Christin, there's a difference between mulching and leaving the remains of a plant in place until new growth emerges in spring :-) Mulching can very well make a difference in protecting marginal plants because it does afford insulation - certainly to the soil (which will help with roots) and perhaps even to the crown if you pile mulch over the top of it. But it's not a guarantee and it may work very well on some plants and not so well on others. Leaving old stems, dried flower stalks, etc. in place just doesn't have the same effect. I don't know of any good reasons NOT to mulch :-) It is a soil insulator, moderating against temperature extremes in both winter (heaving due to freeze/thaw) and summer. It will provide protection against erosion both from heavy rainfall and your own irrigation. It supresses weeds and if you use an organic mulch, it will add to soil texture and provide nutrients as it decomposes. It encourages beneficial organisms and can help prevent reinfecting plants with diseases by not allowing fungal spores, etc. to splash up on the foliage. There are some drawbacks, primarily that it provides a safe/secure environment for some pests to hide or overwinter in, but those can be successfully addressed rather easily. If organic, it needs to be replaced on a fairly regular basis and if inorganic, it's a PITA to keep it tidy and debris out of it. What is the most effective method of mulching, material to use and when to do is going to vary a lot by garden and location. And what you are trying to protect. For the most part, I never mulch over the crown of any plant for winter protection simply because my climate does not require it, although this is a very common practice in colder climates. Marginal or not fully hardy plants get any necessary protection by growing them in containers and overwintering them in safe place or sometimes, piling loose leaves around them. IME, having good drainage affords a more reliable method of protection, as the combination of cold and wet is typically the kicker, not just the cold. So to respond to your statement that no amount of mulching/covering will save a plant from death by cold, because that is only topical cover and will not protect the roots of the plant, I'd say that is not true most of the time :-) It depends.....on the plant, the location, the soil conditions, the severity of the winter and any specific microclimate that might be involved. Mulch can and does protect against cold but it is not a guarantee, especially for marginally hardy plants.

Does anyone have pictures of using curtains outside the glass enclosure? Curious how it looks. Has anyone used frosted/ matte privacy film and then removed it because you were in a rental or selling? Curious how long it lasted, did it get dirty or yellow, how did you clean it, and how well/ easily did it come off? We are facing the same dilemma regarding clear shower glass enclosures for 2 different showers. I don't want to see any family members showering or be seen. I don't think it's sexy when people actually really clean themselves with a washcloth/ loofah, shave themselves, use a foot-scrubber, etc. People need privacy to clean their private parts. I love how people say lock the door etc. The reality is all families are different with different routines. There are bathroom stress times with larger families; especially in homes with only 2 bathrooms. A cheap way to clean glass shower doors is to dilute DAWN dish soap liquid in a spray bottle. Spray glass and you can use a wet paper towel to rub it all over the glass too. Let it sit 10 to 15 minutes. You can either use a squeegee to get it off or rinse it off and then squeegee the water off or use microfiber towel. Dawn will not cause any damage to the glass or stone tile. I have seen people adding vinegar to the solution; the amount of vinegar added lessens the wait time and can add a pungent smell if lots of vinegar is added. Vinegar should not be used if you have any natural stone tile. Note: This Old House uses Dawn dish soap with vinegar & baking soda to clean grout lines and then re-seals the grout.

I used Firefox with my Macbook for years because I was not happy with Safari. Recently I decided to give Safari another chance, and I have to say that I it has greatly improved and seems to meet all my online needs. As far as finding things, I'm assuming you are referring to the search engine you are using (Google, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Bing, etc.) and not the browser (Safari, Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc.). If that is what you mean, you can easily change the default search engine that Safari uses when you type a topic into the address bar. To make this change, simply go to Preferences in Safari, which is found in the dropdown menu under Safari, as in the dropdown you use to quit the app. You have the choice of 4 or 5 search engines you can choose from. My thinking is that for most instances, Safari is going to be the best browser to use, simply because it was created explicitly for use on a Mac. But as some of the other responses indicate, I too keep a couple of other browsers in my dock should I run into any issues with Safari, which is my default browser. The default browser-the one that opens any random links you might click on when you are not online, and can also be easily changed in System Preferences. Sorry if this is way too basic for you... Hope it helps.

We've had this discussion regarding purchasing slabs on other threads. Suffice it to say that it depends on where you are located. In Los Angeles, the homeowner BUYS the slab at a stone yard and then the fabricator picks up the stone. The homeowner owns the slab because they have paid for the ENTIRE slab and paid for the fabrication and installation separately. Other localities are different in that you hire a fabricator for $x with what I believe is some kind of allowance at the stone yard he is affiliated with. Ownership of remnants would depend on the contract. However the OP seems to have had an explicit contractual relationship in which the remaining portions of the slab were her property. The fabricator is not saying she didn't own them - he is saying he LOST them which indicates that if he hadn't "lost" them, she could come on down and pick them up.