Thank you for sharing your story, Gayle. You were very brave to get out of that relationship. It must not have been easy. What you are saying makes sense to me. Stuff has a way of exerting control; of owning its owner, if we let it. I have sometimes used the idea of the Amish as an ideal. Some of the things they do don't make sense to me, but the general idea is that they live without many of the things that we take for granted, such as telephones in the home, electric devices, and other trappings of civilization. So I have distilled down their idea. If a technology stands in the way of happiness, then I can live without it. (Your short essay has helped me to see how I have expanded the idea of "do without' to include the layer of unneeded stuff that seems to coat many people's lives in an obscure grunge.) I make little efforts to simplify my life, even if it means a bit of inconvenience. I'd rather have a little inconvenience than be at the beck and call of a technology or possession or any other inanimate object that has the potential to rule my life. My happiness is so much more important then the illusion of security created by an insulating blanket of stuff. I hope that you are able to find a new balance in your life. Like you said, you'd rather fill your mind with happy things. That is a good goal for any of us.

If you are the sole breadwinner how is dad going to manage AND support SS and GF if you leave? Has he thought about that? I wouldn't work and buy groceries for a girl that won't work and drinks a lot and I wouldn't put up with a 22 yo SS for long. Who buys her booze? If SS has money to buy it he should have money to buy groceries. Until you can get them out I would suggest eating lunch out at work if possible and buying very few groceries. Maybe she will get tired of nothing to eat and leave. Maybe DH will get tired of no groceries and figure it out. I suppose a lot depends on if he moved into YOUR house or you moved into his or if you bought it together. It would be hard to make SS move out if it's not your house. My SS lived with us for a short time when his wife divorced him. He was into drinking, lost his job and got a DWI. DH refused to pay the DWI and let him sit in jail for 6 months and think about if that was the life he wanted. He decided it wasn't and straightened up when he got out and hasn't been in any more trouble. He also had to figure out where to live then because moving back with us wasn't an option. My DS moved out on his own as soon as he finished high school and hasn't asked for a penny since, he's 33 now. I have trouble understanding young people who want to keep living at home and being supported unless they are in college and even then they can work some. No one can take advantage of you without your permission.

Your jade actually looks really good. The color is indicative of the variety you have. I'm not sure what you mean by "direct sunlight" or "just sun" but like someone said they can take full sun but I wouldn't necessarily recommend full sun until we know what zone you are in (where do you live?) I would recommend slowly introducing it to direct morning sun for a couple hours slowly, and giving it afternoon shade, or keeping it on a brightly lit patio (strong filtered light) to prevent burning. What condition has it been in up until now? How long have you had it? What type of soil so you have it in? It looks okay from here but if you just got it from a nursery, most nurseries tend to sell them in a heavy peat based soil which can eventually become problematic. The more information you provide on how you currently care for it and where you are located the better suggestions we can make. I have 4 very large ones that I water everyother day in the summer and I have smaller ones that get watered only 1-2 times a week and are happy. None of mine are in direct sun but the 4 biggest ones are in very bright filtered light and sometimes get some crispy leaves in the summer when the days get long and hot.

Anthony Hopkins Quotes Welsh - Actor Born: December 31, 1937 My philosophy is it's none of my business what people say of me and think of me. I am what I am, and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier. Anthony Hopkins I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself, and that means not the beast but the shadow. The dark side of one's nature. Have fun with it and you know, is to accept everything about ourselves. Anthony Hopkins We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It's a death trap. Anthony Hopkins My weak spot is laziness. Oh, I have a lot of weak spots: cookies, croissants. Anthony Hopkins I have a punishing workout regimen. Every day I do 3 minutes on a treadmill, then I lie down, drink a glass of vodka and smoke a cigarette. Anthony Hopkins Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore; only the life I have lived. The pain now is part of the happiness then. Anthony Hopkins If you do things, whether it's acting or music or painting, do it without fear - that's my philosophy. Because nobody can arrest you and put you in jail if you paint badly, so there's nothing to lose. Anthony Hopkins For me, time is the greatest mystery of all. The fact is that we're dreaming all the time. That's what really gets me. We have a fathomless lake of unconsciousness just beneath our skulls. Anthony Hopkins Life's too short to deal with other people's insecurities. Anthony Hopkins We're all caught up in circumstances, and we're all good and evil. When you're really hungry, for instance, you'll do anything to survive. I think the most evil thing - well, maybe that's too strong - but certainly a very evil thing is judgment, the sin of ignorance. Anthony Hopkins I'm a pretty tough guy, you know. I'm a pretty hard man. I've got a lot of compassion, but I don't waste time with people. Anthony Hopkins I love life because what more is there? Anthony Hopkins Relish everything that's inside of you, the imperfections, the darkness, the richness and light and everything. And that makes for a full life. Anthony Hopkins I was lousy in school. Real screwed-up. A moron. I was antisocial and didn't bother with the other kids. A really bad student. I didn't have any brains. I didn't know what I was doing there. That's why I became an actor. Anthony Hopkins The magical, supernatural force that is with us every second is time. We can't even comprehend it. It's such an illusion, it's such a strange thing. Anthony Hopkins I'm devious, cruel, cunning and addictive. Anthony Hopkins Every time I try to retire, or even think of retiring from acting, my agent comes up with a script. Anthony Hopkins I tend to get bored quickly, which means I must be boring. Anthony Hopkins People forget that Mozart wrote for commissions. There's a thing in psychology where they think if it's popular, it can't be serious. Anthony Hopkins I'm most suspicious of scripts that have a lot of stage direction at the top of the page... sunrise over the desert and masses of... a whole essay before you get to the dialogue. Anthony Hopkins I don't have many friends; I'm very much a loner. As a child I was very isolated, and I've never been really close to anyone. Anthony Hopkins I am a bit of a solitude person - a solitary personality. I like being on my own. I don't have any major friendships or relationships with people. Anthony Hopkins I would like to go back to Wales. I'm obsessed with my childhood and at least three times a week dream I am back there. Anthony Hopkins I don't believe in nepotism. I don't much like the idea of parents who interfere. Anthony Hopkins I tried acting, liked it, and stuck with it. I saw it as the way I would keep that promise to myself of getting back at those who had made my school life a misery. Anthony Hopkins I like the good life too much, I'm not good at going on stage night after night and on wet Wednesday afternoons. Anthony Hopkins I was called 'Dumbo,' like the elephant, as a child because I couldn't understand things at school. Anthony Hopkins I'm married. My wife, Stella - a beautiful woman. She's brought a lot of peace to my life, a lot of wisdom. Anthony Hopkins My philosophy is: It's none of my business what people say of me and think of me. Anthony Hopkins I come from - I came from Wales, and it's a strong, butch society. We were in the war and all that. People didn't waste time feeling sorry for themselves. You had to get on with it. So my credo is get on with it. I don't waste time being soft. I'm not cold, but I don't like being, wasting my time with - life's too short. Anthony Hopkins I think the first British actor who really worked well in cinema was Albert Finney. He was a back-street Marlon Brando. He brought a great wittiness and power to the screen. The best actor we've had. Anthony Hopkins I spent two years in the military service, then I trudged around in repertory for quite a while. I somehow wound up at the National Theatre, though, and then I was definitely on my way. Anthony Hopkins I am able to play monsters well. I understand monsters. I understand madmen. Anthony Hopkins My life turned out to be beyond my greatest dreams. Anthony Hopkins We all dream. We dream vividly, depending on our nature. Our existence is beyond our explanation, whether we believe in God or we have religion or we're atheist. Anthony Hopkins I worked with Lawrence Olivier some years ago. He was a great mentor. Anthony Hopkins I've got no need to prove to myself that I can do Shakespeare. I've done it. Anthony Hopkins I love roller coasters. I don't get a chance often, but I've gone to Magic Mountain and gone on the rides. I love roller coasters. Anthony Hopkins I have dual citizenship; it just so happens I live in America. I would like to go back to Wales. I'm obsessed with my childhood, and at least three times a week dream I am back there. Anthony Hopkins My father wasn't a cruel man. And I loved him. But he was a pretty tough character. His own father was even tougher - one of those Victorians, hard as iron - but my dad was tough enough. Anthony Hopkins Years ago I met Richard Burton in Port Talbot, my home town, and afterwards he passed in his car with his wife, and I thought, 'I want to get out and become like him'. Not because of Wales, because I love Wales, but because I was so limited as a child at school and so bereft and lonely, and I thought becoming an actor would do that. Anthony Hopkins Actors I admire? Ed Harris, or course, I think he's terrific; because I know he always had to fight being what he looked like a lot, but I think he's a terrific actor. Anthony Hopkins I came here in 1974 to do a play, and then I went to L.A. I really like living in America. I feel more at home here than anywhere else. Anthony Hopkins I know that the arts are important. I'm not denying that, but I can't associate myself with all the claptrap that goes on around it. Anthony Hopkins I worked with Steven Spielberg on Amistad... he seemed so very secure in himself that he let me do things. Anthony Hopkins This industry has been really good to me. It's been a great life. I'm not through yet. I'm ready when you are, Mr. DeMille. Anthony Hopkins I don't have a vast longing for the stage. Anthony Hopkins If I spent all my time criticising myself, I wouldn't be able to function. There are actors who theorise till the cows come home. I haven't the patience for them. It's maybe shallow, but that's why I'll never be part of the acting set. Anthony Hopkins I do admire Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen, but I'm a philistine. I like the good life too much; I'm not good at going on stage night after night and on wet Wednesday afternoons. Anthony Hopkins I think a certain amount of stress in life is good. The stress of just working, which takes effort - I think it keeps you going. Anthony Hopkins Well, everyone likes movies when they're a little kid. Anthony Hopkins I'm interested in the dream and subconscious mind, the peculiar dream-like quality of our lives, sometime nightmare quality of our lives. Anthony Hopkins I don't have people following me around, like bodyguards. I don't know how people live like that. Maybe the young movie stars have to live like that, I don't know. But it seems a little crazy to me. I don't think you need all that stuff. Anthony Hopkins I don't like freeloaders; I don't like people who are negative. Anthony Hopkins It's such a pleasant surprise when you come on set and you find someone in charge like Ken Branagh or James Ivory. You know that you're going to do a day's work and at the end of it, it's going to be good. Anthony Hopkins I've had no contact with my daughter for years. That's her choice. Anyway, you move on. If people don't want to bother with me, fine. You know, God bless them, and move on. Anthony Hopkins I have dual citizenship, it just so happens I live in America. Anthony Hopkins The art of acting is not to act. Once you show them more, what you show them, in fact is bad acting. Anthony Hopkins I have no interest in Shakespeare and all that British nonsense... I just wanted to get famous and all the rest is hogwash. Anthony Hopkins And I love a scary movie. It makes your toes curl and it's not you going through it. Anthony Hopkins I don't know what acting is, but I enjoy it. Anthony Hopkins I never make conscious decisions. Anthony Hopkins I think all those actors from that generation, like Bogart - they were wonderful actors. They didn't act. They just came on and they did it, and the characters were wonderful. Anthony Hopkins I'm always cast in these strange men... that's not me, really. Anthony Hopkins I'm the slowest driver in the world. Anthony Hopkins I've got a great sense of humor. Anthony Hopkins It was a challenge, to work with Oliver Stone. Anthony Hopkins My father was grounded, a very meat-and-potatoes man. He was a baker. Anthony Hopkins Oh yes. I'm an actor, so I just learn my lines, and show up and do it. I gave it a little bit of thought. Anthony Hopkins Richard Burton came from the same town as me, so I thought I'd follow my nose, and follow my luck. I think I've been very lucky. Anthony Hopkins I'm one of the slowest drivers on the road. I mosey along. If you're doing anything too fast, including living life too fast, that creates sudden death. If I have to be somewhere on time, I make sure I leave early enough. Anthony Hopkins In the theatre, people talk. Talk, talk until the cows come home about journeys of discovery and about what Hazlitt thought of a line of Shakespeare. I can't stand it. Anthony Hopkins I've been composing music all my life and if I'd been clever enough at school I would like to have gone to music college. Anthony Hopkins A conductor can't be too arrogant with an orchestra and try to impose himself too much. Anthony Hopkins I can't stand directors who try to micro-manage everything. When it happens these days I just walk off set, saying if they don't like the way I'm doing it they can get someone else. Anthony Hopkins What I do is just go over and over and over my lines and learn the script so well that I can just be easy and relaxed. That's the way I always work. Anthony Hopkins I know that some actors and directors like to have intensity on set. I don't, particularly. Certainly, if they want that, that's fine, but I can't work like that. Anthony Hopkins I like to take it easy. Anthony Hopkins I'm fascinated by the fact that we can't grasp anything about time. Anthony Hopkins The Welsh people have a talent for acting that one does not find in the English. The English lack heart. Anthony Hopkins I'm not a health freak. I just work out every day. Anthony Hopkins I don't know why they gave me a knighthood - though it's very nice of them - but I only ever use the title in the U.S. The Americans insist on it and get offended if I don't. Anthony Hopkins I was bullied as a boy - lots of kids are, but hopefully most of us get on with our lives and grow up. Anthony Hopkins I am not very good with relationships. With anyone. I can't be locked up with anyone for too long. Anthony Hopkins I remember coming to New York in 1974 to do a play here called 'Equis.' And I remember the first morning getting up and walking around the streets, and I thought, 'I'm home.' I felt really at peace here. Anthony Hopkins We're always looking over our shoulders, 'what they will think, what the press will think, what will this one - am I making the right career move?' When you're young you have to do all that to survive, I suppose. Anthony Hopkins I just wanted to be a composer; I became an actor by default, really. I got a scholarship to a college of music and drama, hoping to take a scholarship in music. But I ended up as an acting student, so I've stuck with that for the last 50-odd years. Anthony Hopkins I wouldn't use the word 'scared' for my role as Hitchcock, but it was my most insecure. Taking on such a formidable, giant personality such as Hitchcock; he was one of the great geniuses of world cinema. Sheer genius. Anthony Hopkins Jonathan Demme is a very sharp editor of his movies. Anthony Hopkins I hope I would not be so arrogant as to doubt anyone's religion or belief. Anthony Hopkins The knighthood was a tremendous honour, I don't dismiss it. But I feel embarrassed by the flowery, theatrical stuff that goes with being an actor. Anthony Hopkins People ask, 'Should I call you Sir Hopkins?' But I say, 'No. Call me Tony,' because it's too much of a lift-up. Anthony Hopkins Once you begin to fall off the track and believe you breathe different air to everyone else, you're doomed; you're finished. Anthony Hopkins I learn poetry, learn text, and that really keeps you alive. Anthony Hopkins Our existence is beyond our explanation, whether we believe in God or we have religion or we're atheist. Our existence is beyond our understanding. No one has an answer. Anthony Hopkins Acting is just a process of relaxation, actually. Knowing the text so well and trusting that the instinct and the subconscious mind, whatever you want to call it, is going to take over. Anthony Hopkins I've felt like an outsider all my life. It comes from my mother, who always felt like an outsider in my father's family. She was a powerful woman, and she motivated my father. Anthony Hopkins Beware the tyranny of the weak. They just suck you dry. Anthony Hopkins I worked at the Steel Company Of Wales when I was 17. My job was to supply tools to the guys working the blast furnaces. Anthony Hopkins I couldn't say I ever dreamt of becoming a composer, a pianist, or anything else for that matter. I have the kind of brain where nothing is set in stone. Anthony Hopkins I always had a knack for improvisation. I can write down the notes I play, but never really had a proper academic musical background. I suppose I'm blessed and cursed by the fact I have that freedom. Anthony Hopkins We have a Boesendorfer piano that I play every day. It keeps my brain and my fingers active. Anthony Hopkins