good morning Alicia, and welcome! :) I am afraid this is a very quiet site, but maybe we can get someone from z3 or near there to respond. I am from z6 in Ontario so our gardening experiences will be very different, but we will still share a love or desire for gardening and growing things. I have gardened for a very long time but discovered winter sowing a few years back. I love it and hope you will too. I love growing my own plants from seed, and not just because they are cheap! lol! start collecting containers (2L pop bottles, juice jugs, larger water bottles, etc.) and then all you will need is some potting soil and some seeds. Once you have decided what you want to plant you may find someone to trade with or to share seeds with you for a SASBE. I have seeds so may have what you are looking for. :) If you haven't discovered it already, then I highly recommend the site, wintersown.org. I will post the link below. Tons of info!! perennials should be out now as many of them will need the freeze thaw cycle to germinate. next will come the hardy annuals, etc. Wishing you lots of success. p.s. let me know about the seeds Lois Here is a link that might be useful: WS info

Thanks for responding Rich. It is nice to know that somebody read this thread. I really want that wisteria on the wall. Actually the trellis is set a good 8 inches off the wall (did that to improve air circulation). I've done a little more research since last time. Apparently AMETHYST FALLS is a dwarf cultivar of an already mannerly vine. It is said to mature at 15 feet. My fear is that would not climb high enough to reach the roof line and fail to completely cover the side of the house with greenery. The good news is that I've corresponded with another Gardenweb member who lives in Maryland and he said AF can reach up to the required height provided it is well cared for. As for the invasiveness he didn't see much. Just a few shoots here and there that were easily removed, which is nothing compared to the Japanese wisteria that seems to want to take over the state. As for the color both cultivars are really close. LONGWOOD PURPLE is slightly deeper and more "purple" while AMETHYST FALLS is a little lighter/bluer. In all honesty I'm probably gonna get both so I can compare fragrance and drape, two critical factors. The fragrance in particular. AMETHYST FALLS has a spicy fragrance that some folks don't like. On a previous thread one person even described it as smelling like cat pee! Yet there were others who really like it. To be honest I've smelled Amethyst Falls and the fragrance, while not offensive, wasn't as attractive as Chinese/Japanese wisteria. More fresh/herbal smelling than the floral bouquet I'm used to smelling from a wisteria. I'm hoping LONGWOOD PURPLE is sweeter and more "wisteria" like. Another factor is drape. AF is supposed to be a slight improvement in this regard looking more like "traditional" (i.e. Asian) wisteria. The specimen I saw at a garden center had flower clusters that really did drape down. No they weren't huge like with Chinese or even more so with Japanese wisteria but they did hang down, especially the immature clusters that hadn't completely opened. Hopefully next year more folks will have tried American wisteria and can continue this discussion. Now if only somebody would cross American and Japanese wisteria to create a repeat/early blooming, non-invasive mannerly hybrid vine with sweetly fragrant, long pendulous flower clusters. Yeah, that would be the perfect wisteria. Image of Chinese wisteria by Nora-in-Vancouver at Hortiplex Here is a link that might be useful: Amethyst Falls info at Duke edu

So glad someone has started this. I was around 166, was diagnosed with polymyalgia and atrial fibrilation. Was put on predisone and as a result jumped to 192. Although they say it is hard to get weight down when on prednisone, I really wanted to try. I was sick of being so heavy. I'm also on blood thinners and having problems trying to keep the readings steady. I decided that I was going to try to tabulate everything I ate to keep the Vitamin K at a steady daily level. My GP and cardiologist agreed to letting me do it, but they told me that no one would want to do that. However, I have stuck at it. Information is somewhat limited and I have had to do a lot of research. I'm trying to keep my calories at 1200 also, and the Vitamin K at 30 mcg's daily. It is very hard to balance them both. I'm now down to 155. The cardiologist says that is enough. I would like to get down to at least 150 and preferably 145. I want to do it slowly with the hope that it says off. I have to try to walk each day, because of the atrial fibrilation, and walk with a walker. I will be 80 in a few months. I did get a pedometer but can't manage the 10,000 steps suggested. Yesterday though, I did rack up a total of 6500 steps. That is the most yet. Usullally it is between 3 and 4,000. All the best to everyone. Let's make this site a popular one. We all need it, if we are trying to lose weight. WE WILL SUCCEED!!! ivamae

I have a daughter who is a single parent. She is finding it to be a real struggle. Maybe your DIL has got the message that being a single custodial parent is not a good option for either your granddaughter or herself. Your posting suggests that your DIL is involved as a visiting parent and that her relationship with yourself is reasonably civil given circumstances. Considering what I hear about couples who have split up, I would be thankful for small mercies. As to what to tell your granddaughter. I would tell her that her mommy loves her very much but that mommy cannot provide a good home and that you can. I think that it would be helpful to see if you can get/keep a good relationship as possible with your DIL. After all you are likely to be involved with her for a long time to come. You might have to work hard at being non-judgmental. If your son objects, tell him that it is for the sake of granddaughter. Ian