You all have helped convince me to buy a King of Spades spade and a one-sided bevel grafting knife, but I'm still trying to figure out some details. On the spade, do you all prefer a long handle or a D-handle? I did use a King of Spades brand spade once digging bamboo at someone else's place. He had the kind in the link below. I just showed the picture to my wife and explained how it worked, saying it was kind of like a built-in T-post driver, to which she asked why one couldn't just drive a long-handled metal spade with a regular T-post driver. I suppose the feasibility of that idea might be obvious if I actually had a regular, long-handled spade in hand, but I'm curious now. But apart from that idea I would be leaning toward the D-handle as it would seem less likely to bend/break since I wouldn't be able to exert as much leverage on it as with the longer handle. Or should I go for as much leverage as I can get, because these things are so heavy it won't matter? On the knife, I saw a one-sided bevel knife at a local hardware store this week that they call a "floral knife." I almost bought it, but then I remembered the orchardist that taught the grafting class that got me started recommended carbon steel over stainless steel, and this knife was stainless. What's the practical difference between stainless and carbon steel, and which would you want for a grafting knife? Also, with a one-sided bevel will it be like a chisel such that I need to start paying attention to which way the bevel is facing when I make cuts, and if so, which way should I turn it? Here is a link that might be useful: bamboo spade

greenhearted, thanks for the comment, it was very considerate. I felt so bad for her and couldn't come up with a single worthwhile suggestion or think of a way to solve it. The photos I posted of her yard were after the transformation & I thought it looked good too, so good in fact I started mass planting many of my plants like she'd done in my ugly problem areas, planting all one kind in groupings like she'd done. I think the problem along with her too rich soil is the amount of rain they've had this year, everything is hugely overgrown, too tall or flopping. Barron was saying the same thing about Arkansas, too much rain. Here in central OKlahoma between those two areas of Kansas and Arkansas where I am relatively close by we are in drought and had a terribly dry summer, mine looks colorless and fried, not overgrown by any stretch. Go figure that one out. Heck even Texas got a lot of rain this summer. The worst effect my sister is dealing with since going prairie and removing the lawn is chiggers. I'd have never even thought of that happening. She said they are grossly thick and she can't get in to work without getting bit (although spraying and wearing long sleeves and pants does help but thats miserable in hot humid weather) or having them fly in her eyes. It sounded like the stuff of nightmares. On top of all that just like NHBabs was telling us, she has duscovered she is very allergic to grasses and breaks out whenever she's around them. What do you say to all that?

Here's the beginning stages of mock up header practice. In these practice headers, I am not using the actual drapery fabric (to save on expense). This is not the actual rod & rings to be used in the final drapery. I used one of the rods currently in my home. One header is using train print fabric, lavender felt (which is much thicker than the actual interlining) & muslin for lining. I used the hand sewn method I mentioned in my first post. I made a backing band (covered in the actual lining that will be used) & hand stitched it to the gathered portion of the header. Instead of using buckram for the band, I used something a bit more pliable, so not to be too stiff. I was thinking that if I used buckram, the drapery may not scrunch up very well when moving the drapery from the closed position to the opened position. The next header to try out will use a solid silver fabric, thin cotton flannel (to represent the interlining) & the actual lining fabric. I have not sewn this practice header, yet. I could not find a 1 1/2" - 2" gather tape. I found two different 1" tapes (both have 2 cords). Not sure which one to use. The one that has the "channels" for inserting drapery pins/hooks is a little bit thinner than the other one. Since these drapes will be opened & closed daily, the slightly thicker one may be better for inserting hooks. See beginning pics of this header in my next post (I reached my photo maximum allowed in this post already) Another thought I had was...I could hand sew small rings to the back of the finished header so I won't need to insert the hooks directly into any of the bands or fabric? In the last pics, you can see how the drapery hooks move out of vertical position easily. That may not work out well when opening & closing drapes. I noticed that they sell drapery hooks in different sizes. I may be able to get smaller ones than what I currently have. Keep in mind that the actual fabric we will use in the final project has a softer and more supple feel to it compared to any of my practice fabric. The actual fabric is a blend : cotton 46%, wool 26%, silk 28%. It is solid & color is silver. The practice header is narrower than the actual width of the final drape. First pic represents "closed drape", second pic is "opened". Third pic is open (top view), fourth is closed. Last pic shows how hook moves...not sure what that will do to fabric over time.

Elizabeth, my comments were based on my experiences. Not too many years ago, I offered an old CRT large screen TV we'd decommissioned to the salvadoreño who does work in and around our house. He chuckled and said in half Spanish and half English that his extended family had pooled their money to buy a big screen TV at Costco for the men to watch futbol and for the evening shows for the women in the family. My last visit to the cable store was to return a settop TV box (after I'd switched to DISH). The people in front of me in line were modestly dressed Spanish speaking women who paid their bills in cash, using mostly singles and also coin change. When people are spending extended time at the counter because of the need to count and recount cash, it's not hard to see what's going on. As you said, you and most others pay these bills with autopay or another online means. Those who are illiterate, or who don't have the credentials to get a bank account, pay bills in cash. And such people are typically hard working folks of very modest means. That was what I saw.