I am a bit late on this. You can start fertilizing the tomatoes if they look doing good and not stressed after the transplant. I am sort of against any contraptions such as weed guard. It does not really help and in the longer run they are a pain. You should be fine with your raised beds on mulch. A weed here and there is OK. A while back someone told me this: you have two pile of dirt - one with weed and one without - which one you will select. The answer is the one with the weed since the other pile is so bad that even weed does not want to grow in that. Anyway, that is just an anecdote.

I use the same system as others--have a large plastic ornament box with cardboard dividers and most of my standard/inexpensive ornaments go in there. As juddgirl says you can easily customize by removing divider strips if you want larger cubbies. My special and fragile ornaments go into a separate plastic bin and most of them are in their own boxes if the ornaments are glass or really delicate. If not boxed, I wrap in tissue paper. And pesky, I knew there is a reason I like ya! When you wrote this: "I have 15 large bins, all numbered and with items sorted into them by category. They get stored in the attic and DH HATES me when I ask him to get them down from the attic. I know just how many bins I have (they're numbered) and he knows he must get them all in the order I ask for them, because some aren't needed till later in the season and some are needed before we get the tree up." ...I figured it is safe to confess my own neatnik/freakishly organized secrets about holiday storage and procedures. I also keep all my holiday supplies in our loft; all are in containers with red/green color themes so it's obvious they are holiday related. I also have each box numbered; I put the same number (printed on labels) on each end of the box and on top so it's easy to see no matter how the box is stored. And then, I go one step further and keep a master list of what is in each box. I print that out using MS Word tables, so I end up with a single sheet of paper on which is listed, by box number, exactly what is in each storage box. I make 2 copies and place one in a plastic protective sleeve in the loft next to the boxes. The other stays on my desk. When it's time to start decorating it is incredibly easy! I just get my master list and ask my husband to bring down boxes by number. So, for example, when it's time to trim the tree I may only need boxes 1, 2 (ornaments), 3 and 4 (lights). Once I start wrapping gifts I'll get 5 and 6 (bows and boxes). To decorate the house 7 and 8 (knick-knacks, linens) come down. I keep my wreath in a special wreath box and gift wrap is stored in a gift wrap upright container. Gift labels, ribbon, tape, scissors and extra fine point sharpies for writing names are in one of those stackable storage box set ups. All are kept in the loft, together, and with the master list handy in its plastic sleeve right there with them. Aside from the ornaments, I also have my holiday cards organized: all cards are stored in a particular cabinet in my LR, to keep them inside an air conditioned environment so as not to ruin envelopes or get moldy which would happen in the loft. On my computer I have a file of mailing labels which I created years ago using an Avery formatting online tool. So the labels are pre-formatted and only need to be printed onto holiday labels, which I buy and keep in my office in my desk organizer. When I'm ready to do holiday cards I only need to buy holiday stamps, print out my labels, get my return address labels, and sit down for a card session. Makes sending cards a breeze. And since I'm confessing, I also keep a master Excel spreadsheet of gifts. I have columns set up with the recipient's name, the gift(s) I either am planning to give or have given, the price of the gift and who it is 'from' so in the case of someone who gets several gifts like my niece they come from different people, even though I'm the one doing the gifting process. I do this each year. I can easily track how much I'm spending and it lets me see quickly what I have gotten and still need to buy. I have my lists from past years in a folder on my computer at home so I can also review quickly to be sure I'm not giving the same gift I gave the year before for example. Hmmm, I better move on over to the neatnik topic now! Ann

NewHomeBuilder, Thank you so much...that was so sweet! "I would chuck it all and just concentrate on the true meaning of the season, if it were not for the kids." Oh NewHomeBuilder, Do I EVER know what you mean! Six years ago I announced "No Gifts" for adults. I decorate a large box in Christmas wrap and put it by the front door. Anyone who comes to the house during the season, can't bring a gift but must bring the item I've selected for that year for the L.A. Mission and homeless. First year it was mittens. Second year it was socks. One year, Blankets. Last year I went out on a limb and asked for coats, never thinking I'd get a big response. WHOA....it was the biggest haul ever! Before the New Year we make the drive and distribute. Then go have lunch and talk about and count our blessings. Do our kids (yours and mine) have a little of the same DNA? They notice if I've skimped but I sure don't see them knocking down our front door to come help put it all up or take it down! LOL OK, confesssion time: Beaded Icicles.....Bought those about 7 years ago when Big Lots was closing it's doors in our neighborhood. A huge bag of continuous beaded garland, white or gold for $3. Don't know what I was thinking....I bought 10 bags. I could wrap my whole neighborhood in those continuous strings of beads. Did I mention each bag was a continuous string of beads? :) After a few years of fighting them, trying to get them untangled no matter how neatly I wrapped them after the holidays, I gave up. I cut them into long strands, 3 to 8 inches each, and now use them as Icicles all over the house and tree.

Thanks, ladies. I appreciate all the comments. Casey, the fabric is called "Authentic" by Sweetwater for Moda and the tiny print is dictionary definitions of certain words like simple, authentic, real, natural, etc. It's a really pretty fabric line, I've been using it a lot to make sewing organizers and stuff for my shop. It sells well, too, yay! lol Trin, start your own ornament party! If you can get 6 friends to commit, you each make 6 ornies. And you watch- it will grow and grow! My friend Gayla that hosts our party has a waiting list of people wanting to join. Occasionally someone will drop out or move and then a new person comes in and is welcomed with open arms. Gayla makes a few dishes and provides soft drinks and punch and everyone brings a dish to share and the recipe printed out on cards so we can all take the ones we really liked and make them at home. It's the most fun! And Trin, your ornies sound lovely. Yay for safe shipping! itsmesuzq- if only I could have found some nice MICE fabric for you! lol Yum, yum! Toni, I wish we were having a snow day tomorrow- I have to go to town for jury duty initiation day and it's supposed to be in the low 20's and I know there won't be any place to park nearby, brrr! And think of all the germs we'll all be exposed to 2 weeks before Christmas. Ick. Lousy timing. Maybe you could teach the girls to knit or something? Start with dishcloths! Thanks again, showing you guys stuff is always fun!