So guess what? I've now been to Ann Arbor for the first time in my life! Loved the town! Had some fabulous food there, and just found the entire Main. St. area to be very authentic, very lively on a summer Wed. afternoon, fabulous farmers market going on till 2, just perfect. After traipsing around Main St. for a bit, we drove to the Chain of Lakes area which was just about the perfect distance away, 30 minutes or so from the Main St., and an easy drive. As we drove on, I fell more and more in love with the landscape, which got more and more rural and beautiful as we approached the lake area. We first went to Portage Lake, and then to Baseline Lake. My first glimpse of Portage was perfect. Really liked the size, the setting, everything. It's a little difficult to GPS your way around a lake because I didn't have a specific address, just wanted to explore. The main part we saw had houses much too close together for my liking, though I loved many of the styles of homes. Similar feeling about Baseline. The overall problem was that my mom and sister are not good explorers. They are real homebodies, and don't get out to explore much on their own, so they were completely panicked about finding our way back, driving willy-nilly down roads that suddenly popped up etc. Once I realized I just wasn't going to be able to explore the way DH and I would, I just gave up on truly exploring the area. I did sneak down to the water's edge by trespassing at a house that looked somewhat vacated. The water seemed fairly clear, but there was definitely some algae at the shore. Not sure if that is a once every ten years kind of issue, or ongoing. At least I got to see the area, and assuming we could find a somewhat private waterfront home, it would definitely be in the running. On the other hand, 2 1/2 hours drive time from my sister's home to a lakehouse might prove to be too much adventure for mom and sis.... We're still hoping to get to Sleeping Bear at the end of Sept. so we'll have something to compare to. Thank you all so much for your help getting me there!

When it comes to linoleum, you are welcome to reach out to retailers who sell Marmoleum (the brand name of linoleum). Those retailers will have either certified installers as employees or a list of certified installers they recommend. Start at the beginning = certified retailers. They will have the professionals you need to install linoleum properly. If you can't find anyone, then look to commercial installers. They often work with hospitals and schools - the two most common places you will find REAL linoleum (not sheet vinyl). And PLEASE ask for a tutorial on how to care for linoleum. It has a maintenance schedule that MUST be followed. It is simple but it requires some elbow grease and TIME. You must be aware of what you are signing up for when it comes to real linoleum (not sheet vinyl).

Geeze you guys if I would have thought we could continue this in this particular thread I wouldn't have made the other one in the Gesneriads forum! Ok,,,,,,I guess I will stay here for this. My sinningias are in a closed container. They don't dry out quickly. I check them every so often to make sure they are slightly damp. I have not yet had one go "dormant" . It seems as though they just keep growing in a pile on top of the original tuber and leaves and they have eensy weensy little leaves that never get very big. Could it be that when the flower self polinated instead of seed falling on the soil it just fell down onto the original plant and germinated? And just piled up? I thought the seed would fall down onto the soil and pretty soon I would have a "carpet" of sinningia. I just don't understand the "rock" pile! The one plant that fell out of the cup I bought it in (hey I didn't mean it,,,,,,it was an accident! My old fingers get clumsy at times!) is the one I got all those little baby tubers from. And they sure as heck didn't look like your nice cupful Irina!!!! There was nothing that large. I dunno. They are doing well, but I was just curious as to this "rock pile" effect. After reading this I now know how to handle the tuber if it should go totally dormant. Oh and mine are in an East window. Inquisitive Rosie

There are articles that give a lot of detail on building a rain garden. HERE is one. The size of a rain garden depends on two things the square footage of roof drainage and your soil type. You need a larger rain garden if your soil is clay than if it is silt or sand. For instance, one downspout contains runoff from 200 sq ft of roof and the soil is clay. Multiply 200 x .43 to get the rain garden size of 86 sq ft. Of course, a larger rain garden gives more containment during heavy or prolonged rain, and also allows greater plant diversity. Many sites recommend 150 sq ft. Note that many sites recommend digging deeper and generously mixing compost with the soil so it will hold more water. Ultimately, a rain garden is a shallow depression or a bermed area that catches runoff and allows it to soak in. After a heavy or prolonged rain event check to see if water flowed out anywhere. As long as the flow spreads out over lawn everything is OK. It's only if the overflow cuts into a berm or forms a runnel that you would add rocks or gravel to alleviate the erosion.