seeds are not.. by definition .. winter hardy ... some are some arent.... have you ever seen an impatiens seedling??? but i have a carpet of alysum [sp] seedlings every spring ... the examples are endless ... what do you grow that does and doesnt winter over its seed???? if the generic petunia were winter seed hardy .... then i would have seen seedlings for every year since mom planted the first ones in 1965 ... i think in the ensuing years.. i MIGHT have seen one seedling ... near a chimney, where the soil stayed warmer all winter .... again .... i dont see why any other type of petunia would be seed hardy .. since .. most likely.. they all came genetically.. from the generic .. subject to any seed scientist correcting me ... ken

spinach is a very difficult crop for most areas. The best way to grow it is over the entire winter. It should do ok for you. it should survive and you crop it in the spring. you plant the seeds probably now and harvest in the spring. there are some web sites discussing growing spinach do a google search. of course the pacific north west is where the seed crop is grown because it does well there. I have given up on it and now grow swiss chard. really tasty if you pick some good varieties. It grows so incredibly easy compared to spinach. you can slice off the stem and eat the leaf portion only just like spinach. of course do not throw away the stem. they are great to eat but you can cook them separate for a different texture. However, I just cook it all together. I am not trying to emulate spinach.

I have the same issue and for a long time I could not figure out how the rain water is landing on top the car especially after I weather-stripped the top and sides of the door - until today when I just happened to open the garage door to clean the water mess on the car, the water came pouring through the sectionals of the door! Now it is simply not just the few drops of water that is the nuisance - if your car has some or lots of) dust the water drops create a messy look after the water drops on the car dry out - it looks really yucky on most cars and especially on a black car! If you want to go out and it is still raining, sure, the mess will be washed off but what if it is bone dry outside (sunny or not) - one is compelled to wash the mess off oneself or take the car to the car wash, unless one is ok with a messy looking car. This is quite annoying if this happens frequently as it does in the rainy season.

I agree with almost all of what has been written above. YOU need to fix it NOW. You're 3.9 years overdue, plus your girls are at a particularly nasty age. It'll be ten times as hard now as it would have been 4 years ago. Sit them both down in a place with no distractions and lay down the law. I'd try it with both together, but if that won't work, divide and conquer. Maybe talk to them in the car at the side of the road or in a parking lot (stomping distance from home?) -- whatever it takes to get them to listen. Keep your rules simple and short, and set the bar realistically low. In other words, they are not required to be nice, but are absolutely required to be civil. Dinner will be eaten together at the family table, and anyone who doesn't want to eat, doesn't eat. (Period. Get a cheap plastic locker and padlock if needed.) All questions will be answered in a polite manner. (Ask Hubby to keep them minimal at first.) Make a written list of your rules and post them on the wall. Also pre-determine consequences for breaking the rules -- loss of computer, phone, gaming, TV, iPod, piano, activities -- and FOLLOW THROUGH. Make your punishments short but severe. Since their behavior has become habitual, maybe come up with a 'warning' signal you can give them so that they can turn it around before losing a privilege. Now on the BioDad. He needs to understand that by encouraging them to behave that way, he is turning his children into little monsters. They are already disrespecting you; it won't be long before they turn their disrespect on HIM. And on anyone else who displeases them -- teachers, friends, coworkers and bosses. He is doing them NO FAVOR and actually causing them quite a bit of damage. You may want to gather some hard evidence of Dad's support before launching your 'fix' campaign. Why? Because I'm guessing YOU will not be able to change Dad's mind, no matter how persuasive your speech, because a Dad who does that isn't thinking clearly. But try to persuade him. Give him a chance and ask for his help in turning the girls' behavior around. Maybe write him an email? Several? And if he refuses, drag his butt into court because a judge will straighten him out pretty quick. Family court judges see this kind of thing a lot and have very little tolerance for this kind of carp. Maybe ask for court-ordered counselling and compliance monitoring? Or ask that if Dad won't comply, that he lose unsupervised contact with the girls? Frankly, I'm surprised your husband has put up with this as long as he has.