I have used a few different kinds of drip in my own garden, as well as designing installing and maintaining irrigation in garden maintenance for 12 years. My own recommendation is to use soaker tubes encircling each rose bush and have the roses on their own separate line. Roses need deeper watering than most perennials, and more frequent watering than most shrubs, if you have roses mixed with other plants. If they're in a perennial border you can do alright using the adjustable shrub sprays that send out streams of water in a circle - not the misting/fan type mini sprays, they clog too easily. Drip technology has improved vastly over the past 10 years. Be sure to use a filter on your drip supply line - even municipal water can clog the tiny little orifices of a drip emitter. One reason I like the soaker tubes, they don't clog as easily. If you're in Sunset zone 15 then I assume you're in NorCal and probably on clay soil. Do not use an ordinary lawn or garden spray system on roses as suggested above - maybe that's ok in Louisiana but not in CA. The roses will not get watered properly and they'll either suffer from lack of water or you'll waste a LOT of water and earn the ire of your neighbors and water utility. You need to apply water slowly, for a long time, and infrequently to get the rose roots watered in CA's typical adobe clay. That means drip. When I grew roses in Redwood City (Sunset zones 15-17), I had 3/4" PVC supply lines that ran out to the roses, and then 1/2" PE (soft black plastic) soaker lines that had inline emitters constructed into the tubing, that put out I think it was 1 gallon/hour. I made a ring of 5 emitters (5g/hr/plant) out of the tubing and encircled each rose individually. This worked GREAT. It was a lot of work to set up but - It never clogged, it never got kicked or raked away from the plant, the plant got water all the way around instead of just on one side, and the roses all got enough water slow enough and deep enough. And it lasted for years. The PVC parts shattered in the Big Freeze of 1990 but so did everybody's. That was for roses that were planted individually, not in a mixed bed. I had clients using the micro streamer sprays on roses in mixed beds and that worked too. You need to make sure that each rose has its own, at least 1, streamer, and that the entire root ball, 360 degrees worth, gets water. In heavy clay water will spread laterally quite a bit but you still can't rely on putting water just on one side of the plant. What I didn't like about this system was its vulnerability to being stepped on or kicked or raked or stabbed or plugged up by earwigs looking for a nice cool dark hiding place. Both systems are vulnerable to chewing by dogs and raccoons. Who knows why. I second and third and fourth the recommendation to stick to one brand with irrigation in general and drip in particular. And don't get the cheap stuff at the big box stores - poor QC means poor results. I get either name brand stuff from a professional irrigation supply house (you'll need a business license, and to know what you're doing) OR go to DripWorks online. Great company, great products, very helpful. They're in Willits but you don't have to go there, just buy online. Have fun! Here is a link that might be useful: DripWorks drip irrigation supply

Something else to consider other than just the sheets are the different types of mattresses and mattress pads you cover your mattress with, as well as the weave and fiber content of any blankets you top your sheets with. They have as great a cause and effect on sleeping comfort as do the sheets. We have a memory foam mattress and it holds your body heat really well, which is nice in the winter along with flannel sheets (we don't heat our bedroom) but that warming has the opposite effect in the summer. In the spring we add a mattress pad and sheets from coolingmattress.com and the wicking technology helps keep you cool. When you sweat (and the average person loses about 10% of their water in the form of sweat while sleeping - and people who sweat profusely, even more), the material in the sheets wick the moisture which will make you feel cooler. We use a comforter from the same company in the fall/winter because it helps regulate the temperature - you get neither too cold nor too warm. We like it a lot more than the down-filled comforter we used before getting the comforter from this company. A bit extreme, but we also have "Summer Survival Mats" we can use. They are gel-filled mats that act as a buffer between your body and the mattress to absorb your body heat. Great for that time of the year before you turn the air conditioner on, for camping, or a way to cool down fast without air conditioning. You can watch a video about these mats at cooldownfast.com, along with more information about how they work. -Grainlady

I had the same problem - my sunscreen always ended up getting in my eyes and stinging -- I asked my dermatologist about it and she said the physical sunscreens shouldn't sting - it's the chemicals sunscreens that sting. She recommended Elta MD UV Physical SPF 41 - she sells it from her office but you can buy it online. It's a little expensive but I love it - it's tinted too so you don't need foundation. I never have the stinging eyes any more. But any physical sunscreen (one with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide - this has both) should stop the stinging problem.

hhireno - I actually just bought a really nice fan thinking it would do the trick and unfortunately it doesn't. I did check the vent :) and I feel cold air coming out, so I don't know if the room just isn't insulated well. oakley - I know you're right. In my old neighborhood, the neighbors across the street were burglarized and they just kicked the front door in. Then they opened the garage door, backed in their truck and started loading it up. The owners had just moved in, so when I saw the truck, I thought they were unloading more stuff. Were you actually in the house when they broke in? I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get something, but I haven't decided whether it will be the portable or window unit. There seems to be pros and cons to both, so I'm trying to read everything I can today. camlan - I forgot to mention that I had the kind of locks you posted in my last house and forgot all about them. I think my then husband drilled holes in the frame, so they would screw into them and would be a little more secure.