Congratulations on paying off your car. I hope the health and job problems get better soon too. I need to get a new job in January. I've never felt worried about getting hired SOMEWHERE before, even if not my ideal. But now at my age and hearing about others experiences, I'm concerned. We have a conversations side of this forum for personal non-garden junk subjects. Look at the top of the forum listing and you will see the word Conversations. You can keep us posted on how things are going there. Good luck, Kathy

That's funny Mike. You're a champ. rosewynd: thanks for the tip... I appreciate your thoughts. I'm kind of speechless. Just the other day I was thinking about how long it would take and what kind of riding lawn mower I was going to buy. It's really a perfect match for me. I guess I can do pretty much everything with that much space. Photos to come. And noki, I think I'll plant a Pinus resinosa 'Fastigiata' first. I was thinking about that too. Later! Dax

Sharp tips are just part of the plant's make up. they have it for a reason. To ensure that the plants grow from leaf cuttings, there are things one can do to encourage growing faster. Sunlight is an important must for any shoots to develop. A slow developing shoot can be the plant going through its natural life cycle and purposely producing a new shoot in a long session because it may be experiencing a leaf covering or mulch covering (with low light levels) this triggers the plant to grow slower and make shoots less frequently. Oftentimes when you stress out a plant, they make shoots faster and doing so in as bright a location as possible increases this opportunity to make fresh shoots. Also try fertilizing the leaves (rooted of course) as this also indicates that the plant is in an active state of growing and not dormant.

Neil - that is quite the set! And what a deal you got on it! $150 off, nice job! However, I wouldn't know what to do with all those attachments! Although I am sure I could find something. As for the drill bits, Rina is correct, they are specialty bits. I actually found mine back by where they sell tile, not by the drill stuff. And mine is like the first picture, not the second. Its circular with a hole in the middle. I keep water on it while drilling, and gentle pressure. You have to be patient! Also, I think the water may be the cause of my drill giving out on me. The chuck was stuck. I could not get it to move for nothing! I tried CLR (I noticed some rust inside of it). I also tried WD40. I could've just replaced the chuck but I couldn't get the hex screw driver down the middle. The chuck was stuck with a bit in it. :-( And MsGreenFinger - thank you for the information! I tried a taste of it alone, and I did not like it!!! So I don't know if I would like anything with just sage (e.g. tea, mouthwash, etc.) but I am going to try it on some pork soon, and maybe even some chicken. :-) Deva