zyperiris, you wouldn't be proud of me if you walked up to my front yard. That's the bad part of gardening in the front yard - compost piles in the driveway, excavation in progress, potted plants, front porch looking like a staging area, etc, etc. Really bad, but I'm glad I left you with a lovely picture in your mind. Ingrid, the neat thing about the pruners besides the size is the great spring in them that let's you squeeze and let go and that's all. Truly a breeze that fits the span of my hand perfectly. Re the actual pruning, I watched Paul's videos, and they were excellent, but when it's time to set the blade to the plant - well, I basically tried to cut at a joint and only in the middle of a cane when I had to. I don't like the look of cuts when I trim other shrubs, rather choosing to "hide" them so the bush looks the same when I'm done - just smaller. These Chinas and teas, I think, tend to sprout umbrella growth at those places. I don't know if that's 100% of the time, but I noticed it quite a bit even after deadheading. Maybe it's normal, but that's another reason I tried not to cut in the middle of a cane plus I've read about dieback. We'll see. Melissa, at least you had a nice day to do some pruning. I guess in many places it's still early for it - and in some places they're done. The world is different every place you look. It really was enjoyable to be "in the middle of the bush". Except for the ones with thorns - hooked ones are the worst. Today I got my tetanus shot finally, so tomorrow I'm expecting a sore arm. Pam, by the time I got to the climbers it was the end of the day, and I didn't pull out the ladder so they're fully "ugly-leafed' on top. Man, I was not prepared for how bad I felt when done. Standing all day was fine until the very end when it hit me like a ton of bricks. It made scary thoughts linger in my mind about how long I can continue this rose stuff. Juliet, "very savvy in your gardening ways" - I kind of don't know what that means, but I guess it's good. I just try to find answers, and with the internet at my fingertips, that's fairly easy if you're willing to stay at it long enough. I guess I like digging and research. At work they've given me the job of "shopper" to find the best item and the best deal - a normal thing for me (and my DH) that has rubbed off on some of my co-workers - but I've still got the job unfortunately. Quick learning is relative - it ain't as quick as it used to be!!! When those two invisible birds were playing dueling banjos, it was really fun. That's why I don't care for wind chimes. I'd rather hear the natural noises. We rarely hear racing car engines and that sort of thing, but there is a railroad track and regular train traffic very nearby. It adds to the ambience. These pruners are the 4th or 5th pair I've had. Never bought Felcos due to the price, but I have a $30 pair which are just not small enough - and I think I may have ruined them by cutting the wrong things with them. Laura, hope your Felcos last forever. I think I'm going to use these (or a 2nd pair) to deadhead, too. If anybody sews, you know those little nippers used for trimming threads at the sewing machine and other little trimming. These pruners act just like those nippers. So easy and quick. Sherry

My main sink is also a 60/40 style. The large bowl is 9" deep and the small bowl is 7" deep. If it's an undermount, you then need to add the depth of the counter top, so our undermounted bowls are really another 1-1/8" deep (3cm granite)...making our large bowl a total of 10-1/8" deep and our small bowl 8-1/8" deep. And yes, they do hide a lot of dirty dishes!! [Our prep sink, btw, is 7-1/2" + 1-1/8" = 8-5/8" deep.] It's been noted here in the past to be careful not to get a sink that's too deep for your height. If a sink is too deep it can cause back problems from having to lean down to get to the bottom of the sink, especially with prolonged use...like doing dishes. The taller you are, the more prone you are to experiencing problems...b/c you have to lean even further down. If your sink is also set back more than normal, it exacerbates the problem. I'm 5'10" & my DH is 6'5" and I don't think we'd want the sink any deeper than the 10-1/8". (My children fall between us in height!)

I have granite in my rental and up here in Maine it really is too cold for me (I'm also an easily-chilled, sock-wearin' type). For my new kitchen I am selecting a different material. I second the idea of selective use of granite - great around the stove where you want to cool hot pots down, great for pastry-rolling in a separate section, but too cold (and unresilient) for me in the prep and eating zones where I use a lot of glassware.

"When I made a list of our relationship pros and cons, his parenting was the biggest (and almost the only) issue. Has anyone else had similar experiences?" *Raises hand* I dated a guy for two years that had an 8 year old son. Because he only had him ever other weekend and on Wednesday evenings, he spoiled his son and let him get away with a lot because he "didn't want to spoil the time he had with him". I tried working with my BF about his son, but he got defensive whenever I said something to him about his son's behavior. You are right - it's not your job to fix your boyfriend's children. You did not make them that way or allow them to become that way. Granted, the daughter may be on the autism spectrum, may need counseling, or just some firm parenting, but it is NOT YOUR JOB to fix. The one thing I learned from my experience is I will not wait so long to meet a man's children. I waited a whole year before getting to know my BF's son, and by that time I was already in love with the father, so it was hard to break it off once I started seeing the issues with my BF's parenting. I tried working on the issue with my BF for another year, but eventually I realized that unless he was willing to step up and parent his son, there was nothing I could do. Plus, you have to realize, with step kids your hands are tied behind your back You can't properly discipline them the way you would your own. Unless the dad is willing to step up and properly parent his children, you are only signing yourself up for a life of misery. Sure, his poor parenting may be the ONLY thing wrong with him, but that ONE thing will grow into a monster. There are many things in a relationship that the two of you have to argee on, and one of them is parenting. Of course your BF is upset you want to back off, you are the one doing all the heavy lifting in the relationship. I think I know why he's better with you and your kids. It sounds like you have raised your kids to be respectful, polite and well behaved. It's EASIER to deal with kids that have been raised right. It's a lot harder to RETRAIN kids that have been allowed to misbehave their whole life. And you probably don't get defensive if he tells you something about your kids, or go into denial about their behavior, which is what your BF is doing. And the fact that he wants more time with his kids would make me run for the hills. My BF did the same thing, we were talking about moving in together, and I thought I could handle it since his son would only be there every other weekend and on Wednesdays, but then the BM let the son stay with my BF full time. I knew I could not handle living with his son full time and I told my BF I could not move in with him. He got upset as well, and that was only another indicator to me that the relationship was in trouble (although at the time I didn't break up with him). I remember I once asked the ladies on here if they knew what they did now about step families and all the problems they would go through, would they do it again, and many of them said NO. That was what convinced me that I needed to break up with my BF. It's been three months since I've broken up with him and I don't regret my decision. Sure, sometimes I'm lonely, but a visit back to this site reminds me of why I broke it off and how happy I am now that I don't have to deal with all that mess!