I love hemming things. Frayed hems on jeans were de rigueur when I was in Jr. High. Then (probably because we grew quickly) came the era of adding 2" wide decorative trims to the hems of jeans. And then your's truly mutinied and began rolling her jeans up to expose her collection of argyle socks while proudly sporting her blue and white saddle shoes (which I kept polished). What a tool! My favorite alterations to perform are: 1.) shortening sleeves (love tailoring!) 2.) replacing zippers (esp. in trousers) 3.) hemming (coats! that tailoring thing again) 4.) pocket replacements As for the criticism thing, when you work in a trade that requires it you get used to it or you find another line of work. Criticism works best when it's delivered concisely and is restricted to the WORK. When it becomes nit-picky or personal it ceases to be effective. I have a mental switch that I flip "off" when the criticism over how I trim threads or fold the corners on things is brought up. Mostly because after 30+ yrs. I'm confident in my ability to perform those things efficiently and neatly. Some of my earlier employers were rightly withering in their criticism of my work... sloppy doesn't cut it in my trade. Attention to detail is the name of the game. No 70s here yesterday, Kathy. Another 6-8" of snow with a brief interlude of rain and then back to snow. Everything is looking clean and fresh now. And the Huge One had lots of fun snuffling through the powder. Litter pan use is on high and I've been mining at least 3 times/day, no sooner do I finish than another cat comes running to make a deposit in the fresh litter. :) We had a roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable medley for "comfort food" yesterday afternoon. I emerged from the Lab. only a few times, once to make the stuffing, and a few others to brush the top of the bird, and lastly to eat. The helpmeet was problem solving: a critical seatbelt buckle malfunction in his car, a careful scrutiny of a bookshelf that had developed the sags over time (now lives in his work area as it's beyond easy and attractive repair), and his first long look at the looming window casing project. I fear my keyboard is giving up the ghost slowly but surely. It will be time to go next door and see if the BIL has one he can spare. The shift keys are increasingly stubborn and the enter key is now on strike. V., I love calligraphy. I've never tried it before but it really looks as though it could be exhasperatingly fun. ;) How many envelopes did you have to address? I have to get rolling, busy day ahead for me full of not-so-meaningful work, including a dreadful seat recover for a customer who has been a complete PIA for nearly a year now. We can't finish the work if he doesn't call back with the final word on the how he plans to reattach the completely rebuilt seat frame for his stupid boat, since attaching the foam and stapling the cover in place means we have to know which set of bolts he plans to use...

Today is the Day.... A Brief History of Climate Change By The Associated Press posted: 16 February 2005 06:04 am ET Today the Kyoto Protocol takes effect in an effort by 140 countries to reign in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The world's biggest emitter, the United States, is not participating, so the result is expected to be limited, reducing by about one-tenth a projected 30 percent rise in worldwide emissions between 1990 and 2010. Key events in the story of climate change: 1750: Before Industrial Revolution, atmosphere holds 280 parts per million of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, later research determines. 1898: Swedish scientist Svante Ahrrenius warns carbon dioxide from coal and oil burning could warm the planet. 1955: U.S. scientist Charles Keeling finds atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen to 315 parts per million. 1988: NASA scientist James Hansen tells U.S. Congress global warming "is already happening now.'' 1992: Climate treaty sets voluntary goals to lower carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. 1995: U.N.-organized scientific panel says evidence suggests man-made emissions are affecting climate. 1997: Treaty parties approve Kyoto Protocol mandating emission cuts by industrial nations, an approach rejected in advance by U.S. Senate. 1998: Warmest year globally since record-keeping began in mid-19th Century. 2001: U.N. scientific panel concludes most warming likely due to man-made emissions; President Bush renounces Kyoto Protocol. 2004: Carbon dioxide reaches record 379 parts per million; Russia gives crucial ratification to Kyoto Protocol. 2005: Kyoto Protocol takes effect on Feb. 16. A related story : Toasty 2005? Year Could Become Warmest on Record By LiveScience Staff posted: 10 February 2005 04:00 pm ET Last year was the fourth warmest since the late 1800s and climate conditions in place could cause 2005 to be the warmest, NASA scientists said this week. The analysis of 2004 data by NASA confirms figures for 2004 released in December by the World Meteorological Organization. The numbers are based measuring stations around the globe, with each day's high and low being averaged. Temperatures are recorded on land and at sea, in part with satellite data. The 2004 average temperature at Earth's surface around the world was 0.86 Fahrenheit (0.48 degrees Celsius) above the average temperature from 1951 to 1980, NASA scientists said. The warmest four years since 1890s, when reliable record-keeping began: 1998 2002 2003 2004 "There has been a strong warming trend over the past 30 years, a trend that has been shown to be due primarily to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," said James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. In any year, temperatures around the world can be nudged up or down by short-term factors like volcanic eruptions or El Ninos, when warm water spreads over much of the tropical Pacific Ocean. The large spike in global temperature in 1998 was associated with one of the strongest El Ninos of recent centuries, the scientists say, and a weak El Nino contributed to the unusually high 2002-2003 global temperatures. Manmade pollutants play a role, too, most scientists agree. Hansen said Earth's surface now absorbs more of the Sun's energy than gets reflected back to space. That extra energy, together with the weak El Nino, is expected to make 2005 warmer than the years of 2003 and 2004 and perhaps even warmer than 1998, which had stood out as far hotter than any year in the preceding century, according to a NASA statement. Hansen and his colleagues also note that global warming is now significant enough that it is beginning to affect seasons, making them warmer than before on a more consistent basis. Some scientists argue that the human contribution to global warming has been insignificant.

@pk66, I've used ALL kinds of things in my Miele washer but I tried the Miele Care detergents and just love them. Honestly, I find them just perfect. Smell is nice and light (and is a lovely smell) and they clean beautifully. I follow Miele's dosing recommendation on the package and dose down if my loads are smaller. I find the Miele detergent recommends less than others to begin with. You would be fine with almost any HE detergent I'm guessing. Many hear love Persil (German version from Henkel). I find the smell unpleasant and too strong but many love it. Many here also use Tide HE and are happy with that. I am using the Miele Ultra Care powders mostly (and I'm really happy with them). I haven't used powder exclusivley for many years but I really enjoy these ones. However, you do need liquid for certain loads like comforters (which is another great setting) and express. I have the Miele Ultra Color liquid as well. Miele also makes special detergents for items like down and outerwear. I've used several and they all seem to work very well. Dosing is very important to master correctly. It's very easy to overdose as there is so little water it is not very forgiving to a little extra detergent. Consider your water quality, dirt level of the load and size of the load. Start with the less is more philosophy and add more as needed. I'm attaching a UK article for you to read regarding smelly washers and how to avoid them. There is detergent and dosing info in there that might help you. As for fabric softener, I stopped using dryer sheets years ago when I read that they never decompose. I did use Shaklee FS until they changed the formula and I really dislike the new scent. I have a little left that I'm still using on my kids clothes (I just loved the old smell). I use Downy Free & Clear (just a little) or Seventh Generation or Miele FS. I use very little FS in only certain loads. Never on towels or sheets. I buy my linens at a very nice shop and they explained to me how FS "clogs" the pores of fine cotton. Fine cotton over time gets softer as it's washed. I find this true with my nice percale cotton sheets. My Turkish and Egyptian towels feel just great without FS. Good luck with your new machines. I certainly hope you love them. I enjoy mine all the time. I might suggest you select sensitive (extra rinse) all the time. I leave it on permanently. It's up to you though. The European machines do more rinses than ours do so I try to do as many as possible. Proper rinsing is key (as is proper dosing) to not having any residual detergent left. My fav feature is the delay time. I washed white towels this morning and did extra white, extended and extra rinse. That takes almost two hours. I set it last night and woke up to clean towels ready for the dryer. LOVE it :) Also, keep in mind that your Miele will not use the interanl heater on the "normal" setting. If you want to ensure a warm, very warm, hot or sanitary setting - choose any other program. Here is a link that might be useful: Smelly Washing Machines

I think its less than a year old and have not fruit yet. What happened was....6 mths back i bought a cutting from a local nursery and it doubled in height in 3 mths putting out new bigger foliage. 2 mths ago, the lower leaves started turning yellow and fell off, leaving only the top leaves intact. At the same time it stopped growing. The watering/fertilising schedule was as usual and tree is in the same spot since it arrived. Nothing's changed. I read from the net that it could be soil getting too compacted. So, I tested by watering thoroughly until water started draining out from the bottom, waited 15 mins and stuck my finger in. Turns out, top 2" was dry as suggested. Repeated and still the same results. So I repotted (removed only abt 50% of old clayey soil) into new 1/1/1 compost/perlite/burnt earth mix, waited a month and still no growth but no further leaves dying either....it became completly dormant. A mth ago I came across Al's posts for the first time, started reading his 10 years worth of info and i decided to try 511 on the fig tree. This time, took tree out, cleaned out all the old soil and repotted into the new 511 mix. Did not see any visible root rot or nematodes or fungus etc. A week into the 511 repot, all leaves turned yellow and fell off except the 2 tiny ones on the very top. 3 weeks later i saw the new root growth followed by a new leaf. This is how it looks like before 511, now its "bald": 5 days into 511: Side note, i'm using this bark size, is it too big or too small? Singapore is in the tropical belt just above the equator, with hot and wet weather throughout the year. Humidity is very high mostly and lots of rainfall esp year end (think hawaii minus the hurricanes). I'm staying in a high rise apartment and the fig tree is located along the corridor where there is no direct sun but is very bright and partially sheltered. Our tap water comes from reverse-osmosis filtration so not much salt/deposits and is soft. Ph about neutral i believe. Do figs go into dormancy in this kind of weather? I really cant figure out what's going on with the tree. I am wondering if the tree stopped growing and lost its leaves due to root issues or other factors?