It was mentioned in the papers today that conventional light bulbs are being banned from sale by 2009 in Europe. Another topic being discussed right now is charging people directly for the rubbish they throw away. I don't object to this as such, it just has problems. The likely outcome is a dramatic increase in rubbish being dumped in inappropriate places as people try to avoid the charges, which ultimately causes the general public more expense and environmental damage, which cannot be a good thing. I'm convinced that as all items purchased will eventually have to be disposed of, then it seems fair to apply a disposal tax when it is sold. Pay for its full life cycle up front. And I don't think we should look for the cheapest disposal options either, we should pay for the rubbish to be disposed of properly and safely somewhere as local as possible. Sending waste electrical goods to China or India for dangerous toxic processing is not a good thing, no matter how cheap it is. Nor is shipping vast quantities of plastic bottles half way around the world or continuing to dump TV sets full of lead in to landfills because it's cheaper for consumers. We should pay the full cost for safe disposal of waste items. If anyone objects to paying for throwing away their rubbish then they can just buy less things.

Hi I visited that place many years ago and was so impressed at not only how beautiful it was but every plant had a tag and everyone was easily accessible. It was built specificly to house plants but he also kept birds and reptiles in it. I think i would like to use this as a model for my own attempt sort of combining a terrarium with a cage with a conservatory yet still have it adaptable to different growing conditions. Have been wanting to start a much larger terrarium for a long time.but maybe I should just redo my entire shadehouse rather than a separate unit. I need a place to house my orchid collection and my sugar birds would fit right in. My shadehouse was originally an attached screenroom and over the years I've kept adding plants unril it's turned into a "jungle" lol Since I had some hurricane damage and it's necessary to repair anyway.Thought it might be a good idea to combine everything into one area. It is now 12x25 but think I'd like to expand it to 25x25 with a 12 foot ceilng. Get rid of most of the yard plants and incorporate the lily pool into the structure.. One of the really tough questions is wall covering.Note that they use lexan on the outside walls.They use carbolite at the RPH at Fairchild. The MAIN drawback is heat gain. Even in winter this requires constant evacuation of the entire area as well as air in summer. Personally i think you could get by with only partial covering during winter and eliminate the need for air all together. I'm thinking along the line of maybe a climate controlled area within the main structure Sort of a terrarium within a greenhouse within a shadehouse lol. As to budget I think I can keep it under 1500 dollars with very limited maintenence costs. This doesn't seem to bad when you consider the costs of a large terrarium particularly the lights. I'm kind of excited about the idea as it would give me a central place for all my plants,cut way back on lawn maintenence,provide a fantastic cage for my birds and would allow me to convert the lily pool to tropical temps. I would give up all the aquariums in the house modify all exterior plantings to minimal care.. I think this would result in less maintenence than i do now. Glad you enjoyed the site .It's a handy reference for Bromelid ID and care. gary

Kswl -" A few of my friends have small children and I also have a nephew close to DS’s age. We see them on a pretty regular basis. He seems to be getting to an age where he really enjoys being around other kids and gets excited when I tell him we’re going to see so and so today. Unfortunately there aren’t any small children at our church. “Getting together with other kids is a double edged sword, though, because it may or may not be that much fun for your kid.” There is one little girl that he doesn't seem to mesh with and I've limited contact. She’s friendly but VERY in his face. Until recently he would completely ignore her. I found his reaction interesting because he wouldn't do that with anyone else. I’m not really looking forward to all that comes with school. I’m mainly talking about the interaction with other kids and their families. I’m praying to find balance so I’m an informed parent, but not a hovering, smothering one as he grows. Arcy - Ah, memory games is something I've been meaning to start doing with him! I agree with you about the computer games and tv. We actually only have one computer and our phones are stripped down basic phones. I got rid of the internet and texting quite a few years back (DH never cared to do either). I know I would certainly get used to and enjoy a fancy phone, but I honestly find it challenging enough to manage my time wisely without the extra distraction; which is what it would be for me. As for technology, at some point I know we’ll need to make some adjustments or be left in the dust. Roseabbey - Thank you! We try to see that he has that interaction with small kids most weeks. He loves to sing and dance! I've noticed he’s starting to ‘joke’ around more recently which is pretty cool. We’re really seeing his personality come through. Deeinohio - I didn't think about a library because ours are pretty far away, but I don’t mind a drive. I’m going to look into that! The age thing is blowing me away too! Bestyears - “Make everything hands on and fun.” Sounds good. He really likes to help so we’ll keep going with that. He gets a kick out of helping unload the dishwasher (counting silverware) and when I announce I’m going to vacuum he excitedly puts his toys away and runs to pull out the kitchen chairs! Great ideas! Annie - “I learned to read by the time I was 3…” That’s awesome! “my cousin has a computer game on the ipad which his son started using before he was 2 that was already putting sounds to the letters and he was learning to read words.” See, now this is when I start to question if it’s time to buy an ipad. Of course I wouldn't use it as a keep busy for him, but having a program with the sounds and letters in some type of format sounds like it would be better than me doing it. I’m having a hard time finding the words for what I’m trying to say here so I hope it makes sense. Thanks for the link! Great article. From the link, “…literacy experts emphasize the importance of natural conversations with children, asking questions while reading books, and helping children identify words during playtime.” That’s good to know. In the past I wondered if that was enough or if I should be breaking out flash cards and doing more, but when we started making a conscious effort to talk with him more about every day things and would ask him questions we discovered he knows, and understands, much more than we realized, or that he can even express. Tina - I’m going to check out the libraries! I think he’d like being involved with activities there. I was asking about how kids are tested recently, but need to find someone closer to our area. Anele - Yes, there have been days of seeing the good old ABC Mouse commercials that it left me feeling like a slacker parent until I really thought about it! Pfft. I like the make a book idea. Thank you for the link! I’ve never seen her site before. Great post! Daisychain - I will definitely look at the Curious George section on PBS. Bpathome - We may end up sending him to preschool before we planned. We’ll keep an eye and see how he continues to progress. Nhbabs - Thanks for the additional ideas. We don’t have a sandbox yet, but have been talking about that. He loved the beach and I’m sure he’d really enjoy it. I wish I could get him to stay standing on a chair to ‘help’ with cooking, but that’s one thing he’s currently not interested in. Roarah - “more time on the basics like self zippering and tying shoes. It amazes me how so many three year olds who can read can not zipper their own coats or put on mittens and hats.” I just had this conversation with someone the other week and realized this is something I want DS to be able to do earlier than later. I wish more shoes would have strings instead of Velcro! The few he owns with strings are almost too short for me to tie. I may have to purchase longer ones in the future. Lyfia - Matching socks, sorting, etc. are things I never thought about either. Thanks! Lots of great ideas - loves the idea about money, comparing, and scale reading, etc. Tishtoshnm - Thanks for the book recommendations. We have a Melissa & Doug chalkboard/dry erase easel and he currently seems to prefer this over coloring with crayons. Myfoursquare - I’m hoping he takes more interest in coloring. I really enjoyed it as a kid. Mtnrdredux - That sounds great that you were both able to help in the class room at preschool. Thanks for sharing the stories about how your two sides learned at different rates. There were lots of wonderful thoughts and ideas here that I plan to incorporate. We’ll focus on keeping it fun. A big thank you to everyone!

johnatemp, ty so much for the tips. I'm going to copy this and save for DH. He'll need all the help he can get when coming time to paint :) kmc, I really do love the antique what. I just wonder what it'd look like with my bright white trim. rose, I'd love if lowes or someone here would offer making us a template, but I asked. They said they'd only do that if THEY were installing. I even offered to pay them to come double check measurements, and they said nope. I did find a local company yesterday. They claim the starting price for their laminate WITH install is $8.50. Goes up to $9 something, depending on the edge. And just $6.50, if I wanted them to just slap some new laminate on my existing counter tops. I actually talked to two smaller companys, both were about the same. Sooo..we'll see what kind of estimate I get. Both are coming out next wk. I just know I don't want to pay the $1400 for laminate that Lowes priced us at. And I know painting the cabs may be a turn off for some. But, I can't live with them any more. I really can't, lol. I've consulted my realtor, as well. She knows the area, the neighborhood, the block, my house AND my cabs, lol. And she says go for it. She thinks if I can pull it off, it'll only help set ourselves apart from the rest of cookie cutter land :)