Hi Daine, Where do you plan to grow you new plants? Inside? Outside? The reason I ask is because this plant can get rather large in a very short time. I received the one below (same as yours) a little more than a year ago "overgrown" in a 5 inch pot. This is a 15 inch basket. So in your zone (8? - where?) maybe a larger basket would be better than a pot. This plant seems to like to spread out a bit and REALLY loves the water in hot weather. As to repotting/dividing. Are the newer pb's in spike? Bloom finished maybe. All of my Miltassia are in spike/bloom right now. If in spike I think would wait a bit to repot/divide. Good Luck!! Pat.....

My arguments were not against Bluestar. My reaction was to the claims and to the reasoning/marketing/promo when a poster asked for specific points of comparison between 2 ranges. I won't have an opinion until I test it myself, side by side with the others -- and it will happen early in the summer. I do know is that heat distribution has a lot to do with the configuration of the burner, the number of gas jets and their relationship to pan size. No one mentions the distance between the top of the grate and the surface of the burner or any degree of adjustability on those -- all of which could affect heat distribution as well. Clearly the star shape of the BS burners puts a higher percentage of the underside of a pan in contact with heat than, say a burner with a single ring of jets. For me, sealed/open burners is more of a cleaning issue though it certainly affects the height of the burner. But in theory, if a sealed burner were well configured, the heat distribution should be excellent. As good? Let's see. I've seen Trevor's very admirable videos which come with his conclusions. To be fair, they may be perfectly valid and correct. However, it's undeniable that he has a vested interest in those conclusions. I have no problem with that and I totally applaud and admire his willingness to do objective side-by-side testing of the various ranges in his school where several are available and anything needed can be called in. However, what did come out of the discussion was the issue of the oven as a significant component of the range. Otherwise, we're just talking about rangetops. Meanwhile, I love that all the Bluestar and Wolf folks are coming out for their pianos. Passion is a wonderful quality in life. Your infrared photos are super and movajean's photos yesterday were a hoot. Made me think: more please!

Mitch, I kind of like "goose pimples". I also like "O Canada", we ARE good neighbors and good friends, and my Grandfather came to Michigan from Canada in 1905, and I still have family in Ontario. As for the National Anthem, like many others, I don't want "The Star Spangled Banner" turned into whatever currently fashionable pop singers "stylize" it into. Just sing it, darn it, generations of drunks have done it successfully, sheesh. As for being difficult, I can sing it and I'm no singer. Ashley can sing it, she has a lovely voice and can hit every note without hestitation. Maybe the "professionals" should practice a bit more and not chance screwing it up in front of millions. Ashley sang it once in 6th grade on a tour bus in Washington DC and made the bus driver cry. I can get "misty" hearing it sung too and my girls knew that if we were (or still are) at any function where we are asked to stand for the anthem, they'd better be prepared to sing or they get "the look" and maybe a small reminder tap on the back of their heads! Annie

I'm also going to suggest posting written rules and consequences/rewards, so I'm glad to see you post this thread. Cawfe's right that younger kids are more successful with instant rewards, so I agree that there should be some "caught being good" instant rewards. But I also think it's important for kids to earn towards rewards... So I like the stars go towards a future reward As for what the rewards should be and how many stars to get there: Letting the kids choose their own rewards worked really well for a friend of mine. Obviously you'd have to set limits, but how about having a row of stars for "cleans up after self every day without complaining" and lay out that this includes clearing your own plate, putting your clothes in the hamper and putting your own toys and homework away at night. Whether or not you have to prompt them doesn't matter, just as long as they do it without crying or major whining (I'd class "Aww, Dad, I hate picking up my toys" but doing it anyways as minor and ignore it) Then, tell them that after five stars they get a small reward (like a page of stickers for their crafty bag, a chocolate bar, or a dollar for their piggy bank) OR they can keep going to 15 stars and earn a bigger reward (like $7 to spend anyway they'd like at the dollar store). Have them choose the both possible rewards beforehand, so they know what they're shooting for, but at 5 stars, give the option to cash in or to bank and continue for the bigger better reward. The stars never expire, so if it takes one kid five days to earn their five stars on that row, they get their reward at five days. If it takes another kid a month to earn five stars for that row, well that's OK too. They'll start to see their siblings getting way more rewards and pick up the pace. I'd even suggest a cooperative reward option to the kids. If everyone can bank up 30 stars (minimum five from a row) we'll go for a fabulous day of family fun: Go to a matinee, then out for supper and then to a movie at the theatre. It might get a little expensive, but totally worth seeing the kids cooperate to behave themselves and earn a big reward together. As for age capabilities, I'll think of everything I can about the kids in my life to compare and contrast: I have a niece who's 4, one who's 6, a nephew who's 8 and my BF's son is 8. All of them use the bathroom alone. The 4 year old has trouble with a full tube of toothpaste, but once it's about half gone, she's good with it. The 6 yo and 8 yos can cut their own food and butter their own buns. The 4yo gets tough stuff cut for her, but can use her fork to cut potatoes or other softer foods. All of them are capable of clearing their own plates. My 6 yo niece and 8 yo nephew can make themselves toast and cereal or a PB&J sandwich without any supervision. My BF's son is physically capable of doing those things, but has to be supervised because he's not mature enough to not make the entire loaf of bread into toast etc. My 4 yo niece is too small to wield the milk jug at this point. The 8 yo boys know how to lock the deadbolt from the outside with the key. All the kids know to look out the window and see who it is before answering the door. All of them know where their toys go and that they are expected to put them back. They don't always do it, but they know they ~should~ be picking up their own mess. The 4yo likes company while she's in the tub but is capable of washing herself with the squirty soap and her bath puff. The 6yo calls for help to wash her hair but otherwise bathes independently, including run her own bath water. My 8 yo nephew can run his own bath water, but doesn't like to and can do all his own hair washing - he's getting to prefer showers now. My BF's 8 yo son claims he needs help to wash his hair, but if we say "no, you know how to do it yourself" he does it just fine (but his Grandma babies him into thinking he can't). My 6 yo niece and 8 yo nephew eat a little of everything on their plates, usually without complaint. My BF's 8 yo son will say "I don't like it" to food he doesn't like the look of it and will be very rude about things he tries and doesn't like "This is DISGUSTING!!!! I'm going to puke" so we're working on "It's very rude to say that. If you don't like something you just say 'No thanks, I don't really like it'". My 4 yo niece will try anything once, but if she doesn't like it, it's not passing her lips again in that meal - but she'll try it again tomorrow. She also has to be coaxed a lot with "you have to have three more bites" and then you're done. All the kids can work the DVD player on their own, but only my 6 yo niece can be trusted to handle the DVDs by their edges. She's allowed to touch Mom and Dad's DVDs, but her older brother isn't, which infuriates him to no end "I'm older so I should be allowed to! Not her!" I hope that gives some idea of what a different batch of similar aged kids can do.