I don't have a clue what iris borers would look like, but I'm betting they're something I might not want to see....I have a fairly low "ick factor" tolerance =:) Would there be holes? I didn't have anything that looked wrong, but I might as well learn what to look for. I've got lots more to divide later. Thanks!

Here's another, halway: My wife's cat got to my plants and pulled my seedlings out of the pots and just left them laying next to the tray. Didn't try to eat them or anything and didn't just stop on 1 or 2. It's like he did it just to piss me off. It worked. I woke up to that this morning.

Here's a repost of my $.02: I have bought individual items as well as sets; one advantage to a set of pots is that you learn about the responsiveness of one pan, it's pretty much the same across that line. That's not that big an advantage, to be sure. After all, you're gonna be watching the pot anyway, right? Restating some of the points of earlier posters, you'd do well to buy individual items (of very good quality) that perform the function you want that pot to do. If I were to stock a new kitchen today, here's what I'd start with: A couple of enameled cast iron dutch ovens of size appropriate to your needs. Those babies are some of the most versatile items you can get. Very worthwhile if you do a lot of braising. A nonstick frypan or two for sticky stuff like eggs (Sam's Club has some Tramontina skillets, a set of 3 for around $30) A black cast iron skillet for searing meats A big stockpot for soups and boiling pasta. A couple of saucepans: if you really do make fancy sauces then it's worth it to get very responsive pots. If, like many people, you use saucepans just to warm things up, the quality is not as critical. One item most people don't think of is a pressure cooker. I'm sold on them, and wouldn't want to have a kitchen without one. If you think of pressure cookers as those things that your mom told you stories about them blowing up, do know that they've improved them greatly in the past couple of decades. A Kuhn Rikon 8 qt stockpot/pressure cooker is an awfully nice indulgence and you can cook a great deal of comfort food quite quickly. Check out any of Lorna Sass's cookbooks and missvickie.com if you are at all interested. Whatever you get, get items you will enjoy using.

carrolljd, I'm sorry but I have no help to offer about the paint color. I can commiserate, though. Just recently I picked SW Burlap for my bedroom. DH decided to paint while I was out. Good grief, talk about heartsick. The color took on a whole new look in such a large expanse...looking something like baby poop. I was hoping it would become just background once I found fabric for bedding and drapery. Fast forward...burlap is still not my favorite color, but boy oh boy the end product overall looked pretty good. Lesson learned for me. Paint much bigger test swatches. Good luck, friend.