Hi Rachel, That is an EXCELLENT insight, one which we might all benefit from keeping in mind. To Tiff & the other newbies&/or Lurkers All this info. really IS NOT TO STRESS YOU,but to help grow better plants. Pls. remember many of us have learned these things over many, many years. I myself have been on here since March 2001 & w/ my local C&S club for over 15 yrs. Some folks here are far senior in participation & plant growing than myself. Al (Tapla), Rhizo, Denise in Omaha, these are folks who have been growing for DECADES. So yes, we remind you all, pls. to take deep breaths, read as much as you can in different sittings & bit by bit it gets in one's head. Bought in 1993 I think (pre-Internet), I can't tell you how many times I read & re-read parts of a book I love on plants called Readers' Digest Success w/ Houseplants (dorky, I know, but very good & comprehensive). Largely because it covered basics: watering, light, mixes, fertilizer, pests & then beyond that into particular plants. But time & again, I went back to check the basics & eventually I got most of it. Remembering to relax is important, this is after all a hobby. The last fellow who lived w/ me taught me that I had a set routine when I came home from work. He told me that I'd get home, change clothes, make a cup of coffee & then w/ my coffee, walk around the apartment, checking on all the plants & their respective needs. This was apparently my winding down ritual (I'd worked rather high stress jobs at law firms), which relaxed me & made me more open to interacting further. Again, it's just a hobby & also good, plants (tho' I love them dearly) are replaceable!!!

I ordered some Minor's low sodium chicken & beef stock base a few years ago on the recommendation from someone here on this forum. I've been pretty pleased with the chicken stock in particular. I've had it in my fridge for over two years now and am just getting ready to order it again. I just scoop out a teaspoon into a glass measuring cup of water and microwave. Once the water is heated, it takes a few moments of stirring to dissolve the paste. I ordered some low sodium Better than Bouillon stock base too but found that its sodium content was much higher than the Minor's. For me, sodium content is a really important issue. I like the stock base pastes because they keep a long time and I can add a flavor boost to the lower sodium foods that I prepare. Trader JoeÂs has an interesting broth product I really like, reduced sodium chicken and beef liquid concentrate packets. Each pouch contains enough flavoring to make 1 cup of broth with 360 mg. sodium per cup. The individual packets do not need refrigeration; thatÂs a real advantage. I think both flavors taste really good, but the salt content is a bit too high for me to use all the time. Here is a link that might be useful: Minor's Low Sodium Chicken Base

socks, you can keep a library (Overdrive) sourced Kindle book and keep reading it on a Kindle reader for months and months IF (and only if) you turn off your data signal (whether Wifi or through a cell carrier). It's through that sign on that the Amazon site is contacted and the deadlines for library downloads are enforced and overdue ones get deleted. How you make that work is by downloading several books at a time, read them all with the data signal off, then connect and download several more. Repeat as desired. chisue, while there are Overdrive apps for different tablets and PCs, you can only check out library books from libraries where you have an account. But different libraries have different/nonidentical Overdrive subscriptions so you're likely to find books on the Hawaii Library Overdrive site that may not be available from your home library and vice versa. You can download Overdrive material from anywhere. Several of my kids have spent time living abroad and they were able to continue to download Overdrive-sourced Kindle and audio books using their US library accounts.

Hi nannygoat, that's strange as I see you listed as a member from the first day! You can't see any of the discussions when you go here? Could you take a screen shot to show me what you see when you click the below link? https://www.goodreads.com/topic/list_group/615019-kt-book-club Did you verify your email address? You can tell by going to the top right and clicking "profile" and then "edit profile." It should say "settings" and click "account" and it will list your email address and say if it's verified or not. Don't worry, you haven't missed out yet :)