Here in PA we get cold winters too and Butterfly Bush dies to ground. But back it comes. The problem is that is self sows freely. So here we are beginning to see Butterfly Bush freely growing in roadside areas where nobody has planted it. While I am not aware of it being on a noxious/invasive weed list status anywhere, there are states considering that I am led to believe. There IS a variety of Butterfly bush that has been hybridized to remain smaller and reportedly does not self seed. There are other plants that will attract butterflies...none as freely as butterfly bush, but almost as good. I wonder if New Jersey Tea will grow in your area? As to the Black Eyed Susan/Echinacea/Lavendar debate. I think the regular birds will love the coneflower/black eyed susans for the seeds (they don't find the Goldsturm strain all that attractive)....but butterfly and hummingbird would prefer lavendar. The coneflowers aren't big nectar producers...that center cone is pure seed. And butterflies and hummers like the nectar. My one butterfly/hummingbird area due to be installed in the fall (while not strictly native!) is done for LOW water, hot sun...it contains Gaura Whirling Butteflies, Agastache Sunset, Pirovskia Little Spire, Lavendar Hidcote strain. The color blend is gorgeous. It is virtually carefree. Fragrant...and plants that butterflies love without the selfseeding invasive issues of butterfly bush. For butterfly weed (asclepias)....plant plenty. Although it spreads...it is both larval food source for Monarch's and nectar source for butterflies. So if you only have a little and a lot of monarch's, the caterpillars may decimate your plants each year and you won't get much in the way of flowers. Robin

Marcy96- The main reason I decided against the tumbled and travertine was the possibility of it turning pinkish. To answer your question, we were very lucky when it came to removing the tiles. The installer was someone who my husband saw previous work and then he in turn recommened him for three jobs. (My husband owns and manages real estate.) When it came time for him to install ours,he did a great job. But the color looked terrible. The white tiles took on a gray cast. MY DH agreed and saw how upset I was. It was removed for free!It really was not messy. However, this leaves you with a compromised wall that has the sheetrock ripped off. You now no longer have the option to paint it and wait. You are left with an awful looking carboard wall! I don't know why we couldn't replace the sheetrock, my DH was against that. So, now I am waiting for the installer to come back and put my new tiles in. Just hoping it will be acceptable. tbosshar: Trust me, if my tiles come out half as good as yours, I will consider myself lucky.

Here's 10 recipes. It's pretty forgiving as to formulations by the looks of the recipes. Some like to add water softener, OxyClean, dishwashing detergent or other additives to help with their needs. 10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes Recipe #1 1 quart Water (boiling) 2 cups Bar soap (grated) 2 cups Borax 2 cups Washing Soda Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted. Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved. Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed. Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel). Recipe #2 Hot water 1 cup Washing Soda 1/2 cup Borax 1 Soap bar Grate the bar soap and add to a large saucepan with hot water. Stir over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Fill a 10 gallon pail half full of hot water. Add the melted soap, Borax and Washing soda, stir well until all powder is dissolved. Top the pail up with more hot water. Use 1 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel). Recipe #3 Hot water 1/2 cup Washing Soda 1/2 cup Borax 1/3 bar Soap (grated) In a large pot, heat 3 pints of water. Add the grated bar soap and stir until melted. Then add the washing soda and borax. Stir until powder is dissolved, then remove from heat. In a 2 gallon clean pail, pour 1 quart of hot water and add the heated soap mixture. Top pail with cold water and stir well. Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel). Powdered Laundry Detergent - Recipe #4 2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated - you could also try the other bar soaps listed at the top) 1 cup Washing Soda 1 cup Borax Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container. Use 2 tablespoons per full load. Recipe #5 Hot water 1 bar (4.5 oz) Ivory Soap - grated 1 cup Washing Soda In a large saucepan add grated soap and enough hot water to cover. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until soap is melted. Fill a large pail with 2.5 gallons of hot water, add hot soap mixture. Stir until well mixed. Then add the washing soda, again stirring until well mixed. Set aside to cool. Use 1/2 cup per full load, stirring well before each use (will gel) Recipe #6 2.5 gallons Water (hot) 1 Bar soap (grated) 3/4 cup Washing Soda 3/4 cup Borax 2 TBS Glycerin Melt bar soap over medium-low heat topped with water, stir until soap is melted. In a large pail, pour 2.5 gallons of hot water, add melted soap mixture, washing soda, borax and glycerin. Mix well. Use 1/2 cup per full load. Recipe #7 2 cups Bar soap (grated) 2 cups Washing Soda 2 - 2.5 gallons hot water Melt grated soap in saucepan with water to cover. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until soap is dissolved. Pour hot water in large pail, add hot soap and washing soda. Stir very well. Use 1 cup per full load. Recipe #8 2 gallons Water (hot) 1 bar Soap (grated) 2 cups Baking soda (yes baking soda this timenot washing soda) Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted. In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well. Then add the baking soda, stir well again. Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load. Powdered Laundry Detergent - Recipe #9 12 cups Borax 8 cups Baking Soda 8 cups Washing Soda 8 cups Bar soap (grated) Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub. Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load. Recipe #10 - (Powdered) 1 cup Vinegar (white) 1 cup Baking Soda 1 cup Washing Soda 1/4 cup liquid castile soap Mix well and store in sealed container. I find it easiest to pour the liquid soap into the bowl first, stirred in the washing soda, then baking soda, then added the vinegar in small batches at a time (the recipe foams up at first). The mixture is a thick paste at first that will break down into a heavy powdered detergent, just keep stirring. There may be some hard lumps, try to break them down when stirring (it really helps to make sure the baking soda isnt clumpy when first adding). Liquid Detergents Note: Soap will be lumpy, goopy and gel-like. This is normal. Just give it a good stir before using. Make sure soap is covered with a lid when not in use. You could also pour the homemade soap in old (and cleaned) laundry detergent bottles and shake well before each use. *If you cant find Fels-Naptha locally, you can buy it online (check Amazon). Optional: You can add between 10 to 15 drops of essential oil (per 2 gallons) to your homemade soap.

Hi Lavender, I love your characters and the promise of this story. You've got a nice start with writing it. If you were writing in my category (young adult) you'd have a REALLY good start. Every genre has its own set of expectations. When writing for teens and young adults you'll almost always find short, snappy sentences. You'll also find a lot of new sentences that start with transition words like so, and , or but. That's what you've done at the beginning of your story. However, this isn't a novel for teens; it's a Victorian romance. Romance readers, and (I think) historical romance readers in particular, seem to like a more formal, wordier style. The words you choose and the way you structure your sentences can help establish tone and set the the story in the proper era. I played around with the first few paragraphs to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, but I'm no victorian romance writer so -- if I were you, I'd consider researching a few popular novels in the genre to get a better idea of what readers might expect: She would be coming to his classroom that afternoon. Henry Lastname set to putting things right, shelving a book here, straightening a pile of papers there as he tried to think about something, anything else. His opportunity to teach had come at the grace of a wealthy neighbor. Despite being born deaf, she’d thought him a bright child and had paid for his education. The chance to find books, to learn to communicate with others like himself, to establish a career as a teacher, it was all more than his family could have dreamed for him from their small tenant farm. Henry inspected his classroom with pride. He’d done well for himself, had gained the respect of the headmaster and the entire community. He knew he should be satisfied, but memories of the farm often crept in as he graded papers and settled petty disputes between the students in his charge. The lovely way the sun rose over the hills in the morning, the brilliant colors as it sank in the evening, and his horses -- how he longed to have his own horse again. Some days it was all he could think of … when he wasn’t thinking about the girl. The way she braided her lovely blonde hair around that pretty head of hers seemed to fill his own skull with all manner of indelicate thoughts. The yearning to run his fingers through those braids was chief among them. He reminded himself, yet again, how inappropriate this would be. Not only was Clara Lastname a student, she was also the daughter of an influential mayor of a nearby city. He was so involved in pushing away his thoughts that he jumped when he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. I hope you can get the idea from my pretty pitiful effort, lol. I don't read a lot of this genre, but I do read a lot of aspiring writers' works. You have a big head start on a lot of them. You have a nice way with dialogue and, even in this first chapter, you've already established the most important thing in romance writing -- chemistry. These two are full of it! Figuring out the voice of your story is all that's holding you back. I hope you'll accept my advice in the spirit it was intended. If I didn't think you had the ability to take this story to another level I wouldn't have bothered chiming in. Lavender Lass, you've got a good story to tell and the talent to tell it. P.S. A word about marketing if you don't mind. Just like there are genre expectations in the writing of the book, readers have expectations about the way a Victorian romance novel should look. Pretty women in beautiful dresses (and a bare chested man if you can find one) seem to be the norm. You might want to take a look at canva.com In just a few minutes I was able to put together this: To Share A Dream With You