Lawns are a lot easier than you are being told. There are two extremely popular grasses in the south. One is bermuda and the other is St Augustine. Bermuda is a fine bladed grass which requires extra care every week while St Augustine grass is a coarse bladed grass. There are two kinds of bermuda: one is a hybrid which only slightly resembles the "wild" varieties, and the other is common bermuda which is started from seed. This bermuda seed is the only grass seed that makes sense in the south. If you mix the two kinds of bermuda, it will always and forever look weedy. The two different kinds of grass just look different. The hybrid looks really nice most of the time. The common looks so-so most of the time unless you really spend a lot of time and money on it. Really both require a lot of care when compared with St Augustine. Bermuda is a FULL SUN type of grass. If it is in the shade of a building, fence, or shrubbery/trees, it will thin out and look poor. Bermuda can go dormant in the winter and when it does not get regular water. St Augustine comes in many varieties. The common variety is rarely seen anymore. The others are all hybrids with different degrees of tolerance for shade, disease, and drought. St Augustine is the only grass in the south that can tolerate much shade, and it can tolerate a lot. In full sun it becomes very dense and very resistant to weeds. The Floratam variety works best in bright sun but will be a little thin in deep shade. When selecting St Augustine what matters most is what's available in your neighborhood. If you find some of a certain variety, please write back and we can explain the pros and cons for the ones you can get. One interesting thing about St Augustine is that you can care for it such that it will wipe out other grasses. All it takes is proper water, mowing, and fertilizer. The difference between proper care for bermuda and St Augustine is slight but important if you want one or the other. If you start with just a few pieces of St Augustine, with proper care it can cover a yard in 2 years. If you want instant lawn, this won't work, but if you are patient, it will work. In fact I just bought a new home with no grass and will be doing the same thing. Sorry I'm being called to dinner. There's more to say, but you might have some more questions.

Jenny- I don't really know what to say except that I feel your pain, that this really is a nightmare. If I were you in my heart of hearts a big part of me would just want to run away. There is a big choice which I'm sure you already are considering: whether to continue with trying to fix these floors. It's hard to give up on something once so much time & effort and care is invested in it. But maybe you can think about another kind of flooring that could be simply installed over the concrete mess. You have to be careful, though, if you go this route to choose something technically compatible, i.e., that works with concrete underneath. Who knows, you might be ready for a new look and approach *and* a new contractor at this point. All my best, Katie

Angelfalls, I'm so very sorry for your loss. I too, remember being 16 and so in love. I know that the feelings are real. Having lost my 19 year old daughter and watching her boyfriend deal with her loss, I can speak only from that experience. I have not ever lost a boyfriend. They loved each other very much and he grieved greatly, as you do. After almost 8 years, he recently found another girl whom he loves and who makes him happy. He will always have Christin in his heart along with all of the very happy memories and so many special times that they shared. Just because he has moved with his life doesn't mean that he has forgotten her or ever will. I know that Christin would want him to have a happy life because she loved him that much. I know that you don't feel like living or thinking about the future and Christin's boyfriend didn't either. All he could think about was Christin and being with her again no matter what it took. As time passed, that pain eased and happy memories took the place of the horrible sadness and grief and lonliness. The same thing will happen with you. I know it doesn't seem possible now, but it will happen. Just take each day at a time with your grief, just like we all have to do. I promise you, he will remain in your heart, but your heart wom't feel broken anymore. It will heal. I'm glad you came here. We all care. If you would like to see Christin and a picture of her and her boyfriend, you can enter this site. Lu Here is a link that might be useful: Christin Cosby Memorial Web Site

It's not unusual to find BSFL in a worm bin. But large numbers are a sure indicator that you have put too much food in. They like fresh food like fruits and veggies best. Some people like BSFL in their bins because the larvae will break down whatever food is there, consume what they want, and then the worms can clean up the rest. But, there are two problems if it gets out of hand. First, the BSFL will break down fresh fruits and veggies, and release a lot of the water. Then the juices begin to ferment and become acidic. Worms hate that kind of environment, and it will even kill them. You can tell if it's come to that by the smell. Sharp, acidic. Secondly, BSFL eat in a hurry. It's a feeding frenzy. There's lots of movement, rushing, and feeding. The worms don't really like that, and they will move far to the sides until the BSFL are done partying. If you have a bin full of partying BSFL, there will be no room for the worms, and they will give up and die between being pushed to the edges and beyond, and the acidic environment. BSFL and worms can cohabit, but only if the BSFL are in small populations. I suggest that you put in more bedding. If you have room in the bin, and it looks like you do, double it. Also, put in a few handsful of "clean" dirt. You don't normally need dirt in a worm bin, but dirt is a very forgiving worm bin filler. There is a lot of bacteria in dirt and it will help to absorb some of that extra food, and help level things out in the bin.