Hi, I have: Plants-clivia, pony tail palm, variegated ginger, canna - salmon color flowers and canna bengal tiger. Cuttings-Tibouchina urvilleana, tibouchina grandiflora, orthosiphon 'Cats' Whiskers', Isotoma -blue, cuphea ignea both red and orange flower types, 2 types of alternanthera, many named begonia-both cane and rex and many coleus types. I have many other perennials available to trade too. I'd be interested in any of the following:Yellow dancing ginger, C. mojito, miliky way, coal miner, jenningsii, fallax, lkime aide. Please let me know if anything interest you. I can send pictures of anything for you. Thanks, Erin

In a word Yes. Under ideal conditions a strong healthy turf will choke out chickweed. I had a thick infestation in a renovated area of KBG. After the KBG woke up and started to grow, it overtook the chickweed really fast. However, I did use weed-be-gone on those weeds so I couldn't say that cultural practices alone took my chickweed out. Here is what MSU says about chickweed "Common chickweed has a poorly developed root system as is a great candidate for mechanical removal (pulling). As a winter annual, chickweed is often an indicator of poor turf density. Outbreaks of chickweed in open areas will quickly die out in the spring. This production of new seed ensures a crop of chickweed for the following season. Improved turf density is critical to reducing common chickweed infestations." Bill Hill Here is a link that might be useful: MSU weed site Chickweed

I had double pierced ears in high school but I let the second hole close because my fiance did not like it. We have been married now for over twenty years. On my 35th birthday, four years ago, I got the second hole re-pierced. I wanted to be able to wear my diamond studs on a daily basis, but still have fun matching my earrings to my outfit. I usually only wear studs, if I wear dangling earrings I leave the second hole bare. I figure that now that I am all grown up I can do what I like! I think wearing two studs together looks really pretty. I actually also have a small 3 stone jeweled hoop the I wear with my diamonds, that looks pretty too. If you are younger you can probably do a more dramatic look with hoops or longer earrings. Have fun! If you don't like it, you can always let it close up. Just don't get you upper ear pierce, getting cartilage pierced can cause problems, not to mention that I have heard from friends that it hurts a lot more!

Oh, your last post raised HUGE red flags. The drug situation is very serious. In several ways. Unfortunately, this is another area where I've had very unfortunate experience. My SIL was demanding drs prescribe specific medications (mood elevators, narcotics, etc) to my in-laws. We don't have absolute proof, but there is circumstantial evidence that SIL was stealing those meds and subbing things like aspirin. At other times, she was doping MIL (who has Alzheimer's) up with other people's prescription sleeping pills to make caring for her easier. Then things got really hairy--SIL started stealing from MIL to support her drug habit. I'm sorry to say, we didn't believe a relative could do that--so by the time we got involved and got the courts to do something, SIL had misappropriated over a QUARTER OF A MILLION $$$$ that had been earmarked for MIL's end care. Sadly, your last post is the one that concerns me the most. You have to sit down with your husband and the far-off brother, and discuss what you're going to do to protect your MIL and her assets. Drug users have no conscience--it's the first thing drugs seem to destroy. But they're very, very, very good about scamming their relatives. And it will happen--sooner or later, for more or less $$$. You have a very serious problem on your hands. I'd strongly advise that you engage an eldercare attorney to properly set up your MIL's assets, and I'd further suggest that you and your husband need to sit down with an attorney, lay out the situation you've described here, and find out what you need to do to protect yourselves in this matter. Unfortunately, in our case, we're up over $20,000 in legal and forensic accounting fees, out of our own pockets. That doesn't include the fees that have had to be paid to the court-appointed guardian for managing MIL's affairs properly. While we've managed to stop the stealing, the situation is a long way from being resolved. I truly hope your SIL doesn't go the way mine has--but sadly, it sounds as if she's got no scruples when it comes to feeding her habit. Stop worrying about making her angry--she's USING your guilt to get over on the family. Best to face this now and get the appropriate protection in place, than to wait until you've got an expensive mess to clean up. We're 7 years into our battle, with no real end in sight. Wish someone had opened my eyes in 2002! I'm truly sitting here with my heart in my throat, thnking of the terrible time your family is likely to face. I wouldn't want to put my own worst enemy through the stress and strain we've had dealing with a thieving 'out-law' (I refuse to call her an 'inlaw' any more). My heart really goes out to you.