Buyer Beware> I have bought items from Goodwill off and on for the past few years. We didn't have a store close by. One thing you need to check is the outrageous shipping charges and handling charges. I saw a lovely metal vintage style tea pot I would love to have....bid 3.00 reasonable............shipping 10.00........handling.....2.00. Hmmmmmmmmmm tea pot not so attractive at 15.00 and that's if you get it for the 3.00 bid. I love looking thru all the items Goodwill has but some of their shipping rates are way out of line. All these items are donated and I know for a fact it doesn't cost 10.00 to ship one tea pot. Don't want to rain on your parade just want to make you aware. I also bounce between goodwill and ebay and yes I am a wicked sniper...............LOL Does anyone remember Andy's Warehouse Auction? It was run by Fingerhut no less..........oooooooooh the bargains I got there and their shipping was reasonable. How i miss them. There were a couple others but I don't remember the names. Sigh! Hmmmmmmmmm maybe I should google. Then there's freecycle.............I can't begin to tell you all the goodies I have gotten off there. Ok so I belong to 5 different ones.............:) I subscribe to all that are within a 50 mile radius and try to pick up two or more items on one trip if possible. Anybody watch the Junk Brothers? Boy would I like to find some of the loot they find. And that Workshop............ ChelCass

These tips are all great! I use the "pack 'em in" theory of gardening to cut down on the weeds as others do. It also cuts down on the chore and expense of mulching. I used to deadhead, but the goldfinches and other birds really appreciate the seed heads, so now I do lots of my garden clean-up in the spring. Actually the plant material is brown and dried up at that point and I've found usually I can rake an area and the dead stems come right up. As opposed to clipping back in the fall when I have to cut each stem. There simply seems to be "less" plant material to get rid of after a winter since it's all dried and shriveled up, if that makes sense at all. I am really learning to settle down about getting it all done. This summer I haven't worked too much in the garden (because of the heat) and it has been so enjoyable finding other fun things to do (like the beach, etc!). The thread about garden seating pushed me to add adirondack chairs to the backyard and lately after work I come home and read a magazine out there instead of weeding. Much more enjoyable. What LL said is true. If people aren't gardeners they won't even know they're weeds and I really think that most gardeners going through a garden that has weeds think to themselves "PHEW! I'm SO glad to see that they have weeds too!!" Let's face it, ALL gardeners fight the weed battle and can appreciate weeds in any garden. I still have not learned to garden the size I can take care of. I'm only on phase 3 of my yard and have another 2 or 3 fairly sizable areas to work on. However, I have learned to pace myself and work for about 5 years on a certain phase of building an area before moving on to another area. During that time I think a lot about the next phase (plant material, design, most especially how will it be watered, etc....) So far we've been OK with the amount of space we've gardened. I'm wondering in which phase I say "Uh Oh, now I've bitten off more than I should have!" I know someday that will happen but for now I'm going to keep my phased approach and hope for the best. Unfortunately, once all the phases are done, I'll be 15 years older and at that point will be looking at how to pare down the garden!! LOL! Pfmstin, I've never heard of that material and it sounds very interesting. I'm definitely going to check that out. Xantippe, what type of edger to you have? Do you have a machine? So far, my DH is my machine! We're (OK, really HE) is edging many new garden beds and anything we (HE) can do to reduce time/energy would be great to know. You see, the less time he spends on edging, the more time he'll have to help me with other things! LOL!! Gardenweed, Amen to planting more fall plants. The garden season for those of us in northern climates can be extended into November with flowers and color. There are so many great fall plants and shrubs out there that are worthy to extend the season. You know, I've heard many times about cardboard and newspaper under mulch and have "thought" about doing that for weed control. But some of you brought up a very good, important point with that tip in that the worms love it. I hadn't thought about that before so thank you for mentioning it. I am going to use this tip in the backyard where it's a new area and needs to be covered.

FPE is the BEST paint I've used on woodwork. I was first introduced to it when I lived in Europe and my love affair with it hasn't diminished over time. I'm very particular and take my time when painting, especially doors and trim work. So I'm more than willing to pay extra for high quality paint that gives me results that are in line with the time and effort I put into painting. But as picky as I am, there are plenty of other things I'd rather be doing than painting. (smile) I've used the components in the FPE Dutch Door Kit (Hollandlac in Dutch Chocolate). And though I love the high gloss finish, it's not a look that's meshes well with the architecture of my current home in southern California. So when I painted the front door on this house, I first put on a coat of the Swedish Putty (the door is exposed all afternoon to directly sunlight plus heat from brick steps reflects back onto the door all of which caused cracks on the lower portion of the door). Then I put on a coat of primer and then two coats of the Brilliant (sanding after each coat). Then I put on two coats of the Satin (sanding between coats). It's been four years since I painted the door. To maintain it, I put a coat of wax on it each fall. The sun hasn't faded the color yet nor has the paint oxidized at all (unlike the original paint applied by the builder). It's not uncommon for real estate agents who are selling houses in the neighborhood to leave notes on my door asking me what kind of paint was used on my door and who painted it. So I'm guessing that others like the curb appeal of my standard tract home quality front door, too. I've also used Eurolux Interior Gloss (White from the Classic European Color Group) on all the trim work in the house as well as on some cabinets and bookcases I've built to look like "built-ins". Not a single brush mark in site on hundreds and hundreds of linear feet of trim and shelving. I brush on one coat of primer and then depending on where the trim is located, I put on either one coat of Gloss followed by one coat of Satin or two coats of the Gloss. (I lightly sand between each coat of paint.) The painting goes faster than it sounds like it would -- because I don't have to be overly careful about ensuring I end up with no brush marks. The brush marks seem to almost automatically level themselves out of existence. The Eurolux paint cures to a rock-hard finish. Best of all ... no wear marks yet even after 5 years on the stair railing. Despite three teenage boys who can't seem use the stairs without dragging their hands along the entire length of the railing in an effort to help propel 185+ pounds of body weight up or down the stairs. (smile) A quick swipe with a damp paper towel once a week removes the residual grime. PS: I believe the paint store in my area originally carried only the Classic European Colors. And they heavily promoted the Dutch Door Kit. As contractors and homeowners became accustomed to seeing it, they've since expanded into the additional colorant groups.

I take my laptop and work and socialize at a café downtown. As a self-employed artist I tend to become rather isolated. Here I have a large and varied group of friends: teachers, students, artists, actors, musicians, writers, professionals, hangers-on, et al. It's a good hang out. I don't come in the evenings for music, by then I'm ready for my comforter and a glass of wine at home. Here is a link to an employee's Myspace page about the café and the main website (which hasn't been updated in ages). Warning: the Myspace page is a slow load, it's image heavy. http://queenbeancoffee.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Queen Bean Myspace Page