According to the article in the Washington Post, the changes are based on data from the past 12 years. The data was gathered from many more sites than the previous base (which was gathered 22 years ago). It is solely for cold hardiness and doesn't consider possible changes in heat. The mountain house was and remains solidly 6a, but down here the barely 6b was rezoned into 7a. As anneliese points out, in reality that depends on the specific site. My back patio and veg garden area is surrounded by house and then trees and tall fencing. It's been reliably 7a for decades and now would meet the criteria for zone 8; that doesn't mean plants with a maximum hardiness for 8 can be depended on to survive every winter -- but it would take an exceptional cold spell to kill them. OTOH, the front yard is much colder: open and facing north, in the past few years I've lost shrubs rated for zone 6 and even for zone 5. Which isn't going to stop me from trying them again, lol. So far *this* winter, we've had three nights that cooled to the high teens, and maybe 5 more that were below freezing. Climate warming or normal chancy variance, I don't think there have been enough cold-hours to meet the requirements of the pear trees. February may be cold enough, but the norm is that Feb throws us one or two snow storms and then starts to warm up. I may have to search for an organic orchardist.

Snookums - Thanks! I was amazed at how they made the stairs.. no forms or anything... they just shot a pile of gunite in that area and did the rest with a shovel and a squeegie thing-a-mabob... from time to time they'd shovel more gunite on top and then level it out again... I'm happy with them, but in retrospect wish I had made the first step a little wider to accomodate a little chair, but no biggie. If our backyard was bigger I would have gone for a baja shelf, but didn't want to sacrifice the play and swimming area. We're in Lake Forest. Overall, I'm happy with Mission so far, except for one guy (Our first P.M.). He seemed a little disinterested to me, and not so "customer friendly". I was on the verge of letting the management know about it, when voila - The manager showed up at my house to look at our progress and let me know that our P.M had been fired because they received one too many customer complaints about him. Anyway, they (Mission Pools) have more than made things up to me, and now the new PM is just what I expected from them.. I know that Mission has the rep of being a little more than other companies, but in reality their bid came very close to the other ones we got (Swan and California), and Mission's design was better (especially the hardscape plan - fireplace, ret walls). I toured about seven or eight of their projects nearby (Nellie Gail, Bear Brand, Mission Viejo) and was very impressed, especially with their mason that does rock-work.... Longwinded, sorry... but so far so good.. I'll keep you posted. Next step is for the mason to come in and start the grottos! -Pags

thanks cathyck! Good luck in your house build, I remember how many details need to be decided in a short period. Where in Rockland are you? We hired companies to spray the gunite and to plaster the pool (although we don't love the plaster job, my husband has been sanding it while using his scuba gear!) but pretty much everything else was done ourselves. Although we have saved a bit of money, its still pricey. We are happy because we have been able to upgrade all of our materials and to really customize to our specific needs. We've changed a few things on the fly. I'd say just the pool is around 50k (including the fence) - which doesn't include landscaping, decking, the curved brick walls or the staircase coming down to the pool, the bluestone stepping stones, the eventual pavilion and outdoor kitchen, furniture etc etc etc. In my head I'm hearing cha-ching, cha-ching ... I actually don't like thinking about it all together! There seems to be an endless way to spend money in and around the pool, but we feel the investment has been worth it so far. We've been able to see many of our friends and family over the summer as it was so easy to hang at the pool. That's why we can't wait to make entertaining easier with the pavilion. Good luck if you take on the challenge.

Hi again. Yes, he has a vistation order - has had ever since the divorce. So there's no doubt he should at least get visitation - the only question there is if they could somehow enforce it. I expressed my concerns to the attorney that it might be best if we got some transition visits before full time custody (so we could all get to know each other). He said he thinks DH can get custody now, but even if not he'll at least get visitation - but the trick there is that she will take off again and we're back to square 1. The attorney says they may be able to have child support order amended so that if he got visitation and she took off again, the court would order that CS be escrowed (DH would still pay, but she wouldn't get the $ if she ran) If she knows her money is at stake (she doesn't work, CS is her only income) then she might stay put and play fair. According to attorney, the only thing to be done about her not allowing him his visitation is to file contempt charges. Nothing criminal about it - simple contempt of court order. So unfortunately, yes, she can just take off with them and it's not really that big a deal from her perspective. Of course part of the statute is that she has to pay all costs associated with the proceedings - but like we'll ever see any of that money from a woman with no job. I don't know how CS works everywhere, but here in Ohio you get a debit card - so your current address isn't needed to get your money. It is put on your card each month and you just use the card like any visa/debit card. CS doesn't even have MY current address and it hasn't effected my receipt of support (I'm just lazy and haven't updated records in a year - my ex and I get along great so no worries there) So, she has never told the court or CS where she's been the last 5 years either. DH has paid THOUSANDS in attornies and investigators to try and find her over the years - but she keeps skipping. So he's hoping this time she stays put long enough for him to get some resolution to all this. As to DH wanting custody so he doesn't have to pay support - I don't buy it. He paid her CS even BEFORE the court ordered it - and when he had contact with the kids he also bought their clothing and school supplies and misc items (because she flaunts sick son church-to-church to get donations, free clothes, free school supplies - whatever she can. This woman has NO SOUL! She also eventually gets caught stealing from each church!) DH is genuinely concerned with making sure his kids have what they need. And despite his unrealistic expectations of what is to come, he truly wants to be in the kids' lives. Ceph - you are so right! I am focusing on the negative language with myself and I need to change that. I KNOW I CAN handle this - but honestly, I don't know if I WANT to. But I also know myself, and I will suck it up and do the right thing - I can't leave 3 kids who need help. Damnit! By the way - I am SOOO glad I found this site. It's really reassuring to know other genuinely good people are willing to admit their inner struggles and the fact that stepparenting is hard. It's nice to not feel alone!