Hello Felicity and everyone! I'm new to both African violets and this blog too. I've just acquired my first AV last week, and have learned a LOT in the past few days from reading the old posts. Thanks for everyone again! I especially want to say hi to Kiwis on this forum; I myself have moved permanently to Auckland from the U.S. this year. Where do you obtain your "novelty" AV's (i.e. anything other than the supermarket variety)? I had found Karen Panek's website and tried contacting her, but none of her email addresses seem to work. Otherwise, I absolutely cannot find any AV hybridizer in NZ. While many people on this forum have found novel plants in U.S. grocery or hardware stores, I have no luck in NZ (Countdown, Warehouse, King's Plant Barn, random florists, etc.). I'm just a beginner, so have no intention of buying overseas and dealing with import permits yet. Felicity, roughly what AV's do you have in your collection, and where did you get them? I'm mostly interested in variegated / "girl" (i.e. scallop-edged) foilage; I'm not picky about specific named varieties. Maybe you could give me some pointers or sell me some leaves / plants! Lydia

Thanks Ruthie!! Yes, I am an old southern girl and I grew up with a mother who did lots of canning, but my job was to wash the veggies and once I was done with that, I scampered outside as fast as I could!!! LOL!!! I wish now I had payed more attention!!! But I intend to pay alot of attention here and know with ya'lls help, I will learn alot!!! I am so glad I listened to Ruthie and finally made my way over here!!!

You certainly weren't expecting it to be this way, were you? You and your wife have vastly different parenting standards. Without serious intervention and agreement to specific changes, this isnt going to change. And you would likely confront these issues if you had a biological child of your own with her. My personal opinion is that if she won't address this NOW, with the help of a professional, than you should spare yourself the possible years of grief ahead and get out now. As step parents, we are here to support our spouses. But if their decisions are so fundamentally opposed to ours, how can that be done? The best scenario is to figure this out BEFORE getting married....but that is not always possible. People change, and when we are dating, we don't always see the bigger, longer term picture. You sound desperate, and it is understandable. Please seek professional help asap. You need to manage your own stress. Ask for a referral for you and your wife to seek help together. If she wont go, IT ISNT YOUR FAULT. You need to do something, and you will feel better and begin to think more clearly with an expert helping you. Allowing the children to behave in the way you described is not acceptable. You have reason to be concerned about the future!

Maybe some kind of window film.. Or if you have a good photo studio there is something that they use to filter light when taking photos. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=window+film This post was edited by forboystoo on Thu, Oct 10, 13 at 11:37