I don't know much about any of this, but IMHO, there's non-native and invasive, and it may be a bit of overkill (literally) to rip out the former when the concern is more with the latter--assuming, of course, the former is not a problem in its own right (in terms of needing a lot of water or pesticides). As humans, we are forever bending nature to shape our will. There is a greater interest in and desire for native plants, and I gather the native plant store here is doing just fine. But most suburbs are loaded up with plants that are at least not native to this area, if not even the US, because that's just what the standard has been (and in some cases, what the HOAs demand). I'd be more interested in seeing people get rid of their lawns than their non-native flowerbed plants, personally. But as someone without a lawn, it's very easy for me to get on a soapbox about it. My balcony has a number of non-native plants--on a microcosm level, nothing is actually native to my balcony, LOL, except concrete. Many are not local, like the plumerias. Others are from other countries, like the mandevilla and perhaps a succulent or three. But then I read that mandevillas aren't even found in their original habitat now. Still, as some note, things move around whether you like it or not. The gecko is now found everywhere in the world, traveling about on ships, and largely fits in nicely wherever it goes. Of course, the Chinese rat flea did the same thing hundreds of years ago and was nowhere near as welcome. :-) Meanwhile, the invasives in Hawaii and Australia destroy ecosystems in a heartbeat. I guess my two cents about the OP's situation is this: If they were ripping out non-natives that weren't causing any issues on the basis of some philosophy that non-natives are inherently evil and must be destroyed, I think that's a bit messed up. On the other hand, if their goal was to create a native garden (and more or less bill it as such), it's fine. In other words, I'm looking at motive--is it to *destroy* the non-natives or is to *create* natives? For some reason, that matters to me.

Rosa, You will be surprised at how well a teen can sew. When my GS was a junior he created an interesting pc. for his art class that was displayed by his teacher. I thought it would make an interesting quilt and talked him into trying to make one. He took me up on it (he hadn't sewen before) and it turned out beautifully. It was lap sized and he quilted it on the machine. He chose the fabric from my collection, drew the pattern, cut and sewed it with only guidence from me. He learned to use the machine, the iron in no time. He was very pleased as were his parent. He is now in College 2nd. yr. I am sure you both will enjoy the process and the one you choose looks great for a newbe. It is very rewarding to teach young people especially when they are ready,and it's worth all the efforts. Jayne

The survey was really too superficial. It seemed geared to people who shop in supermarkets for wine. That's OK, but they'd have little reason to shop online. The heaviest users of online wine sites are probably people who are looking for specific things that aren't widely available and who are willing to spend a lot of money. So a question like whether the look of the label affects a purchase is entirely meaningless. Nor is there a correlation between the number of times one purchases wine during a month and wine consumption, or a reason to imagine that wine purchases are spread thru the year. Most walk in wine purchases take place in November and December. Online that may or may not be true, depending on whether people are buying for the holidays or not. There's also the problem with shipping and most people don't want shipments May - Sept. Then there's the Bordeaux releases and the Rhone releases. Those months will show a spike in on-line purchases because if people want futures, they'll likely as not buy from someone in NYC, LA, Chicago, or DC.

Chisue- I have seen that with obesity research (not so much the skinny side though). It is hard for parents to understand that yes, their child is overweight or obese and so is 60% of the child's class. Parents see their child as normal but normal can still be unhealthy. My "thing" with physical activity is that the benefits BEYOND weight control are what needs to be addressed- even if someone never loses weight, they can still improve their cardiovascular health, mental health, and bone health from physical activity. I don't want my nieces growing up to hate physical activity as much as I always have. I think I would have enjoyed PE class (which is actually very difference than actual physical activity) had I not had to dress out- getting dressed and undressed in front of a room full of people was horrid and really killed any enjoyment I ever got from being active.