Before doing anything, especially spreading lime, talk with the people at your counties Pennsylvania state University Cooperative Extension Service office about having a good, reliable soil test done so you know what your soils pH is and how much, as well as what kind, of lime might be needed, if any. What you have sprayed is not very environmentally friendly so if more is to be sprayed be sure to follow the labels directions carefully. To have a lawn this summer you will need to lay sod, but good soil preparation is still necessary. Beside knowing your soils pH you need to know whether the major nutrients are in balance, and the soil test from PSU will tell you that. You also want to know the level of organic matter in that soil and these simple soil tests can help with that. 1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. Here is a link that might be useful: PSU CES

YOU HAD A BRAIN??? dang...I thought to be a member of the KT we all had to admit that we're over the hill and at least half brainless...so please don't tell me now you've fooled us all along and you HAVE A BRAIN!! Awww Kat...it's ok...claustrophobia is real and there's nothing to be ashamed of...yes you may think it's silly considering all you've gone thru in the last year...but you're still my hero cause I could never have done what you have and just so you'll know who's making all the racket I'm sneaking into your house after while to see how you look in a mohawk!! You know you should never have told us this...now I'm gonna be callin you "MO" from now on out!! I hope you get it rescheduled soon...but we all know that you're gonna get that clean bill of health!!

Seeing your house, your tile choices are right on the money and my guess is when the house is clean and staged you'll have no problem selling. Be sure to post in buying and selling a house forum the pictures you want to use in your sale. You'd be surprised how helpful everyone there is with staging advice.

I completely lost 4 hostas this year. One was a Sum and Substance that was really large. For all the ones I lost, the plant almost completely disappeared - not sure if it was voles or root rot. I also have 2 other plants that died back to a single pip. I lost 3 Heuchera plants but with those I think they were varieties that aren't reliably hardy in the south. I also lost a mophead hydrangea that I had for over 5 years that had never bloomed. Most of my other hostas have grown significantly since last year. I'm resisting the urge to split large hostas to replace the lost plants and instead buying new plants as replacements. I guess this is an opportunity to get some new and interesting varieties. For the heuchera I've done quite a bit of research to identify varieties that do well in the south as replacements. I wish they were all as vigorous as Dale's Strain - I have about 70 babies of that plant in pots that I need to rehome. I also had over 70 Hellebore seedlings this year that I've put into pots. I know from experience that I'll lose about half of them but that will still be a bunch of plants. I have 4 baby hosta volunteers that came up in random spots as well as a 2 year old plant. Not sure what the babies will be but the 2 year old seedling is a nicely variegated plant. I've gotten a lot better at identifying these baby plants this year and digging them up instead of pulling them as weeds.