Morz8 - I need to get myself a pair of hip boots! I never thought of that. I'm covered in mud all the time and I am sick of mud stained knees. I've tried kneeling on cardboard, plastic bags, placemats... but I still get muddy. Today the rain stopped for a while and it was only misting. Although it was only 46 degrees, the wind wasn't blowing for the first time in days. So I put on my rain coat and went outside. With all the rain in the forecast, I figure this is a great time to do some transplanting. I'm a fiddler. I am compelled to move my plants around from year to year. I feel comforted knowing the temps will be low and the plants will have plenty of water while trying to re-root. I moved Goldstrum Rudbeckia sown last year to a sunnier spot. I didn't get any flowers last year so this year I'm looking forward to them. I transplanted Shasta Daisies sown a few years ago. I also moved a whole bunch of ajuga. My backyard is so water logged the ajuga was under 2 inches of water. That stuff is tough! I dug up and divided hosta. Last, I moved some Asiatic lilies too.

Hi Joff: This has nothing to do with basil! I am a Canadian, recently transplanted in Guanacaste. Can you recommend any gardening books that would assist me in planning a garden and selecting plants? Most tropical gardening books assume that there is shade and lots of water. Not so in Guanacaste, as you know. I'm starting from scratch, including having to ammend the soil. And, need help and advice.

My previous cat had a similar problem. It is possible your cat may be sick so you should take her to the vet just to be safe. However, it could be an issue that your cat is eating her food too quickly and it's too much at once so they throw it up. My previous cat suffered from this for a long time. There are several ways to tackle this problem. First, you could give the cat only a little bit of food at a time. Give a little. Wait 10 minutes. Give a little more, repeat process until all the food given. This is a simple method, but I also realize some people are busy and don't have 30 minutes to feed / wait / feed wait. Second, (and this may sound a little weird and it ONLY for dry food, not wet) but put large SMOOTH stones in the food bowl. The purpose of doing this is that it takes the cat longer to pick out the food bits around the stones / crevices. It basically forces the cat to eat more slowly. Third, you could give your cat only wet food. This method worked very well for a friend of mine who also had a cat who threw up all the time because he ate too quickly. In general cats take longer to eat wet food. Anyhow, I understand the frustrations of cats throwing up all the time. It gets a little annoying cleaning it up constantly. Good luck!

I know how you feel except I married a man with three kids two 8 years old and one 11 year old daughter from the moment we were married she was needy and all attention from her daddy was hers so much that her brothers were afraid to hold hands with their dad because she controlled him, had a emotional hold. My husband was married to me not his daughter. At the time I didn’t understand it was hard for her share her dad but she came between us and sometimes I wonder if that’s what happened with his first wife expect I don’t allow it to ruin our relationship. I thought she was telling the truth for along time. We started a relationship with my step daughter that I thought was honest but manipulated me in believing in her and she would lie about why she was late after school, she was going to her friends house then homework club and hanging out with a boy that I think started this mess or temptations sexual acts in order to be with boy and kiss boys all I know is because I told her couldn’t date until she 16 she disobeyed and did anyways. She was the one who didn’t want anything to do with her mentally, manipulative mother now she’s apparently been communicating with her for two and half years and has told people I abuse her and control her and cage her up. She tells people these things to get attention her mother played on me and her dad that she better and moving out into apartment and she lied she was still in metal home so her daughter has learned and since then taught her brothers steal and lie and now talk back, her brother have intellectual disabilities on top of that which puts more strain on me as step parent but what changed was when I had baby of my own my husband became a husband in since and he started a better commitment then just bending to his daughters will our baby in Since saved our marriage and my husband also had addictions that She got him started on and it changed once Elizabeth was born he became the man I married if he will. Savannah came between us and we got along but it was difficult road. Our love became stronger and My step daughter sought for attention else where by a guy she became involved with in sex texting and they since he has broken up with her twice and is trying again because I finally gave consent for her to date because she sneaking behind our backs and lying and I knew it was matter of time that she would be pregnant because she was desperate to be with him. He’s not a guy I like but I don’t like secrets and my step daughter also tells our bishop I fight with her and I do not. I used to slap her but I stopped doing that when she called the police over in hope her dad would divorce me and she would have his attention again yes I know one believes me because she’s that good at manipulating people in believing she does nothing but I since learned manipulaters know how to push your buttons to send you over edge. I was already being gaslighted by my step son and I don’t know why but I found since then I tested him and found he has a intellectual mild and a behavioral disorder and I have changed emotionally since he started messing with my mind it’s called gaslighting and now since then I had emotional breakdown and teens used that push my buttons. It’s exhausting, it got worse when I was pregnant because I was more emotional and I didn’t realize I was being gaslighted but my pregnancy changed me I was irritable and emotional and I was tired more from being sick and jaylan stealing and throwing tantrums and kicking me but know one believes me because I’m the parent it’s my fault they act this way. When I came into my marriage I was not only a step parent but I was raising kids who were emotionally abused by their mother and foster care influences and also had disabilities I knew not about our boys except one had epilepsy and the other a learning disability. It was a complete mess and I felt I was teaching them at age 3 and Savannah 5 because they never had rules, responsibility ever and making rules was horrifying to them. Jaylan was angel until third year in spring wood he went off some medication for epilepsy that I didn’t know would arise so many unexpected problems he ether had or developed because of this medication he was on for so long. Jaxson always had emotional problems from the start, things happened in foster care and also his childhood that I could tell made him crazy at times. He use to have tantrums everyday and I worried the d.s.f would take them away after their father fought so hard to keep them my step daughter I thought liked me did not because I made rules in the house. She never had rules even her dad cleaned the house when he was home and took care of the dogs and birds which now he hates animals because ex wanted them. His ex was so depressed and ocd and mentally ill he took care of his has much as he could but in since he was like a single father with three kids and his wife he had taken care of. So when I came into the picture and started changing things my step daughter didn’t want us together anymore and in her mind she believed her daddy can do better or that she liked that her daddy only raise them. If Jesse and I didn’t get married he would’ve lost full custody of his kids and it would’ve destroyed him. Jesse was abused emotionally by his ex and there was definitely manipulation going on ether his ex or his daughter. His boys started learning to lie and steal from their sister and it’s been difficult to break so now everyone my step daughter talks to believes I abuse her and control her and don’t give her privacy but she gets plenty of it and so my husband knows I don’t hurt them. He knows they manipulate me and him but we are their parents and I don’t care if they hate me someone needs to love them and teach them and hopefully later they will see. When I think she’s telling the truth I don’t believe her because she’s kept secrets I found out that make me love her but not trust her. p