Goblu..I guess when most mid-westerners think CA and Fl, general assumption is sun and warmth..especially compared to the mid-west..lol. Though after meeting and talking to ppl on the net, ppl from CA and Fl, I've discovered not all parts of either state have 365 and 366 (leap year, lol) have warm, humid, sunny days. Especially Southern Cal..It's surprising..Moreso, when I think about tropical birds, your wildlife, our pets, living outdoors during icy times. Guess they adapt. During winter, when our birds are caged at bedtime, I bundle their cages so they're warm. lol. Pansies do the same here..they do fine when temps are cool, even cold, but in mid-summer when temps are 90+, they die back. Stores that sell annuals/perrenials, build temporary gh's, are stocked with pansies. Now..A few roses, too, but pansies prefer the cold. Ever hear of Arum? I planted an Arum bulb some time back..Besides Snow Crocus, the arum is the first to sprout..it's doing fine..once temps hit 80F, it halts growth, and after 90F, dies back..In late Sept/Oct, it resprouts..Arums have beautiful variegated leaves, and Spath=like flowers. Wonder where Arums originate? So, you're saying planting tulips in Ca is a waste? About your lilac, did you say after a certain temp it dies..dies or goes dormant? Quinn, that spider looks genuine..It'd make a fine Halloween decoration..sorry Kathy..lol.. Kathy, thanks for the Drunkard Dream info. Fish Emulsion, hmm, yet it blooms..Perhaps age has a lot to do with it. You have the same problem I do..there is no way AV's would survive in my 'tiny' gh. Too cold and strong sun. They'd either freeze or scorch. Same with Phals/orchids..I once placed a few Phals outside, between shelves, facing north, behind bushes..the following day leaves were sunburned. I had no idea which direction did the burning since all sides were obstructed. The only orchid that does well outside, in full west sun is a Den. Kathy, is your gh connected to your home? If so, you are SO lucky, a connected gh/solarium is my dream. I have two watering options. Connecting a hose to the basement sink, or hauling 5 gallon jugs of water, making several trips. The only time jugs are necessary is when fertilizing and/or Superthriving, otherwise it's the hose..To be honest, I prefer using tepid water, water that's been sitting in containers at least 24 hours, but that's tiring, too much work, so it's mostly the hose.. That yellow flower is a Bromiliad? It sure looks nothing like a Brom flower, but beautiful! Kerrii? It's hard to see..leaves resemble hoya, but I don't know about Kerrii..leaves look oval, no? Karen, beautiful plants, especially the Dutchman's Pipe. Sophie, Snow Crocus are pretty hardy, even after snowfall. I wouldn't dig them either..let nature take its course. Crazy weather, everywhere.. Josh, our Daffs finally opened, and yours are starting to fade. Again, we're 1-2 months apart. Your Daffs are so pretty..I particularly like the white w/yellow center.. Are your Jasmines evergreen? I bet your railing looks beautiful when in flower..and the fragrance! On one side of our front railing grows Clamatis. They're pretty when in bloom, but it's short-lived. No fragrance. I wish. I'd love seeing a pic when your Star is blooming. Evie, your orchid flower is beautiful. It looks waxy. Mentha, your plants are doing wonderful! Your Hoya blooms are so pretty. I got H. shephardii, but it looks sad. Bought it on Ebay..It arrived looking unhealthy. Skimpy, weeps instead of hangs, it wilts rather than hangs. Got any ideas how I can 'pretty' it up? Goblu, that Wisteria is absolutely beautiful! Wowee. I planted Wisteria several years ago..Last summer, it stood/hung about 12'..hubby thought it was a weed, and whacked it! I was not a happy camper. Dandilions! Jmcat, you are more than welcome to come visit and help yourself to my 'Lion's tooth.' plants..lol. People eat the leaves, use in salads and make teas. Never eat/drink a plant that was sprayed with chemicals. Neighbors on either side of us hire landscapers to spray using all types of chemicals. I hate when this is done. I'm alleric to one or more of these sprays..The landscapers arrive early in the morning, sometimes 6am, while most people are still in dreamland. I wake, feel I can't breath..I now check, and sure enough, warning signs are placed in front and side yards warning to stay off grass, or treated with chemicals. Anyway, everyone's plants are doing great. Keep posting pics..Toni

I came across a strange little patch of completely and perfectly white bluebells years ago. They were surrounded by the usual blue variety so they really made a statement! I carried an old washtub down there and carefully dug several large clumps to transplant here and after all these years they still haven't spread too much. And yes, they still bloom snow-white. Naturally, I refer to them as my whitebells... Speaking of native blooms, I read that tradescantia (spiderwort) is notoriously hardy and easily propogated but they have been a large disappointment so far for me. Maybe this is because I initially relied on stock that I bought from a dealer instead of simply relocating some from the woods around here. I didn't think I wanted to dig up any of the stuff right here because most things do best right where they are without some human trying to 'improve' things, but maybe I should stick with a strictly local variety. If I dig a few tradescantia plants for my native bed here closer to the house, will they recover soon enough as I have read? And I'm talking about my own property and not just going about willy-nilly digging up stuff all across the county...

Hi... . Sorry for the length, but if you are considering an Electrolux purchase, I hope you take the time to read this. Let me start by saying I don't usually write detailed posts/reviews. I generally leave a comment if I really LOVE a product, but I have to be pushed beyond reason to leave a negative comment. Having said, that, we built a new home in 2010, and I pestered my husband to spend the extra cash to get the entire suite of Electrolux appliances. When we built our first home, about 12 years ago, we purchased the Frigidaire Gallery series. He wanted to stick with that brand, as they were rock solid appliances, and we had no issues with them at all. How I wish I had listened to him. I will start with the double wall oven. I was using the top oven only from September of 2010 to Thanksgiving (no particular reason, I just didn't cook any big dinners) and I thought it was awfully noisy. There was a loud convection sound that never went away, even when the oven reached the set temperature. I just figured...OK its loud, but I'll have to live with it. I wasn't about to rip out a newly installed oven because it was noisy. Plus I absolutely LOVED those easy glide racks! I did expect an adjustment period, so when I burned the first few things, I sort of wrote it off as an oops...maybe this oven just cooks faster than my old one. After burning EVERY dish I made, I stuck 3 different thermometers in there and found it was 30-50 degrees above the set temp. And still extremely loud. So when I finally got around to using the lower oven, I found that after reaching proper temperature, the sound went off. And the thermometer that I put in the lower oven was pretty close to the set temperature. Apparently, the top oven has been stuck in the convection mode since day one...which explains why it is so loud. By this time, all of the racks had lost their nice smooth coat (I assume from cooking constantly in convection) and that lovely smooth glide feature (that partially sold me on the oven) were shot...completely shot. The bearings don't work and I actually have to tug, side to side, to get the racks out. I asked for new racks in addition to whatever repairs were necessary. The bottom oven racks were still OK. The cook top: We have the 36" hybrid cook top, and after a few months, it would suddenly stop working, flashing an F error code. If I let is sit for anywhere from a few hours to a day, it would start working again. But I never know when it will simply shut down. That puts a serious hamper on cooking on the holidays. I called the company, and was told that code indicated an internal problem with the "mother board", and that it would need to be replaced. The refrigerator (while it is nice and roomy) has not made ice after the first 8 months, and the water has never come out cold. It's barely room temperature. The handles on the drawers in the freezer have fallen off, and the draws frequently get stuck. My freezer is spotless...nothing to gum up the glides. Several of the small plastic shelf brackets have snapped off. The final straw? This morning, the microwave, one of only two only appliances that I have not yet had a problem with, just quit all together. I checked the breaker, and the outlet. No problems there. Just dead. I have had two separate electricians here to make sure the wiring was not faulty, given all of the issues, and the wiring is fine. The microwave stove and oven are all on dedicated circuits. Now we get to the so called "Electrolux "Support". I called to report the problems. I won't include the microwave, as it is outside the "warranty" period, but it's still only a year and a half old. The dishwasher is insanely quiet and still working well, so no complaints about that one item. I called to report the problems with the refrigerator, cook top and oven when they were maybe 9 or 10 months old. At that point the cook top was not working at all. They said they would send one person each for each appliance. Now, being a working mom, I can't take three days off to wait for three separate servicemen. That was ridiculous. So, after several more phone calls, they found someone nearby, and claimed he would be out with two weeks. Two weeks? Without a stove? That is really a long time to wait with 2 kids under the age of 6. But I didn't really have any say in the matter, and no amount of begging and pleading on my part helped. Of course, no one called or showed up. About 6 calls and 3 months later, an authorized serviceman from All American Appliance, out of Monroe, CT arrived. He looked at each appliance and determined that cook top and the oven needed new computers, and he was going to order some parts for the fridge. He claimed it could take two weeks for the parts to arrive. I waited three, figuring he must be busy. I called his office about 4 times over the next week. Only after I called Electrolux did he finally return my call. He was very apologetic and basically said my order had "slipped through the cracks", and he had forgotten to place it all together. I was frustrated, but mistakes happen, and I tend to be pretty easy going and patient. So I agreed to wait for the parts and his call. He claimed he was going to order my parts and he would be back to our house in two or three weeks. Again, a month later, I called the office several times. The woman at the office remembered me, and told me she was doing to give Dave a call, as he was not in the office. I waited a few days and called her back. She claimed she had no record of his visit, and he didn't remember ever coming here. Turns out the service man "Dave" that had come out initially is the owner of the company. No order, no parts, she has suddenly never heard of me. I called Electrolux, absolutely fuming at this point. They said they were having difficulty finding someone authorized in my area. I filed a report with Electrolux about the "authorized" repair company that had been giving me the run around. Basically, they don't want to bothered repairing the appliances, and I told Electrolux as much. I refused to waste any more time with this guy Dave from All American. I asked that Electrolux find a reputable repair man and get this taken care of. I told the rep that I have had to buy a rice cooker, and one of those plug-in cook tops to make meals when I have a $2000 cook-top sitting there, useless! It's been over a year now that I have been trying to get these issues resolved. Then, the Electrolux rep told me that, since it has been more than a year, the warranty has expired. WHAT???? I just about lost it right there, but I calmly and firmly explained that No, I initiated a service claim well within the warranty period, and due to the incompetence of both the repair company and Electrolux, I have been waiting for repairs for more than a year. They retracted that statement pretty quickly, and said they would get a different company to come out. Electrolux called a few days later with another company. A new rep left the name and number of All American Appliance!!! I'm not sure what I am going to do now. I most definitely am NOT calling All American Appliance again, so I can waste another 9 months??? The idea of having to get an attorney to get new appliances just makes me feel...tired. I could send this post to the CEO, but really, is he going to care? I'm just one person. I'm a nurse, so customer satisfaction is my number one priority, even though it's not likely I will ever see the same patient again. They should take note. I would love any suggestions/ideas on what I should do next. If 30+ hours of phone calls (and I'm not kidding) haven't resolved it, should I resign myself to getting an attorney? I don't have another ten grand to shell out to replace all of my appliances...and now that I have taken the time to write this post, I have a good mind to copy and post it everywhere I can think of!

Dear lovehadley, I've never posted to this board before but I felt compelled to send a message to you. I'm an experienced stepmom of three. My stepkids have two different mothers. One BM is reasonable and helpful. The other is unstable and narcissistic. We have had to work very hard to keep this brood together - and I've learned a lot. I can tell you from experience that unless you set some boundaries and take control of your life, you are in for rocky ride that will definitely include an unwanted divorce. You are correct that most courts now favour 50/50. It's fashionable and it doesn't require anyone to make a real decision. However, it doesn't work for all children or all families. It won't work in your case. The BM is set on making trouble and the child is out of control. The current situation is bad. Moving to 50/50 would be better, but you'd still have an obsessive BM harassing you and a child in your house that you can't manage. Just imagine this child in 5 years, when he's almost as big as you are. Furthermore, your quality of life is just not good enough. You are very young, obviously articulate and you clearly have a compassionate nature. Yet your day to day life is all about your stepson and this crisis. You are going to wake up very soon and find that you're 40 years old and have wasted your young years fighting a battle that you can't win. You need to take control of your situation. It's not working and your fiance's proposed solutions aren't going to make life any better for you. He can fight for sole custody of this child, but he most likely will lose. Even if by some miracle he wins, the child will be opposed to it and he'll be unmanageable. Furthermore, the BM will get very liberal access which will be just the ticket she needs to harass you every minute of your life. It won't be much of a victory and it won't last long. I can pretty much guarantee that this child will end up living fulltime with the BM. Either he will demand it, or you will demand it, or you will leave and your fiance will have no choice but to relinquish custody. How you get to this place is up to you. You can continue to live in this nightmare until you walk out, or you and your fiance can figure out a reasonable schedule whereby this child can live with his mother, and spend ENJOYABLE, nonthreatening visits with you. Believe me, once the BM has this kid on her hands fulltime, she'll be VERY EXCITED about these access visits and she'll make sure that the child is as good as gold every minute. And, best of all, once she's dependant on you for the occasional break, her behaviour will improve dramatically. It's too bad that this child has a lousy mother and behavioural problems. But you can't solve this problem and ruining your life won't make it any better. All you can do is set boundaries for you own life, and then enforce them. It's tough, I know. But, trust me, it works and you will be much happier. The child will be happier too. It's bad to have an unstable mother. But it's much worse to be caught in the middle of a war and be swatted back and forth between two different worlds twice a week. Let your fiance read this email. Good luck.