You might consider Oleander. We had that growing up and it worked quite well. The only setback is that it can be toxic if eaten. Here is a link that might be useful: Toxicity of Oleander

kkny, the problem with DH telling her about the request is that it keeps BM, and her stupid request... even if he said no, in LH's head. But, partst is right... she will live in LH's head anyway.. well, I disagree with 10-12 years, and would say for the remainder of the marriage... even after SS is grown. I listen to the problems others are having with adult children in their 30's and it really is never ending. I am an optimist and while it feels like I'm beating my head against a brick wall most of the time... I am stubborn & not ready to give up. I believe there has to be a way for a stepmom that has a BM like this in her life, to disengage from the BM and build a relationship with the child... in spite of the BM trying to poison the child against her. I am dealing with this right now with my SD's mom and she is eerily similar to LH's SS's BM. At this point, I am removing myself from anything to do with her. My DH is transporting SD when he gets off work. He is with SD the entire time she is here, I am not alone with her at all. In fact, I go to work or find something else to do & do not give her any reaction to what she does... and she TRIES to get me to react even more. I hold out hope that this is temporary because I could not live like this another 8-10 years and SD is 10. I want a good relationship with her and it's my hope that when she gets no reaction from playing this game her mom has set up, she will realize that she is the one losing out. There are a lot of things I do for her that neither of her parents or anyone else can or will do for her. At this point, I am backing off because they are in a bitter custody court battle and SD is stuck in the middle of trying to please everyone. When the custody issue is decided, either way it goes, SD won't be under the pressure she has now and hopefully her and I can mend our relationship and be closer. Her mom will always fight it.. I know, but I have to ignore what her mom says/does and focus on my relationship with SD. Trying to do that now, with a court hearing pending, SD is torn and having a hard time with it so it's best to back off. I have also thought of leaving because it does damage the marriage. But, like I said.. I am stubborn and that is her goal from the beginning... to see DH as unhappy as she is in life and we are truly happy together. I disagree that anyone needs to learn to live like this... the men that had a relationship with these women, needs to step up and take a stand... for themselves as much as for us. If I leave, she will do it with the next woman he's with. She doesn't want him, she just doesn't want him to be happy with anyone else. He sees it too and knows it's true. It's just easier for him to bury his head in the sand because now that he is finally standing up for himself, he is taking on her full wrath and she is an angry, bitter, selfish, pathological liar. Her first husband has paid her $1200 a month in support for 11 years and only sees their daughter a couple of times a year and I can see why he keeps his distance... we don't like dealing with either. Maybe she hopes for the same result with DH... but that won't happen.

klem, I've checked my warranty, and it in no way specify what filters I should use. I'm not sure what neck of the woods you're from nor what junk you've run up against, but this isn't a warranty I paid for- it came with the system, and the installer is liable for execution. Yes- there are things that I have to do as a homeowner, specified as regular yearly service- that can be through any company certified with the HVAC manufacturer. I stay, right now, with the installer, because he has a lot to lose, should this fail in the next 10 years, and then still a bunch if problems occur after that- assuming I still own the home. "Feller" is a real, live business man who owns a large company with a great decades long reputation, both with his business and with the manufacture of my system. Don't think I didn't confirm both. And all of this was negotiated and/or verified by a senior partner in a very large real estate firm, backed up by a Builder's Warranty, also legally drawn up by my attorney. None of it is something I pay for monthly. I know the difference between a service contract and a Warranty agreement. Do you? Maybe you have you never negotiated a whole contract, and just don't understand what people do to protect their assets. That's ok. I don't expect you to be able to play in all sandboxes- me, neither- but this is one you seem to really misunderstand.

Hello, I have been using the machine with only discharging the wash water into a bucket. As Dadoes suggested, I decided to "just keep using...( I can't bear to quote the rest of what he said, lol) Shortly after I initially posted this, My machine stopped making the noise when spinning and there was less gravely stuff noted in the bucket. It seems to be working fine now, I guess? I have rigged up a new set up to discharge the wash water. It works. A lot less complicated than having the plumber install a new draining system. The hose is a high temp hose, at 180*f but this washer can get to 205*f. I don't know if its cooled before discharge or not. You might need to click the new green linked feature to "read more". Just a reminder, here is my row of miele's