Morpheus knows much more than me. But from being a lawn junkie the past year and reading everything I can while talking to tons of people nearby with great lawns, I have a few insights. If it was me, I would start by worrying about the soil, not the weeds that are currently there. Killing them now does little. So, here is what I would do: 1) I would aerate. Then I would topdress with compost. Let that compost get into the holes! NEXT year's grass seeds will love you for it! 2) In the spring, I would start with a preemergent. That will prevent the weeds from sprouting - or at least most of them. I would also get on a fertilization program, preferably organic since that addresses the grass by addressing the soil. 3) At this point you will notice that you will have some bare spots, since I assume that a good chunk of your lawn was previously green thanks to the presence of weeds, which will not be there thanks to the preemergent. Some of that will fill in on its own, but most won't. No problem. Be patient. 4) Between August 15 and September 17, rent either a slit seeder or an aerator and get some new seed down on the ground. Topdress with compost, peat, or any other product on the market for such purpose (such as Penn Mulch). Wait 3 weeks and spot treat (apply more seed/compost) the areas that didn't meet your expectations. By October of 2008, your lawn will kick butt. *** Do you have a sprinkler system? If not, you need to figure out a plan for getting water to the lawn. You will never have much success from seeding unless you have something in place, even if that something is just a couple hoses/sprinklers placed in strategic locations to ensure full coverage.

Okay, here is the dilemma,the hinges on the kitchen cabinets are old brass and can't be replaced. The cabinet shop that made the cabinets found some antique brass but I really don't want those. I can't afford to have new doors made for the cabinets so I'm going to have to paint the darn things. I have to get new pulls or knobs and am not sure what kind yet. So, here's the question. What color do I paint the hinges? Do I buy the pulls first and then do the hinges, or do I paint them white and find some pulls that will work?

tall purple = society garlic succulent2 = aloe bush1 might be escalonia white flowers = salvia 'hot lips' orange flowers = bulbine groundcover = portulacaria afra suculent1 = senecio mandraliscae spikey = agave lophantha groundcover1 = sedum groundcover2 = an iceplant of some sort

So many good answers already. I'll just second one of the earliest replies that pointed out the diversity in yards is much much greater than what we have in our native habitat. I spend a fair amount of time in some mountain locations here. 4 species of trees for miles around: two oaks, a fir and a cedar. My little HOA, which I walk extensively with my dog, has that beat with its coral, carrotwood, ficus benjamina, rubber tree, brush cherry, juniper, podocarpus (several species), silk floss, queen palm, pepper tree (two species), canary island palm, fan palms, hong kong orchid, trumpet tree (brugmansia?), jacaranda, eucalyptus (2 or 3 species), bottle brush, bradford pear, sycamore, liquid amber, 3 or 4 different pines, bronze loquat, catalina cherry and a couple I haven't ID'd. And that's just the front yards in a fairly boring area. I love driving around older neighborhoods where there's been time for the owners to replace things and you see twice or three times the tree species and a lot more fruit trees. Its also worth pointing out that some of the common landscape plants have some decent grafting potential: hawthorn, pear, bronze loquat.