Thanks for the reply. Since my first posting I talked to 2 people who work for terminix, they both said that watering very deeply will help which I actually knew, but one guy said that putting sheets over them help, while the other guy said sheets don't help. Any suggestions will help. Even though I know the tops of some plants may suffer, I'm most concerned with totally loss of some plants. Thanks

It should be ok for temperatures no lower than 40 F. It may be rated for 2 people, but will be tight when personal gear is added. I did not see the size; My take is that its a comfy one person tent and tight for 2. It does have a rain fly that extends over the doorway - thats a plus. Someone above mentioned tarps - yes indeedy. A water proof ground cover is a must. The ground cover under the tent should not extend beyond the tent floor. The tent floor should extend a bit beyond the ground cover. The reason is rain. If the ground cover extends beyond the tent, rain rolling down the tent side will be on top of the cover and run right under the tent resulting in water between the tent floor and the ground cover. Another feature to keep the tent floor dry is site preparation before the cover is laid. If you can manage to make the center part of the cover a bit higher than its eges, then it will tend to shed water toward the perimeter. If there is no rain in sight during your stay, the edge detail is not critical. A tip: We take along an old throw rug; a bathroom rug works fine. This rug is placed at the doorway INSIDE the tent to catch mud and dirt as one enters the tent and protects the floor.. Each morning, fold over or roll up the rug to capture the dirt load and take outside the tent to shake. When you are ready to leave and strike the tent, before taking the tent down, remove the contents, fold the rug to a convenient shape (a rectangle will do) to use it as a broom to sweep the dirt out of the tent. Hold down the center of the front lip of the tent floor and the rug-broom can handily sweep the dirt right out the door. The secret to any good tenting experience is to stay dry and warm. Wishing you a great stay.

Kathy, I'm so glad I didn't throw a clinker into the works, which I'm wont to do from time to time. Personally, if I thought I could get a good discussion out of it, I'd suggest it. There's nothing duller than a book group meeting where all that the members can say about the selection is they like it. The problem with this particular book, though, is it was done to death about four or five years ago. I got sick of seeing the cover and hearing mentions of it. But maybe enough time has passed that most of the gushing has settled down, and those who didn't read it back then would appreciate another opportunity to read and discuss it. If your group does decide on it, be sure to let us know how it goes. Chris, I think Diamant's idea is a good one. The mention of Dinah in the Bible is so fleeting that she had to do a great deal of embroidering to get a good story out of it -- that she got a whole whopping book out of it is a credit to her imagination. The execution, though, to me, felt as if I was reading bits and pieces pulled out of a women's studies program, the theme of which was so often (in the seventies and eighties): if and when women get together in a cooperative way, ideals can be realized. That's the message I thought Diamant was belaboring. Frankly, I think she was pandering to wishful thinking. I'm sorry that I can't give you specific examples because I no longer have a copy of the book and I don't remember anything particular. Actually, I think we have far more clues about women's lives three millenia ago than we often realize. As far as revisionism goes, I think it is a constant historical process: every generation or so rewrites history to suit their own agendas, and that certainly has been the case with the feminist movement. I'm not saying there's anything especially wrong with revisionism -- it's to be expected. But I do think it's important to be aware that revision is what's happening and to not accept it without a healthy dose of skepticism. The revision may bear only small resemblance to the reality of what was going on at the actual time...in women's lives during the patriarchal period of the Bible, in this case. I could get very tedious with examples -- heck, I'm already getting tedious so I'll just let it rest there.

OK, I'm back. We're in the process of selling our current house, so we get booted when people want to see it. We want them to see it! so we go somewhere. mama-the new house isn't on a slab, so that's good. We do know that the range hood vents to the roof as we had to have the roof inspected (it needs to have a ridge vent installed and a few little things nailed down :( ). One of the things I love about the Stages 45 is the integrated prep space. Now I prep by hanging a cutting board over the corner of my sink, which can be iffy, so I look forward to having a sink that is designed for prep there without the tippiness factor. I can also place the prep end of the sink either to the right or the left. At the moment, I don't have a preference, but I bet I'll develop one. Either direction seems to give adequate "elbow room" for the amazing number of veggies I deal with on a daily basis. I actually cook most meals at home and many have lots of ingredients. Putting the MW next to the fridge is a good idea. That's usually what happens with the MW, out of the fridge into the MW. lavander_lass, my daughter also objects (vigorously) to the fridge near the sliding glass door, but for flow reasons. My sister thinks it's a good placement. I think we'll have to do a mock up in place; bet we'll have lots of cardboard boxes to mock up with! The thing is, that is a 10' sliding glass door, so I don't think that room will ever be dark. Good light is a strong point in this house. We'll have to experiment because that's a good question one way or the other. Much as I love your idea about the kitchen window, I don't think we'll be adding any because we already have to replace all the windows in the house with dual pane energy savers. I'm trying not to think about the cost. This is a solidly built house with lots of pluses, but it just hasn't been updated since the sixties. [now you're making want a bigger window, grumble, grumble] funkycamper - so right on blocking the flow!