I'm on the border between 6 and 7 and have also had a colder than normal spring. I've been grafting a lot this spring, much of it in the 2nd week of April, about a month ago. New rootstocks seem to be much harder to succeed with, than top-working existing trees. Last year (in my first year of grafting), I got takes only 2 of 13 new rootstocks. Of course, 1 was then killed over the winter. It is good that I also used most of the wood in top-working a tree. I think one of the main issues is that as soon as I grafted, I potted up the rootstock and put it in the yard. This year, I've gotten much better results with: a.) Immediately potting up the rootstock, then moving it to a humidified, pretty dark (North facing window) room for 2 weeks, before moving it to a bright room (South facing double doors). 3 of 4 takes and I'm optimistic about the 4th, as it is notoriously slow to get started (Court Pendu Rose). b.) The other approach I took is to packed the grafted rootstocks back up in plastic, with the roots in moist, shredded paper and put it all in a 5 gallon bucket. I put the bucket into the humidified dark room for about a week, then planted them outside. So far, 3 for 5, but the other two don't look bad and I'll give them some more time. It is also possible that my technique has improved a bit- the only way it could get worse is if I cut myself more :) But, poor skills and all, top-working still did OK last year. This year, the apple top-works I did in the same general time-frame are 12/16, so far. Pears are even easier- I'm 8 for 9 on top-working them this year. The only failure is described in my notes as "ugly graft". I even had 2 interstem grafts take on potted quince rootstocks (grafting a Magness interstem and the scion at the same time) I really like Marknmt's idea of the notching to help the graft along (in a top-working scenario where the graft isn't at the absolute top of the tree). I've heard of the idea to generate branches, but it makes sense that you could apply it to getting some growth from a grafted bud.

See? I AM slow :) OK, let's see why it took me two hours (you know, it would have been 1 1/2 except I had to wait for DH to finish running on the treadmill now that I think about it). Turned on oven, scrubbed potatoes. I did not par boil. Cut potatoes in quarters, put them in pan sprayed with cooking oil. Added some garlic cloves and squooshed some garlic on. Added some fresh thyme. Olive oil on top, salt and pepper, stuck in oven. Planned it to cook for about an hour. Went online to find the recipe I used before for spaghetti squash (oops, there's a time problem). Cut the squash in half, removed seeds, added sliced garlic, olive oil, S&P, put on pan and stuck in oven. Should cook for 40 minutes. Cut up shallots, heated olive oil in pan, added shallots and cooked for 15 minutes. Added sugar and cooked for 5 minutes. Added balsamic vinegar and cooked for a couple minutes. Added broth and cooked for about 15 minutes to concentrate. Added thyme and S&P. OK, could have been ready at this point if I had started grilling the steaks. As I said though, I didn't want to do that until I knew DH was ready. So, let's say 30 extra minutes because of that. And I guess I don't just work constantly. I feed the dogs, I drink a glass of wine, I let the dogs in and out and in and out and in and out. Oh! and I have to constantly step over dogs while I'm cooking, that slows me down too Now I'm coming up with excuses. Ann_F

It's normal. The delay is because your body is getting the hormone in the pill out of your system. It takes me sometimes 3 or 4 days. Once I didnt get a period for several months but knew i wasnt pregnant (no signs, just a feeling I wasnt). My pill's hormone level was too high for me. If you dont get a few periods and rule out pregnany, that may be it. Sometimes when on the pill you can skip a period, or just spot a little.

Walls only, covering pale with pale ... about a day. 1 - Learn to cut in without taping, or get a paint shield. I use a wide plastic drywall blade where I need to protect. Have a wet rag so you can wipe off the woodwork if you slop over. And feather the edges several inches into the wall area. 2 - Set a pattern and stick to it. I try to roll top to bottom about 4 feet wide, ending with finishing strokes top to bottom. With a taller room, I do the top part with the scaffold, feathering it down, and then the bottom half, feathering it up. Because I'm a consistent painter, I don't end up with a darker band in the middle 3 - Learn to roll evenly with good coverage so you only need one coat. Most people spread the paint too thin and end up with streaks and blotches and a second coat. Figure 350-400 square feet per gallon. 4 - Use roller handle extensions or a scaffold so you aren't doing ladder climbing all day. 5 - Don't look back! Paint looks really bad while it's drying. Just keep going, then walk out and don't come back for a couple of hours.