. There are 4 principles in the firm and they all have several other specialties so he will be exposed to a lot of different things. They have no problem with him working the first week of June at the church camp he has been going to for years. He will start with them as soon as he gets back from camp. His college is on a quarter system and he doesn't go back to school until the later part of Sept and they are going to let him work right up until then. After he had taken this job 2 other companies called him. He found all these places on his own. Actually the company he is going to work for he just called and asked if they would consider hiring him as an intern for the summer. They were not looking for anyone. At first he told Justin they didn't need anyone, but a day or two later he called him back and told Justin that he had been thinking and he was really impressed with the way he had handled himself on the phone and wanted him to intern for the summer. Like Jeff said he just has a knack for making himself stand out from the rest. He is not pushy at all (very laid back as a matter of fact) but has a different way of wording things that make people remember him. He has always been that way.

I'm so excited!! I bought a new recliner this afternoon at my new antique mall. I've been looking at recliners to replace the one I have. I have a small one with what I think they call a leg lift. Not a full reclining one. When I walked in today there was the recliner I've been looking for!!! It looks like a regular chair and is a putty color real leather. Just has the leg lift like the one I have. The lady that had it works at the mall part time and she is redoing her house. She said she has only had it for a year and has only been sat in a couple of times. She said she has a couple of club chairs they sit in.
















This message was edited Apr 20, 2016 7:35 PM

Charlotte, somehow I missed your post yesterday. Congrats on your finding a new recliner! Sounds perfect! Your Justin is doing so well with jobs! Many would sure envy him I'm sure. Yes, they truly have grown! I remember they were still in HS when I met you!

Sandra, I'm really glad you started a FB page for all of us. Sometimes I wonder how long DG will last for many of us, and I know that will be a good way for us to keep in touch with those like Marilyn and Kathy Ann who left. So sad to hear about Ruth. Hope she is resting & comfortable in Hospice care. I know that is their objective. It sure isn't easy. How is Cayla?

Jeri, good thing you have someone watching out for you and what you plant, huh? I cannot imagine all that bamboo!! If I saw that at a house next door, I'd just run away! Like an invasion. I'm not sure pouring gasoline on it would help.

Yes I'm glad Sandra started the FB page. I'm like you Elaine not sure how much longer Dave's is going to be around.

Jeff and Kristi knew Justin was planning to try to get an internship this summer but beyond that that's all they knew! They didn't know who he was talking to or anything about. He just always waits until he has it all worked out then tells them what he is going to do!! I'll have to say it does remind me a lot of Jeff when he was that age. That's the same thing he would do. I hadn't really realized that until just now.

Yes Sandra how is Cayla. I'm assuming you are with her as you said you were traveling.

I got most everything in the ground today that needs to be planted. I still had a few brugs that I had kept in the little greenhouse over the winter. I put them in the ground today. No more putting tropicals in the greenhouse. Either they live outside or they are gone! The brugs I will cut the tops off before the first frost and keep them in a bucket of water during the winter. They will root and be fine until spring. I did that to some in the fall last year. I found 3 pots of hostas that I never got planted last year. I think I just didn't realize they were still in pots. I bought 4 more in Memphis. I bought a flat of angel wing begonias and got all those planted today.

Thread is acting up for me. Trying this to see if it helps.

Cayla went on Thursday to see about getting fitted for a leg brace for her right leg. That was at Jackson TN and I stayed at her house to get Eli off the bus and cook supper. Jerry went with her. Then we went yesterday to Nashville for her sleep study. We took Eli with us. Jana said she would keep him, but we wanted the time with him. He was so much fun last night at the hotel, he loved our "road trip" !
The doctor had told her they would come in and wake her up and put a Cpap on her if she quit breathing, they didn't do that so we are assuming she passed it. The lung doc will let her know the results.
I talked to Lamar this afternoon and they are still on the hospice floor. She has been sedated the whole time. He was pretty up today, he had some relatives in town for a wedding he hasn't seen in a long time and they were there visiting. Donna stayed last night and called them about 4am, she has started just breathing a few breaths and then stopping for several seconds.
I want to be sure, ya'll understand the FB thread is private, no one but members can see the posts there, so we can chat about whatever, it is not strictly for gardening.
It is to try and keep us all together

I know you all enjoyed your time with Eli!! I'm sure Cayla really appreciates you all being able to go with her.

It sounds like Ruth's time is very close.

I met Judy in Hot Springs today and we had lunch together then just went messing around, We went to a couple of flea markets but neither one of us bought anything. It's just fun to see what's out there!

I leave for my trip to CA Tues morning. Getting excited! I will spend a few days at their house and then Thurs, Jeff, Kristi and I are going to leave early and just take a leisurely drive down Hwy 1 sightseeing along the way. We'll go by Pebble Beach, Hearst Castle, etc. Their 2 favorite places to eat are on Hwy 1 and we'll going to stop at both! We're going to have lunch at a seafood place in Pismo Beach. You pick out the seafood you want and they steam it for you. The other place is about an hour and a half from Santa Barbara. We're going to spend the night in a hotel and have dinner. Not sure where it is. Then Friday morning we'll go on down to Santa Barbara. Kristi has rented a house for us in Santa Barbara. Clint and maybe Jake are driving down late Friday afternoon. We'll drive back to their house Sun afternoon. I will make a couple of batches of chocolate chip cookies Wed. and take down with us. Everytime I go out or they come here I have to make chocolate chip cookies!! They think my chocolate chip cookies are the best! I need to make a bunch so Justin can share some with his roommates. There are 12 of them! Six boys in the downstairs apartment and 6 girls in the upstairs apartment. It's a stand alone building with 2 apartments. This fall they are moving a block away to the same kind of apartment but it is directly on the beach. Since it's on the beach the rent is more so they are adding 2 more people to keep the cost per person the same. One more boy and one more girl.

You need to share the cookie recipe, we might think it is the best too!
Sounds like a good time for all of you. Make lots of pictures to share with us

Sandra it's just the same old recipe that's on the chocolate chip package. I just add a half a cup more flour than the recipe calls for. Always use real butter and real vanilla. It was Jeff's favorite cookie when he was growing up (also his dad's). I made a double batch every single week!! I made so many I couldn't eat them for years! After Jeff left home I still had to make him chocolate chip cookies when he come home. Kristi got hooked on them too! Then when the boys came along it became a real thing that they too wanted my chocolate chip cookies! I don't know that they are that much better than anyone else's - they are just the ones that Mimi makes! I do always use Ghirardelli chocolate chips now.

I'm still having a problem accepting there is nothing they can do to lower Cayla's pain level. I thought the Drs could do just about anything. Where is all that knowledge at for her.

I got the 2 beds by the glass door cleaned out again, turned around and the beds I had already finished this spring looked awful and I still have 3 or 4 beds that I haven't even gotten to. I think it is raining weed seeds. These are new weeds that I have never had before and they are everywhere.

Have fun Charlotte!!! That sounds like a wonderful trip!! Hug the kids from your gardening buddies.

They could go back into Caylas spine, but there is too much risk involved. All of her problems are coming from the nerves in the spine that have been damaged. There are still several small cysts in her spine. I won't give up either, but I am asking God to heal her, not modern medicine

I haven't forgotten her and I know God hasn't either. I'm thanking God for that healing and claiming it as two or more are gathered are praying that.

Sandra, so glad you got to spend good times with Eli. Sounds like so much fun. I too wish there was something less risky they could do for Cayla. It is frustrating I'm sure that she is so young and in so much pain.

Jeri, I think the same thing about the weeds. Everything is doing so well, bloom wise, at our place, so I guess it makes sense the weeds are going great too.

I think I have almost everything planted now. My okra is breaking ground and I said I was probably going to plant a few more seeds of that and probably will do that this week. I still may plant a few marigold seeds now that I have all my veggie garden planted. Waiting to see if the sunflower seeds germinate before I decide where to put them. I may have to soak some before I re-plant them. Not sure they are coming up yet. I soaked the okra this time before planting and it helped a lot.

Yesterday afternoon we took a little road trip on the motorcycle down to Cullman AL (about halfway between Huntsville and Birmingham) to Ave Maria Grotto. We've both been wanting to visit. It's a miniature collection created by a Benedictine monk back in the 20's thru 50's when he died and is now on the National Register of Historic Places at St Bernard Academy. He created miniatures of many historic religious places in Rome, Jerusalem, and so many others (missions, churches, etc) in countries all over the world. Charlotte, there is a famous mission in Santa Barbara he created and I took a photo of it. He used concrete with shells, marbles, broken glass pieces, etc and donated materials to create some of the shrines. Just beautiful & unique. I'll post a few pictures of it later. If you're ever in the area, you should see it. $5 to get in and it took is about an hour to walk around. There is another man who got permission to create some new pieces since Brother Joseph's death & he retired in 2014. You can tell the difference but they are still beautiful.

Elaine sounds like you all had a fun day. I don't know where all we will go in Santa Barbara. We may see the mission. Clint's college (Santa Clara University) was founded by the Benedictine order of monks and is still run by them. It is one of (if not the oldest - can't remember for sure) colleges in CA. It was originally a mission. Santa Clara is next to San Jose.

Sandra I continue to pray Cayla's problems are resolved!! I know you all worry so much about her.

I'm ready getting to pack. I want to get that out of the way so I can clean up the mess I've made with clothes!! I'm not taking much but I've pulled out tons of stuff trying to decided what I'm going to take. I need layers and I like to stay in the same color family when I travel. I definitely need a jacket at night but didn't want to take a heavy winter jacket. I'm taking a lighter color sweater type thing made of out of sweatshirt material and a windbreaker that has that mesh lining. I can put both of them on if I need to.

I'm so glad I have the girls across the street to take care of the dogs and watch the house. I think Clare the one that keeps them has one more year of high school. But then her younger sister still has a few more years before she graduates. There older brother graduates next month. He is going to Old Miss. I had him help me get the recliner I bought into the house and help me load the old one to take to the mall. They are all really good kids!

Charlotte, I hope you have a fun trip! I am sure you will!

I think we have Jess a house! We had first looked at the house during spring break, but thought it was overpriced. We inquired about it again a few weeks ago and it was under contract. Then the girl texted me in a couple of days and said the contract had fallen thru because of the inspection. I asked to see the inspection list of repairs needed and knew we could do most of them really quickly except it needed a new roof - which we would have hired done. We went back two weeks ago and reexamined everything that was on the repair list to make sure what we were dealing with and made an offer on the house substantially less than what they were asking. We managed to get them off 12,500 AND they did the repairs and paid for the roof. Yesterday we met the inspector for a "reexamination" of all things that were wrong with the house - and the repairs that were made to make sure that everything was done correctly. So, if everything progresses as planned, she will close on May 20th.... The house has already been redone, has all double paned windows, has new sheetrock in a lot of the house so they added insulation in those walls while the sheetrock was down, blown extra insulation in the attic, has the bathroom and kitchen redone. All we will have to do is some interior painting - and that is only because she wants to change the LR color and we will replace the water heater. It is in Hillcrest - close to Mt. St Mary's and Holy Souls Charlotte - in what I think is a safe location and she is going to try to find a roommate to rent the other BR to add to the safety. Her monthly budget will be fairly tight, but I am putting up my parent's house as collateral for the down payment so she won't have to use the money she has saved for the down payment, and she won't have to deal with mortgage insurance for not having 20% equity. So, with her savings cushion, she should be in good shape. I suggested that she try to find a roommate for at least the first year so she can see how her cash flow goes - after a year, she will know how her utilities will run, etc and will know if she wants to keep a roommate or not.

Meanwhile, I traveled to Birmingham last weekend with Kyle and Maddie to look at a house they are interested in down there. We met a home inspector there and there were not any major surprises. The house was built in the 1930s and is very solid. The man who owned it has lived there his entire life - his parents had it built or bought it after it was built and they were the original owners. It had never belonged to anyone else. They are close to finalizing their offer and acceptance and I think they have gotten a very good price, but there are several things that will have to be done. Most of the major things will have to be done by contractors - such as a new roof and new electrical, but then there are a few things that we will tackle.

Alex's fence needed some major repairs - and we have a lot of that done, and his deck needed several boards replaced which we also have done. NOW, if we can get the bamboo knocked back and the house painted, I think he will be in good shape if he needs to sell. Just seems to take a long time to accomplish things because of the commuting back and forth! I consulted a professional, and found a chemical that I need to use on the bamboo that WILL kill it. I ordered it about 2 weeks ago, but then it was raining like crazy. Then Alex was gone this past weekend. He is busy this week with mandatory stuff at the school, but maybe this weekend (if the rain forecast changes) he can finally start applying it. It is supposed to work pretty quickly so that will definitely change the appearance of his yard!
At Kyle's we will just have to take a week off or at least a few days and go work....then come home. Kyle is pretty handy on his own and he and Maddie can handle a lot of the cosmetic stuff that needs to be done. Still trying to finalize our plans for everything that needs to be done and in what order so we can get a game plan. The major things will be handled by contractors there so it shouldn't be too bad.

I am in the middle of refinancing my home - having that appraisal FINALLY today - and so with my refi, Jess's loan, and now headed into Kyle's I have filled out WAY more papers than I like! LOL..... When we get Alex's house painted, he needs to refinance as well - IF they are staying which it looks like they are. He has applied for two new programs that have gotten approval in Florida- but he isn't getting his hopes up.

Got about 40 bags of my mulch in place - which means I only have the front of both sides of my porch's foundation planting done. Just the part of the porch that sticks out from the house.... so that part looks MUCH nicer, but the other part has some tall weeds that have shot up like wildfire! I had hoped to have it all done before the appraiser came, but with me making that trip to Birmingham last weekend, it didn't happen! I will get back on it again this afternoon and maybe get another section done. I don't think there is ANY way that 100 will be enough, but maybe by the time I get all these out, they will have another sale! :)

Hope everyone has a great day!
Genna

Hey, Genna. Glad you're getting all the house stuff out of the way. Where did Kyle and Maddie find a house in Birmingham? Is it near downtown like they wanted to find?

Hope Jess will be happy with the house. Does she have a roommate in mind already? I hope she finds a good one. I can't remember where she will be. Is it in LR? I can't keep everybody straight, lol! Can't believe she is about to graduate!