Oh what a pain to be bedridden in the summer! It's horrible to be suffering with anything serious at anytime, but it seems even worse when it keeps you from doing what you love. One thing that I have found is that no matter what goes right in the garden, it's the failures that we obsess about. I had one of the best years ever if you look at the whole garden. But I had an almost complete failure of my tomato crop (damn squirrels picked almost every last one!). That was a pretty serious blow, and then I found I has a serious infestation of narcissus bulb flies! I think I actually considered throwing in the towel (or rather trowel) for a few minutes, but then I turned around and looked at the rest of the garden... Oh my! It's such a lot of work to sow the seeds, plant the seedlings, and tend the plants that it can be frustrating when something goes wrong! But every year I have seeds that don't germinate - sometimes there's something wrong with the seeds, sometimes they're challenging or require a step I left out. Every year I have perennials that don't come back after years of me lavishing care on them. Every year I have a different bug that picks my yard to call home. Something always goes wrong. But the joy you get when you see that long awaited flower open, or see a plant covered in bees, butterflies, or humming birds! When you taste that first tomato after a winter of grocery store ones! When someone says "You grew that from a seed?" and you just flush with pride that you can actually do that! Wow! All that makes it worth it to dig on year after year. Garden on! BP

Can I join the club? I hope all of you have had success in removing your odor from your vehicles. When I bought my new car, the second month of ownership, I was running late to work and decided to take some milk in a spill-proof mug with me and have cereal at work. Well, as I got into the garage at work to park my car, the stupid mug got knocked over and the lid came undone, unleashing lots of fresh low-fat milk!!! all over the front passenger side. Can I tell you how tortured I was at knowing that I did this in my new car??? And have no one else to blame???? Anyway, after a week or so of trying pet-odor removers, carpet cleaners, and simply just soaking the area up with damp clothes, I learnt of applying baking soda on the area - just make sure the area is slightly damped before applying. I left the baking soda sit for about 1 week and then vacuumed feverishly. Odor gone! It was that easy. Now forward 3 years.....I was washing my car and I happened to clean my floor mats with some carpet upholstery cleaner. Well, I didn't notice that I left the passenger floor mat too damp. For the rest of the week, I didn't drive my car. But on the weekend, when I went to get groceries - I jumped in the car to only be greeted by the smell of dead animal!!! After making sure there was no dead animal in the trunk, engine compartment, below the car, underneath the seats, I came across a heavy dead animal odor beneath the passenger side floor mat! And noticed that it was still damp!!! Instantly, I knew this had to have been the return of the milk I spilled three years ago!!! This time around, I tried to treat it with carpet upholstery cleaner with no luck. I also tried using the baking soda. Despite having the baking soda in there overnight, the odor was still active the next morning. However, not as intense as dead animal, but more like a musty, dirty socks smell. I left the baking soda in a bit longer and went to Target and got a specific car upholstrey foam cleaner from Prestige for $4. I vacuumed the baking soda - really vacuumed it and the whole passenger front side. I simply sprayed the foam cleaner and left it in for 2 minutes to soak in. After that, you use the scrubber on the cap to scrub in the foam. And then lift the foam off with a damp clothe. I repeated it one more time. And then let it dry overnight. The next day what an improvement. By day 2, the odor was contained and I hope the milk residue from 3 years ago is gone. Plus, I have a good looking interior passenger carpet! I totally recommend this product.

Y'all, I'm looking now at the Lee sofa on which I spent more than $5,000 6 or 7 years ago for the higher quality level, only to watch the cushions become WEIRDLY misshapen within 18 months: "pitching forward" (a good term for something I hadn't known could happen before seeing it here), sinking in the middle, the back cushions developing permanent horizontal folds that couldn't be returned to its intended shape, and slanting to one side in a way that wouldn't fluff back to its original shape. The seat straps collapsed in less than 3 years, and I used the throw cushions under the main seat cushions to bring it back to height somewhat. TOTAL CRAP! What's left of it is still here, due to a combination of pandemic issues (including my getting long covid) and the difficulty of finding smaller-sized quality furniture in the configuration I want. Wish I'd stuck with the beautiful Calico Corners sofa that the Lee replaced only because a new room configuration required an L-shaped sectional for TV viewing. During the pandemic, a new Calico sectional -- a small one -- was going to cost in the upper $7,000s - low $8,000s, and I was already out the $5,000-something for the Lee, so... After re-reading this thread, I'll look into the Quatrine, Massoud, and Arhaus. But ple-e-ease SAVE YOURSELVES from the Lee Industries experience!

I'm having the best time reading your memories. @Kippy. ROFL boiled lawn. I read it to my husband and he said, "that's just like your pennywort drink but worse". At least my drink has sugar in it to offset the taste. @jillius Durian smells really bad raw. Did the candy smell too? @mushcreek. I had to look up chitlins. OMG hog's intestines and guts. And it's served with my favorite foods, collard greens and fried chicken? Say what!! The name sounds like little critters running around, especially chitterlings. @mgmum Yes..... that's what I have nightmares and wrote about. Uni = RAW sea urchin. It looks like slimy, congealed barf. @flamingfish I used to feel the same way as you about oysters until someone introduced me to the right kinds of oysters. The oysters that I've learned to love are small and sweet. They're slightly chewy like clams and are delicious with lemon and a dash of spicy red sauce. Even my husband likes them and he is afraid of any food that isn't processed or packaged in a box or plastic. Those kinds of oyster are pretty expensive though so we only eat them when in San Francisco at a specific oyster bar during their happy hour. The oysters are $1/each then. @ Bob. if it's really "Cow fetus in placenta sauce" , you definitely beat the goat's eyes. @mrspete. Oooooh a Scots for hubby. I adore Scots and their accent. I will take your advice and NEVER try haggis. I don't need another memory scar. By the way, have you seen Outlander? @artemis "one could not remotely begin to guess which nodules were peppercorns or bits of lead shot!" - Too funny. @blubird. Yuck and just curious. Why are the ingredients no longer allowed to be sold?