I think the distance from trees thing could be related to giving the bats easy access in and out of the house. They swoop in very fast, so a clear "run way" in front of the house would probably help. Might be for predators, too, I don't know. I do know that martins need a lot of clearance in and out of their house for that reason, and I'm guessing bats might prefer that, too, rather than twisting and turning through trees to reach their shelter. I would also like to learn more, though I don't know if I have a good spot here for a bat house. Marcia

My neighbor is building me a nice "Hosta Display Shelf" in a couple of weeks. It'll have enough room for up to 5 large hostas (as big as my Albomarginata) so I need at least 2 for each side as I plan to put my Wheee on it as well with the Albomarginata in the middle and raised pedastal. Hilltop Farms said theirs are $11.50 in quart containers. So I will probably buy 2. I don't know what I'm getting yet. Whatever strikes my fancy. I am just looking at some but I make no decisions until I see them in person... So who knows what I'll actually come home with? I am thinking the display will either go where the albo and the mama mia are now or right in front of the patio... Not sure yet. Oh and WW, tuition, books, etc are covered by my financial aid grants, scholarships, etc. So I am fine!

I bought a rug on line once. The color was not even close when it arrived. The seller said that she would refund the purchase price-so I paid a lot to ship it back to her. I had foolishly paid for the rug by check. She kept both the rug and the money. She never did refund the money. It was one of those things in life where you learn, and just need to let it go and move on. And back to the original post, someone suggested that they are stocking those big rolled arms because people are buying them. I wonder if that is actually true. I walk through these large furniture showrooms, and there are very, very few other customers. Ever. I could count on one hand the number of customers in the large, beautiful furniture stores. I find the stores depressing. First, what I want, is never what they stock. A bed for instance. There are perhaps 4-5 in the whole store. None of which are even a remote possibility. Sofa's might be beautiful, but uncomfortable. Or decent in comfort, but have those big rolled arms. Etc. etc. Worse, A sales person moves in as soon as you walk through the store, just like a used car lot. They follow you around, and hover. They do not seem to be able to answer simple questions, such as which sofas on the floor are 8 way hand tied. Does the company on this sofa with the big rolled arms, offer other arm choices? Are any of the sleeper sofa's available in a love seat size sleeper? Each question they have to go look it up in a catalog somewhere in the deep, blue yonder, also know as the far back of the store. While I stand waiting, not sure whether to simply move on to other areas of the store to keep looking, or whether to wait by the piece he is going to try and find information on. Many sales people at the furniture stores appear to be standing around for a good part of the day, waiting for the next customer, so it might be worthwhile to use some of that time learning about what they sell, so that they become the most knowledgeable salesperson in the store, and in essence the salesperson everyone will look for and pass their name on to friends. In our area, the sales people hover near the front door, waiting for the next customer to walk through the front door. I personally find it irritating and just want to walk around and look. If I have a question, I would like to then be able to ask for a sales person. At one high end store, I managed to slip by the front group of sales people, who were talking. So far, so good. I got to the piece I wanted to look at, and a sales person approached and asked who my sales person was. I replied that I had just a few minutes to look at something, and that I did not need the sales person that had been assigned to me two days before when I had been in the store. Within seconds, I heard that sales person paged, and she was hovering within 2 minutes flat. I was so annoyed with the way they do business, where it felt just like a used car lot, where they follow you around as soon as you walk through the door. You get this person assigned to you whether you want a sales person, or not. There they are!

What about vinyl siding? Mine was given to me (very long story) and I don't love it. It's a generic tan and I would like something else. Can I do it without it peeling next year? And what kind of paint? That new Duron product? All advise (besides not painting it) is very welcome. Thanks! Christine