proudgrma, I saw the pictures of your Ballerina and they are gorgeous. How long do they bloom? echinaceamaniac, I like your suggestion of trying different plants in the 4 separate spaces. There's no law that says they must be the same. And as each space gets a slightly different amount of sunlight, perhaps the final answer is to have more than one type of plant there. webkat, I was hoping for a more mounding aspect than you get from veronica, but other than that, it would probably work nicely there. As for alyssum, I never seem to have much luck with it. It always sits in small clumps until fall, then it bushes out beautifully. Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I truly appreciate it.

We have used a variety of sunscreens over the years, and there is no doubt that some of that had - or still have - the ingredients mentioned above that are considered the culprits. I always pre-treat with Shout, let sit a couple of minutes, and then toss in the wash. Often these shirts (all cottons as well as poly wicking fabrics) sat a week before they were treated & washed. For the past several years, our only detergents were All F&C and Charlies Soap. The ring around the collar, on DH's shirts, from sunscreen never became an issue.

The ring is generally permanently attatched to the cone that goes up into the can, and the whole assembly can be removed. A wide variety of mechanisms are used to hold the trims in place. Some are held in place by springs that push out against the sides of the can itself. Some have toothed springs that bite into the soft metal of the can and make them a bit harder to remove. Others have wire clips that extend up into slots in the sides of the can (pull down and squeeze clips to release) while still others can be disengaged by twisting them one way or another. Some can be removed while the bulbs are in place, and some can't. You'll just have to play around a bit to figure out how yours work. It occurs to me that some very inexpensive cans have their trim rings built into the can itself; in that case, you might be able pull the whole fixture down enough to paint around it.

I've been doing more soaking lately and just soaking makes a big difference on certain things.