Marilyn, Send me some of those Esperanza seeds, please! I like yellow flowers and that may the only thing that will survive if this drought continues. There is a "cold front" moving down into the state this afternoon. May drop w-a-y d-o-w-n into the mid-90s! Say! I'll take it. There is also a 70% chance of thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow and maybe some more into the weekend. Wouldn't that be dandy? Dayle Ann, we have had the same thing happening here - when it rains, it doesn't cool down like it used to do. Just gets hotter and very steamy. Weird. In this area (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana) we will need six months of good soaker, frequent rainfalls just get the drought to stop, then another year of it to get the lakes and ponds and rivers back up to their normal levels. The governor issued heat and fire alerts again today. The fire ban continues state wide except in two counties. I am in the process of moving all my shrub roses out of my once beautiful rose garden. They will die if I don't. I am making beds for them by the patio out back so they can be watered more often. It is in the shade in the morning until 11, and then gets evening shade from the house around 4 P.M., so they will do much better there. The soil is alot more fertile and deeper. I have fought with that blasted sandy soil in the rose garden for six years. It is so dry and barren now that even the purple coneflowers are wilted and sickly. Well, by gum, enough is enough! I can set the sprinkler and water almost everything at once, thereby conserving water. It will save me having to drag 100 feet of water hose out there too. Ugh! I have 5 more roses to dig up and transplant. I was hoping to get them all moved before this rain came. I hate having become an old crippled up woman! I'm too young to have suddenly been plagued with such an old body! Pooh! Well, anyway, I will get them moved, one way or another, you can bet on that! "Inch by inch, row by row..." Take care people, and be thankful for what you may have and whatever circumstances you may find yourself. It could be worse. ~SweetAnnie4u

Sam - What sacrilege!!! LOL Having 2 roses of the same type. LOL Yeah, having more than one type would be beautiful in landscaping, but I gotta have as many different types of roses as possible. I just gotta. :) Jim - seems like my soil DOES have all the microbrial good stuff in it. Apparently for potted soils, the place I use, just adds sand to the garden soil, and calls it potting soil (which is what I use). See below: The BigYellowBag® made its first appearance in Southwestern Ontario. Since then, it has been making its way across Canada and the United States! When it comes to getting our ‘stock’ of soil, we don’t just go with the closest or cheapest suppliers. We search out the best quality soil and stock it, sometimes for years in advance, to make certain we can consistently offer the highest quality of soil to our customers. Different types of soil have different levels of nutrients. One will have more phosphorus, another more nitrogen, and so on. Using third-party laboratories and professional agronomists, we test the soils we’re purchasing from our suppliers to determine the quality of these levels. Once we know the properties of the soils, we blend them to create a perfect balance that offers the best level of nutrients, minerals and soil texture to stimulate plant growth. After we’ve mixed the soil, we screen it several times, making sure that there aren’t any stones or clumps in the blend. Then we get it tested again to make sure that our Black Garden Soil’s nutritional properties fall within optimal ranges. We all know the saying “you are what you eat,” and we want to make sure your garden or lawn is getting the best ‘food’ possible from our Black Garden Soil. Quality Active Soil Does Make A Difference! Soil is home to many living things and has an important job to do for the environment. It’s full of organisms, mineral and organic matter and provides moisture, air and nutrients. A good quality soil is a vibrant mix loaded with microscopic life containing good bacteria and beneficial funghi; which help the soil cycle nutrients, decompose, help hold the soil together and improve soil structure. BigYellowBag& Black Garden Soil is comprised of a combination of black loam, peat loam, very-well-decomposed manure and a touch of mineral soil. These ingredients encourage microbial activity, which aid in plant growth. This soil is specially blended to enrich and balance the local soil conditions found in each BigYellowBag® area. Approximately one cubic yard in size, the bags can yield enough soil for the average home’s use. ------------------- So I conclude that my soil should be just like garden soil. I guess. So I'm going to continue using worm compost, but I'm going to use Straw's magic recipe. I'm quite excited about the change of using gypsum, etc. I'll let you all know if it's made a difference. Thanks for all of your fantastic advice. Carol

Thanks everyone for all your help and suggestions. We decided to go ahead with the proform and it will be delivered before xmas so on xmas day, we'll have several strong bodies around if we need to move it or need help with assembly...or disassembling the old one. I talked to DH about the elliptical and we decided in the future we will probably trash the old nordic trak (from the 80s!) and replace it with an elliptical. But for now, we'll stick with the treadmill.

I would consider putting the playroom back on the table. How much more is the playroom compared to the closet or sitting area? would it be in the green area (closing off the openness to the floor below, which for me would be a huge plus)? I see the sitting room as wasted square footage....I don’t know anyone who uses space like that or even wants space like that in a master. The den might make a nice home office for someone, or a nursery. If there is a main floor office, I don’t see the den adding much benefit or resale value. An upstairs “game room” (aka playroom) is popular for new builds in my area, and something I would love to have. People use it as a family room (couch and tv, hang out space, play area).....they are more comfortable and inviting (in my opinion) compared to a basement family room. It also allows people to get all the rooms they want without needing to finish the basement. How old are your kids?