Hey Joe...quite a selection..Very nice plants before the holidays...:) Is your Holly true Holly or common name? Leaves resemble Holly, but thought Holly had white blooms??? Very nice haul. I passed a Good Will twice in two weeks..must have recently opened. Considered going inside, but was in a hurry so didn't get to check their products. Do they sell large pots? 10" plus... Ohio..hmm, there are a few Ebay sellers in Ohio, but can't think of any nurseries.. There is one nursery, World Plants, but can't recall if they're located in OH....www.worldplants.com I'm certain some of my plants came from Ohio, but can't think of any particular place at the moment. Can't even recall which city. Are you saying, you will not order plants via mail before the holidays, but will buy locally? Turkey Days? What about Christmas and New Year's Day? lol Very few nurseries ship after October, and those who do want to get rid of 2012's etc, stock. Remainders are usually discounted. Joe, did you know, once you joined GW, you become one of us? Pods who grow pods..lol, j/k...Happy Halloween. Actually, most plants prefer cool temps to hot, but that depends on how cold. If you start seeing ice on the walls, it's too cold..Then YOU better find a warmer place..lol. Joe, you were very heroic rescuing the little bird..Thank goodness. The neighbors across the street, husband and wife, rang my bell, asking ME to shoo a bird off their front porch..A Blue Jay. I was totally embarrassed for them. Two adult people asking a neighbor to shoo away a little bird! Good, ol' college days...lol.. About plastic..although our windows are semi-new, they leak air. During winter, when temps are -2, a slight draft seeps in..plants on the sills are cold..The cold is a horror to succulents. So, this year, I placed clear plastic on the sills. It might not be 100% effective, but I had to try something. Place a hand near the sill, it's very breezy. They say it's because the house is settling, which may or may not be the exact truth. IMO, the safest windows are the old-fashioned types..With a screen/storm window. Is that the name? lol..Haven't thought about the name in a long time. Two windows opposed to thin, 'gas' panes. New windows are a lot less work, I'll give them that..no painting, and easy to open and close, but new windows are nowhere as protective as the old types. Just my opinion. That's the reason plastic now goes on each window. Nope, can't afford a larger gh..lol.. Believe me, my dream is to design my own house w/attached solarium. Unless I win the lottery................. Next year, if all goes well, I 'might' sell some plants on Ebay..Agaves, 'pups will stay,' 2 Pachypodiums and a huge Pandanus. The Pandanus/Screw Pine has outgrown space. I detest this house w/small rooms...even if I didn't have plants, the rooms are tiny. Thank goodess there's a third bedroom, which is now a plant room..lol. I love Geraniums...what type did you get? Toni

These forums are for people looking the learn. Looking for answers. You waste a lot of effort keeping tabs on me and you only further my cause. Every time you post you keep the thread active. The search engines monitor this activity and rank it even higher. Thank you Alice. Please keep after me. Maybe point out my poor grammar or sentence structure. Flood testing your showers is so important. Look at the shear number of threads in these pages with people in tough spots. Families grinding it out every day and then are faced to repair a "Crappy" job - when they where looking for "Turn Key" home and maxed out their lending to do so. It's not fair. No No No. I'm bring awareness to a code required inspection. Not a Water Test. But a 24 - 72 hour flood test that is inspected by the city. Code. Fact. Look it up. How many "Flood Tests" have you seen mentioned in these pages? It's not the fun stuff. It's not shinny? It does not come in "Off White" or "Bright White". It's boring. It holds up the job. It costs more. Things can go wrong and then cost more again. Why talk about it? BECAUSE IT IS A CODE REQUIRED STEP and one that protects not only you but the people you sell your home to. Kids bathe there. Think about it. I'm sorry if it is not "Cyber Space Friendly" but the system is broken and the proof is behind every black piece of Silicone... You might be breathing it right now. You baby might sleep up against that wall. Think about it. Do more. It's easy. Just work harder. My thoughts, John Whipple

I just attended a 25th anniversary and it was great... my younger cousin (20) hosted the event in honor of her parents (my aunt and uncle). Now keep in mind she is a full time university student paying her own tuition on a small budget. Because she was on a very tight budget she decided that she would have an open bar (which is fine by me as I am there to celebrate the 25 wonderful years that my aunt and uncle have shared.) Secondly she decided she would have everyone pay for their own meal... this is how she worked it out... she asked for $35 from each guest... $20 to go towards the meal, which was very good... and the remaining $15 from each guest was pooled together and given as one gift from the entire family to be put towards my aunt and uncles trip to Hawaii. I know it seems we paid for everything... but that is not the case... I think people sometimes overlook the other hosting details that add up... such as the venue, decorations, favors, cake, centre pieces and etc. She also hired a photographer, which I think is more important paying for than the bar... the photos are lifetime memories that will help remind our entire family of the amazing time we had that day/night. I am happy she kept my aunt and uncle in mind that day... it was there day and if that meant I had to spent a little bit of my money to make sure it was everything they dreamed, then so be it I LOVE MY FAMILY. I almost forgot... we raised $1800 toward their trip to Hawaii. Pretty good, eh! (Yes I'm Canadian.) Think about it! If I had to go out and get a card that's $5... gift wrap and bows $10-$15... a gift is approx. $50 or more if you want something worth buying... this would have added up to a lot more money. So basically I saved... I paid $35, $20 to my meal, $15 toward the Hawaii pool and approx. $12 on drinks the wine was free and set on the tables. So if you do the math based on buying a gift at $50 and the card and bow at $15... I saved $23, WOW! Sure she could have left the bar out all together, but I think it's best she gave her guests the option to have a few casual drinks or not. I mean really what does it really cost for a few good casual drinks approx. $15. Just my opinion! Have a good day!

Deeinohio, thanks for the suggestions! Sorry you had such a bad experience, Dee. It's no fun to be stranded. Bumblebeez, thanks so much for sharing that. I appreciate it. Pesky, wow, you are quite informed about cars & auto service issues! That's wonderful. You make a lot of good points that I will keep in mind. Les! Yes! I just discovered what you are talking about last night, after I left GW. I did a Google search--"Blown gasket, Subaru Forester," thinking really, that a search that specific would yield me diddly squat. Guess what? It produced a full page of complaints, chat room discussions, & general angst about serious & frequent Subaru Forester head gasket issues! The 1999 Forester (& 2001) seem to be the most vulnerable to this. Amazing. Never heard anyone talk about this flaw in the system before, but it's evidently been a widespread occurence. Looks like Subaru has responded & NOW builds their Foresters with a completely different sort of head gasket, so newer Subi owners, don't despair! Thanks for sharing this, Les! Oakley, yes... I think so! Again, y'all have been fantastic. So many good points have been raised & I feel so much better about this situation. Armed with your feedback, when I call the service dept. Manager this morning, I will feel confident to inquire about & dig a little deeper into the diagnosis. Also, here is one of (The Many) links about the horrors of Subaru Forester gaskets! It's from a chatroom discussion & the last poster suggests getting a written guarantee on the work. Not a bad idea, either. Here is a link that might be useful: A tisket a tasket, I think I blew my gasket...