I'd love to get one done like one of these, but doubt it will ever happen. *L*
[houzz=][houzz=]

Those are really beautiful, creeser, but it's just too buggy here, for me to enjoy spending that much time outside! I should invest in a couple of bat boxes, and a purple martin house (although I've never seen them here). If those guys gobbled up the bugs, they might get me to sit outside!

Purple martins are big here and I'm so glad you brought them up. Someone hubby did work for had some gourds to make houses for them and said hubby if came back in the spring, he'd hook me up with some. They are very busy little birds. Bought a bat box years back and have never had one use it. I wonder if you have to put them in a special place for the bats to like using them?

Love that Ez! All it needs is a pool boy! Actually, I'd settle for anyone to maintain and clean it. *L*

Eztia .. can I move in with you, and your perfect backyard? (LOL) Do we have a pool boy too? Is there any way to keep the bugs out, but allow the birds & butterflies in? I realize that's pretty ridiculous .. but I can wish, can't I?!

Just so I don't forget - HAPPY EASTER TO THOSE OF YOU CELEBRATING!

Good grief; I just got an e-mail notice of STK's post .. done 7 hours ago .. the e-mail says it was sent at 4:40 pm, and it's 5 pm now. Where has it been in the last 7 hours? I got that the same time as the e-mail for Eztia's last post 13 minutes ago!

Since it is a dream yard, the only bugs allowed are ladybugs. Ladybirds for our friends from Oz.
Thank you Astraea!

Creeser - I don't know what's going on with my e-mail; I haven't gotten a notice about your last post, and it was made 2 hours ago. I just got a "thumbs up" from David .. and seemed to come fast.

Hi everybody! So, I went to the mall in search of Gloria Vanderbilt 'Amanda' shorts, found some, regularly $44 on sale for $37.99. Not much of a sale! And $38 for 1/2 yard of denim is $76/yard, I don't think so, when the 'Amanda' jeans are $22.99. Those plus a pair of scissors!!! Yeah babies!!!

Bobbi - Is that really the price of denim .. that's outrageous! Amazon has the shorts for $21: http://www.amazon.com/Misses-Gloria-Vanderbilt-Amanda-Shorts/dp/B00BPT1NEC

Wow! Astraea, that's a huge difference in price, especially if you buy more than 1 pair!!! I'll have to give that a look see, thanks!

Ez, you made mention in a post that I shouldn't joke about painting the kids Revere Pewter because the tinman died of the paint, I can't find where you posted that now, but it's not true. Jack Haley died of a heart attack in 1986 at the age of 80. Here's the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Haley

Oh, and I'm hardly getting email notices about anybody's posts!

Ez, is the Houzz Saturday Night Bar open yet. BTW, I love how your icon turned out.

My pleasure, I love the teal but the Praying Mantis I just looked up, looks yuk. I've poured a glass of wine Ez, please open the bar :)

The bar is open! Can I bring my dog?

I think he's tired.

Now Houzz has taken to gobbling up posts!!!!

Astraea, can't believe your BEAUTIFUL 56 deg. That is 13 - a damn cold winter day, nothing beautiful about it!!!!

I think Houzz has had waaaay too much chocolate, mine is all over the place. I only dropped by to keep my emails down to a dull roar and have virtually none. Talking chocolate, I see Philli cream cheese now comes with chocolate with that and chocolate hot cross buns and kimdee's chocolate bedroom wall we will slowly drown in chocolate.

I remember many, many years ago when they first started painting nude showgirls to look like statues on stage, they had to leave a patch of skin unpainted otherwise the person would suffocate. I guess by now they have invented paint that doesn't clog pores and still lets the skin breathe.

Did you see to about that guy in SC who tattooed his dog??? Apparently caused a big outcry. Couldn't help but immediately think of you guys and your furballs. Funny thing, his tattoo parlours have been closed down because of lack of hygiene - now you would really have to worry.

Afraid I won't be partying tonight guys, BH and I are both like zombies after yesterday. I slept for 10 hours straight and am ready for an afternoon nap and I haven't even had lunch. I don't know what we did but we both ache all over as well. How can fresh air and sunlight be this bad!!!!

How do you tattoo a dog????

EZ, your nails look great, do you have a headdress to match?

Ez, I can't find the bar, can you post a link here.

Thanks, ez, that's the tulip magnolia tree flower in our front yard :)) Cool skirt! And I'd wear that dress if I could look that good.

You all have fun at the Houzz bar, I had to shop til I dropped and I'm done! Night all!

Night Bobbi, I noticed your new icon 'cause I was looking for a comment and couldn't find it. You tricked me and I'm too tired to think.

I'm working on looking that good in a dress too.

Bobbi, the dog was a pitbull, I don't think they have a lot of hair underneath and he put it to sleep to do it. He reckons a lot of people do it to ID their dogs, said there are heaps of examples on YouTube.

Bobbi – Even Haley had a bad reaction to the aluminum dust make-up (from Wikipedia): “.. The new makeup did cause an eye infection which caused Haley to miss four days of filming, but he received treatment in time to prevent permanent damage. Haley did not take to the makeup or to the discomfort of the costume very kindly.”

OlldCan – I’m not sure that mantises look like they’re praying, or boxing .. they look like intimidating warriors of the insect world to me! I’ve only seen one once, and was surprised, because it was on a potted shrub at an outdoor mall .. not a garden! It was the most vibrant green .. like a leaf!

Roo – The idea of tattooing a dog to ID it isn’t bad, just not as practical as an implanted chip that’s easy to read. Can you imagine anyone seeing a pit bull wandering around in the neighborhood, and trying to examine its hairless parts, to see if there’s an ID mark somewhere?

PS - I started OLLD 3/31 for us.

Ez, we definitely can have praying mantis in our dream garden! They are such cool... insects? bugs? As for snapdragons, absolutely! I have always liked them and am trying them for the first time in my new garden. Btw... love the peacock colors. My favorite color combo. :)

I love praying mantis and other stick insects, they are quite harmless except when you pick them up they do have a tendency to wet on you.

Well, a pit bull should not be wandering around in the neighbourhood, that is illegal here, especially with that breed and as for getting near enough to even consider an ID - definitely out of the question.

Hmmmm ............. I had a joke once about snapdragons for old people - something about the mind snappin' and the rest of the body draggin'.

roo, I agree about pit bulls. A lot say it's how they are raised and not their temperament, but I have seen too many articles on ones raised lovingly that still attacked people to trust that argument. I certainly wouldn't risk the well being of my children to have one around when there are millions of other dogs and mixed breeds available. The pit bulls seem to be all over here in SC. You can't walk in a store anywhere that allows pets and not see one there.
I remember the snap and draggin' joke!

Creesy, the guy who tattooed his dog was from your neck of the woods. There has been a lot of controversy here, about pit pulls, especially after attacks and so many of those who do attack have been raised as family pets, never a problem then suddenly ............. wham. Some say it is when other breeds are mixed with them too, but nothing has ever been proven. Anyone who takes a chance with them is nuts.

We actually had a pitbull problem a couple years ago at a property I owned. My business partner lived there with a few roommates. About 10 pm, one roommate knocked on his door and said there were some dogs in the backyard. Eventually he roused my partner enough to go look at the situation and there were 2 pit bulls in the back yard which were acting aggressive when they went onto the open porch. The police were called and they tried to capture the dogs by tempting them with treats and then trying to get the nooses around them, but no luck. They ended up having to shoot the dogs when they weren't able to get them captured after trapping them in a fenced area behind the garage.

The owners were found and ticketed for having dangerous animals loose. We had seen one of those dogs loose previously in the area so the owner did have advance warning of the dog's habits. Those particular dogs weren't pets, at a minimum they were used for security. This area has had some problems with organized dog fights and the police aren't taking chances with dogs which don't appear to be pets.

My usual rule is don't do anything or get involved in anything which might require the cops to be called - but I made an exception for that incident

bd, thanks. She had a great birthday supper. We took her to one of our favorite restaurants ever, in Hyannis , Fazio's Trattoria. You are South of Boston, do you ever get this far down?

Oh yes.... we have family/friends in Chatham. Used to love the Daniel Webster, but haven't been there in ages. Do you come north of the bridge? East Bay and The Rye Tavern in Plymouth are favorites. Will have to check out Fazio's.

Boy, this website .. or my e-mail is getting strange! I just got a notification for one of Bobbi's posts made 21 hours ago, and for which I already got an e-mail notification early this morning! Then I got a duplicate notice of a post Creeser made 25 hours ago. And finally Creeser's post about purple martins 26 hours ago. So I'm getting the newest first & oldest last, all duplicates!

Astraea - I find I am missing reading a lot of posts as things can pop up after I've thought I have read all the posts to date.

I continue to get notificatons from posts that have been up for hours, and ones I've read thru a while ago. It's really strange!

BD, awoke today to the best weather we have had since…funny, I don't go over the bridge much, but I this morning I said I have to get to Exit 14 because that is the best TJMaxx and Home Goods. Haven't been to downtown Plymouth since the Fall when my girlfriend's husband had a double knee replacement at Jordan Hosp. The two of us went to the restaurant at the marina? Can't think of the name. What do you here of Pine Hills?

OLLDS, Pine Hills is a huge development of condos and townhomes, golf courses, I think it has its own zip code. I believe that HGTV gave away one of the properties a year or two ago.
http://www.pinehills.com/homes

I'll have a lime pie please judy. I wonder if everyone is really as happy and carefree as they are in the photos.

olldroo -- I'd like to think so, but the truth is, in advertising, we very carefully choose images that create the feel we want to try to sell whatever product it is we're selling. Emotion is a powerful tool in advertising, and those smiling, happy, carefree people in the pictures are used to evoke that reaction in the consumer -- so you say, hey! I want to live that way... Smoke and mirrors... :-/

I don't know what it is like over there, but areas have been created here along similar lines, just not as grand, and they look great for the first 5 years and then maintenance fizzles, the homes start to look sad, graffiti artists take over parkland gets overgrown - it would be so disappointing. I gotta get to bed, this is getting ridiculous - 2am AGAIN!!!!

judyg - Pinehills is where the Rye Tavern Restaurant is. You have to try it. The son of our close friends is in charge of landscaping maintenance and I hear they are extremely particular....no expense spared (imagine what the HO fees are like) So hopefully this place won't go the way of the one olldroo is referring to. Funny you mention exit 14. Off to Homegoods and HomeDepot after lunch.

Did you find anything great today, bd? roo, I think Pine Hills has become a town. Many of medical in Boston have bought there and if you are a golfer and retired….wow.

Judy - I'm laughing, that is the sort of name they would give a cemetery here. Obviously with the HO fees to maintain standards you would have to be a retired somebody, and golf course fees can be ridiculous. The only thing I don't like about places like that is that people often try to be over friendly to the point they are living in each other's lives. It is nice to be friends with neighbours and occasionally have lunch or a drink together but some just go way too over the top.

HOA fees are getting ridiculous for some of the condos around here to the extent that the high fees make the condos very hard to sell. I saw a listing recently for a 350 sq ft studio condo built in the 70s, all open parking, no playgrounds, benches, or landscaping. The fees were $175/month and the condo was listed at $17,500. One of the highrise condos in our suburban downtown area has fees of $375/month and that property doesn't have any lawn or gardens at all.

The law here is that associations can only charge the new owner in a foreclosure for 6 months of unpaid fees, so the bills have to be spread onto the smaller number of owners still current with their fees. Then, as the fees rise, the properties become more expensive to live in and foreclosures increase since the properties are worth no more than 60% of the amount owed and in many cases, sell for less than half the mortgage balance. Selling is difficult because there are so many foreclosures in the development that buyers can't get loans for the properties so all the sales have to be cash sales.

At last week's sheriff's auction, one property had a mortgage balance of $110K owed and the property sold for $27,000

Linda - what happens to the balance owing? Does the lender just lose out?

What annoys me here is that a developer will buy an average house for say $700K demolish and put up a duplex with all the bells and whistles to make it look good and sell EACH for $900K to $1m. We had a special zoning put in place to build for over 55s who wanted to downsize. They downsized ok but upsized on costs - in most cases it took the sale of the family home to afford them. Once you downsized by buying something for half the value of your home and the balance topped up superannuation. It really does annoy me though that people can be so stupid as to buy them. If people didn't buy developers would have to be realistic and stop ripping people off. Their whole attitude is that they can afford it because of what they will sell their home for - don't think about people needing to live.

Roo - Interesting situation about the 55+ housing. Have you heard about what's known as "Mount Laurel Housing" (AKA "Affordable Housing") in New Jersey? It started with the rational concept that there should be a spectrum of housing in every town, so that young people moving out & empty nesters/seniors, could remain in town. So whether it was a very affluent or inexpensive place, this smaller housing would be commensurately priced for that town. But the whole thing got reinterpretted, to "force" municipalities to set aside & build housing for that purpose .. and it was often "by lottery", with no first selection by people actually living in the town. And instead of it encouraging the use of existing smaller homes, they'd wind up turning them into McMansions .. then putting in high density housing for the Mt. Laurel committment .. even when that town had no other high density development, so it was totally out of character. And because Mt. Laurel housing could avoid some of the zoning codes of the municipality, developers would add just enough Mt. Laurel units to their larger developments, to qualify for the whole development to bypass the codes! Where I lived before, a garage was mandatory & there were no rentals, until the last remaining farm was sold to a developer, who decided to put in high density rentals w/Mt. Laurel units w/o garages .. and there was nothing the town could do about it!

roo - The people who have the mortgage in their name get a court judgement against them for the remaining mortgage balance. That allows the company or person who is owed to take them to court periodically and ask them to prove their assets and garnish a certain percentages of their income over a base amount.

on a practical side, unless it is obvious the person has the potential to earn a good income, the banks don't usually pursue collections because it is expensive to do all the paperwork. Plus, if these people had enough money and enough good judgement, they probably wouldn't have ended up in the situation in the first place

What it really means is that the person can't get credit again. I don't know if the debt is written off by filing a personal bankruptcy...not something I know much about!

When you hear of short sales, that is when the mortgage balance is written off by the lender in return for not having to go to the hassle of doing a foreclosure sale.

Each state has its own rules and some states prohibit the lender from going after the individuals for amounts still owing after the house has been sold. Plus, each state also has rules about what property can be kept during a bankruptcy

Thanks Linda. It sure gets complicated. I was just wondering how much would be involved for lenders to lease properties to recoup the money owing before selling them. We hear a lot on how amazing the returns are on leasing in the States and it just seems a lot easier than constantly taking people to court, which would be an expensive exercise too.