Personally, I do not understand what one is supposed to do with a 14 inch flower and purposely grow my flowers to be smaller than that. Yet some people really seem to enjoy this and even assume that it the purpose of dahlia growing. Reply: Here in the Northwest, dinner plate dahlias are not grown nearly as much as in other areas of the USA. Even the people who show flowers do not grow that many dinner plate sized dahlias here. I have seen shows with over 1000 blooms and only 20 or so dinner plate varieties. At the flower markets in the Northwest(like Pike Street Market in Seattle) you will see 20 or more vendors who sell dahlia cut flowers. Many are the show varieties that you disparage as too hard to grow. There also seems to be a vast cultural distance between the Dutch hybridizers who produce lines like Karma, Melody and Allegro, and the dahlia culture in the Northwest, which seems to be centered around producing flowers for show. I really like the Dutch approach, and also think it may leave American growers who are focused on the comparatively small market for show dahlias out of a much bigger market for dahlias as garden plants. Just see what a good job White Flower Farm has done in sorting through all the available cultivars and choosing ones that will look good in a garden. Reply: You mention White Flower Farm but not Swan Island Dahlias which is the largest grower of dahlias in the USA. They grow 45 acres of dahlias. They do not specialize in show dahlias but in dahlias for all purposes. They sell cut flowers to wholesalers and many times that means as many as 1000 bunches in a day. They ship cut flowers all over the USA. Unlike the Dutch growers, they do not patent their new varieties and anyone can sell them after they get some from them. They sell varieties suitable for any garden from 1 foot tall to 6 feet tall and many have dark foliage too. I grow my dahlias for: - color in the perennial garden from late June to early November - cut flowers I like most dahlias but tend to shy away from ones that have been overly bred for show, and think that some of these flowers look like overgrown sunflowers on corn stalks. Reply: The dinner plate dahlias look as you describe. However, as I previously mentioned very few of the dahlias in the Northwest shows are dinner plate varieties. Most show varieties are excellent all around flowers. I think that I am in a minority in this group. I also think that some of the older dahlias have more deeply saturated color and look more elegant in bouquets due to the color and their thinner stems. Reply: Many of the show dahlias are older varieties too. Kidd's Climax dates to before 1940. Newer dahlias are being bred with much more saturated colors than old timers. Kenora Wow is brighter than any old time dahlia. Sorbet is too. Both are easy to grow. There are many other examples. Comments? It would be really interesting if people said what they really thought . . . without upsetting anyone.

I love yoga, and started about 30 years ago with a simple book. (It was a lot easier to do when I was 16!) You can learn from tapes and books, but like others, I really encourage you to go to a class - even if you have to travel to get to it. Just one class would help - it will give you a feel for the flow. Yoga is not just a series of exercises, but a moving meditation. It is important to use the breath, and to do the asanas in the correct order. I would use the props (balls, blocks, straps, etc.) as little as possible. The sun salutation is a good way to get the energy moving through your body (warm up) and will make all the other postures easier. I do at least 5 sun salutations (with variations) before moving on. I do shoulder stand (always followed by fish posture) everyday. I think those are the most helpful postures. Cat/cow is great for after sun salutations. So, so much easier to learn with a teacher! I'm going to a yoga camp for a week this summer and can't wait!

I too find the step parent forum depressing and discouraging. But what bothers me the most if you read the entire step parent forum, is how so many of the children being raised in these homes, are hated, or resented. I understand that there are step children/bio parents that do make things hard for step parents. And yet it makes me sad to think that so many children are being raised in homes where they are unwelcome, resented, and even hated. As these children grow into the adults they will one day become, it makes me sad that they spent their childhood not in a home with parents who loved them, and cheered them on, but who fought, and resented them. We can only hope that what this step parent forum has shown us over the last few years, is not the norm. But perhaps it is unrealistic to believe that you can take a family, divorce, and another "mom" figure (maybe with children of her own), moves in with dad, and they become a separate family, and yet are connected with the original mom, who now feels threatened that she not only was replaced, but that she feels threatened and defensive that this new woman, is doing her best to win the hearts of her children, as well. And the fight is on. She is not about to lose both her husband, and children to the woman trying so hard to impress him, and win them over. The two women deeply resent one another and one wonders how something good can ever come from this. Or the step parent trying her best to get them to go away, so she can have their dad parent her children, and/or any children "they" may have, and form a new family, pretending his children do not exist, because her picture of her family, does not include them. But I understand that divorce is happening. And sometimes, it is through no fault of the woman (or man) who will one day step into the role of step parent. And their intentions may be honorable. To become a part of this family. I want to recognize and applaud the step parents out there, who are wonderful people, who have stepped into this role, and are doing the job the bio parent wouldn't or couldn't do. And I applaud you for stepping up to the plate, persevering, and trying to make a home and a place for your spouses children. For being the solid person with two feet on the ground, doing your best to make a home for these little ones who need you, and the calmness and sanity you can provide in the midst of the turmoil that swirls around them. For those of you who do your best to love these children, in spite of it all, and to try and make a stable and loving home for them, are worthy of respect.

When I vacuum and put the kids floor pillows on the chair Her Royal Highness assumes her position: I had a post written up this morning that i forgot to post and subsequently closed the browser thinking I'd posted. Much shorter now: Replaced our worn out sofa w/ a white machine washable slipcovered one. I purposely bought it so that the dog could be on it. I throw the slips in the laundry w/ a crap load of bleach and they come out fantastically and the only thing that I haven't been able to fully get out was the gel ink stain from a pen that exploded a few weeks ago. Oh well! I have a white metalasse' throw that I put over the back of it because Poochina likes to lay on the back of the sofa and observe what goes on outside. I currently have faux leather chairs that wipe off easily and cleanly. When they are totally trashed someday I will replace w/ real leather because I know it works for my needs. I gave up heavy comforters a few yrs ago in lieu of machine washable quilts that I turn down when I'm home and the gal is following me around and when we go to work I pull it up all of the way and she sleeps up there until we come home. On her white sofa: Proving that no space is too small for her to squeeze into and cuddle w/ someone.