than the responsibility of trying to keep a live plant...alive. The gift becomes a burden, bringing with it a sense of failure and shame.

I am currently losing a lovely bamboo that between my letting the water go and Puppycat trying to be helpful is just not going to make it. It was a gift over a decade ago from an aunt and uncle and I feel I should call them to confess.

That said, I've loved it and kept it going in two states. So it was a fantastic gift because they knew I'd like it. I just felt a stab of guilt when I read this.

I need to step up and get rid of it tomorrow. It was all pretty and five curly stalks and three of them are absolutely dead and I guess I shouldn't wait for all of them because this is a mercy thing. If plants have feelings. Or I want to end my guilt trip.

I am Bev in this, especially since I have far less talent with plants than she.

My mom is coming over to help me pack, so I have to mom-proof the house. Won't take much but needs to be done. The ABF guy called earlier and the CUBES* WILL LAND at about 9:30. So I need to move my car, too.

If I pack my printer in the box it came in, foam and all, can I put it in the cube? Space in the car is at a premium. I actually made a diagram last night of where everything will go.

* I am determined to only use one, but reserved two because they only had two left for today and I only pay for what I use.

Good luck today, smonster! I'm gonna go to your place today at lunchtime to throw the breakers and then back tomorrow evening to check on it being done and turn on the A/C.

Flowers- Tom sent a beautiful sweet arrangement to my office for our first month anniversary, Cinco de Juno. However, he admitted later that he panicked because he forgot it was an monthiversary. Silly, I didn't care. I did like getting flowers at work though, made me think of him.

After we moved to Salem and had a farm share, the second summer, Tom decided to sign up for the flower share, so he could give me flowers every week, flowers he picked! Aw. However, he got bee stung a lot that summer.

I sent him a flower arrangement on Leap Day 2008 as the "first" anniversary of my proposing to him.

And he's occasionally brought home flowers when I am feeling blue. Not since we've moved to New Orleans though, which is fine, 'cause I'm a lot less blue here.

I keep him.

I love flowers. I've received them from guys in whom I had no interest, but never from guys I was seeing/into. Weird. Anyway, these days I either cut some from my garden or pick up a bouquet from Trader Joes. So there are almost always flowers somewhere in my home.

I like flowers, I'll take them however I get them. I need to start patronizing the Farmer's Market, again, they always have lots of nice stuff at ours.

OUR TJ'S OPENS SOON!

Sorry -- they said 2011 and finally, I see this weekend that it's looking pretty close to done, reno-wise.

I'm excited, after all these years of y'all being TJ this and TJ that.

I never had a man give me flowers before D. I told him I DO expect them on V Day, but that I like spring colored tulips, because February is so depressing. And he gave me a little flower plant for this Mother's Day.

I haven't gotten D flowers; he prefers gourmet ice cream. Which is fine by me.

Gah. They need to put Darby under for a teeth cleaning, and I am this close to freaking out.

Darby'll be ok, Brenda!

I know several people who have dogs who need to be anesthetized to do this, and it's ok.

I once made for a date a corsage entirely of origami flowers.

Perhaps if you'd tried an origami echidna ... she might not appreciate it, but it might be a good compatability test.

I'm excited, after all these years of y'all being TJ this and TJ that.

The Carmelized Onion dip is our new crack of choice.

Deep breaths, brenda! Darby'll be fine and he won't have stink mouth when it's done.