OK, so you guys have me wanting to try lavender AGAIN.... I just ripped out my weed-like perennial bed (spiderwort and lambs ears) and am looking for a replacement plant. I have tried every variety of lavender sold in my area and although some of them did extremely well for a year or two or three, all died eventually. After reading the above posts, I suspect over-fussing was the problem. I did't think I overwatered, but from a lavender's point of view, maybe I did. So. If I try this thing again, can anyone suggest a variety? My prior goal was to turn part of my garden into a lavender field with rows of different varieties. Right now I'd settle for one row of one variety doing well!!! Any suggestions would be much appreciated. The area is full sun and well drained. The soil was previously ammended but not touched lately so I hope it'll be OK... Thanks, Ann in 7A, Maryland

Seems as good a place as any to post a few Thank You's for the help and inspiration for my Christmas dinners: Ann - The tourtiere was a huge hit Christmas Eve. Being as I had a leftover pie, my parents suggested I serve it again Christmas Day! (I didn't.) Sharon (Chase) - Somehow I managed to save one of your jars of Chili Sauce for the tourtiere. Five adults, one pie, almost a pint of sauce gone. 'Nuff said? Everyone on Linda's (doucanoe) Prime Rib thread - For giving me the courage to try this for the first time on Christmas Day. I used Cook's Illustrated's low roast method and was extremely pleased with the consistent doneness throughout. CI's Yorkshire Pudding was fabulous also. Alexa - For posting Paula Deen's mushroom recipe. Another huge hit. My father asked to take home the leftovers. Such a compliment is unheard of from him. Also, for posting the jus and your other last minute details and words of encouragement. Ruthanna - The deviled bones were, um, fun? Definitely not for polite company. Please pass the dental floss! Definitely worth the mess. I have no pictures of any of this, but I couldn't have been more pleased with the Christmas meals I served and it seems like everyone agreed. Thanks everyone!!!

I know how you feel, as I asked for some advice in a different posting and never got any responses at all. Guess I can try and weigh in, seeing how we both live in the same city and have access to a lot of the same products. I haven't heard of the windows you are talking about, so I can't say whether or not they're good products. I just had 3 reputable local companies come out and give me estimates on vinyl replacement windows and pretty much all of the brands they showed me were good and names I had never heard of. All had nice welds, colors, weather stripping, etc.. After a while they all start to look the same, and I realized that it's best to just find a company that does reputable work and use whatever product they're selling. I've read it many times on other forums--installation is key. A medium grade window, installed correctly, is better than a high end with a bad install. If the company you are looking at does good work and has been around a while, then it's worth considering them.

Aegis and Judy, thanks very much for the useful tips on how much to use per gallon of water. Aegis, half a capful is a whole 1/4 cup? I know I've said this elsewhere, before. But if at all possible, I would avoid using imidacloprid outside. It is known to travel through pollen and no doubt through nectar as well - it is a systemic after all - and to be toxic to the pollinators on which plant life, and therefore our food sources, depend. I think it's only justified in rare circumstances. My maples are blooming these days. They're being swarmed by all kinds of bees; not honey bees, but other kinds much less recognizable, and maybe even non-bee insects. Are they flies or something? Anyway, whatever it is, is after the pollen; and at the same time, I've had a lot of songbirds hanging around in the yard, and it's not because I'm leaving birdseed out. It's the insects they're after. When people ask me - and nobody here is, but still, I just feel duty bound to say this - I always advise to identify the problem and try to find some way to deal specifically with that pest, if at all possible, without going broad-spectrum. Bt, or cultural practices, or just putting up with a certain amount of damage, as long as it doesn't really harm the plant's health. The only plant I have where I WISH SO BADLY that I could use a systemic is a hardy rose. I love this rose; but every year, just as it's in its full glory, it gets wiped out by Japanese beetles and rose chafers. But of course I can't use a systemic, because where do bees go?? Roses! I'm considering roguing it out, rather than see it suffer every year through the beetle/chafer depredations.