Thanks to tomva and a few others, here are the seeds I'll be sowing: Life - Kolkwitzia amabilis/Beauty bush Remembrance - Cornus kousa/white flowering dogwood Mother Nature - Acer palmatum/Japanese red maple Leap of Faith - Crocosmia/Montbretia 'Lucifer' It's supposed to chill down the next week or so with daytime temps staying in the low 40's so I'm going on the assumption it'll be in the 30's by the solstice. I'm too close to Z5 to relax when it comes to growing things that are hardy only to Z6 but with winter sowing, I know they've got a much better chance. Anybody else planning to dance nekkid?

It was also an additional $1,100 to go from heat pump to gas downstairs. wait a minute. the comparism isn't apples to apples. starting at a base 13 seer ac with electric strip to 13 seer ac with gas furnace...this is xxx cost 13 seer with elec strip to 13 seer heat pump is xxx cost. this is the baseline. gas furnaces cost more than elec strip heat in equipment costs. heat pump cost more than ac elec strip. then the seer upgrades come in to play. with the gm of the company, start with baseline prices to get understandable, fair cost comparisms. if you get off on the right foot...with both being fair & open with each other, the process may improve. make sure that you provide information specific to your house with house plans. while plans have window sizes & orientation, there is a world of difference between a double pane metal window & a double pane low e argon filled vinyl window. things like solar heat gain coefficients & ufactors of windows should be provided. sizes of overhangs, any exterior shading. air infiltration in your home should be less than normal houses if you have done your air sealing. the foam at the roofline contributes to this air leakage reduction. so instead of house being entered into load calc program as average or normal, the entry instead would be tight. so provide information above and beyond what is spec'd on plans and that is accurate as to what you bought & had installed. R-values of insulation & types of insulation. the devil is in the details...and these entries make a load calc that is specific to what you built instead of equal to the spec house down the street. best of luck. (you are doing great btw)

I remember when the afro was popular and I asked my Mom if I could have one and she said no. I was in the 7th grade and thought how mean. Well when I was a freshman(14) in high school, I asked again and she told me that I could do it IF I was responsible about it and kept it neat and always looked presentable. I remember it as one of my first big decisions and I was so proud of the fact that she had enough faith in me that I would do the right thing and I did. Fast forward a gazillion years later and my D son asked if he could grow his hair out so that he could wear it braided. At the time he was 14 and I remembered the encounters with my Mom and I said the same thing to him. My hubby immediately said no and we had a family meeting and we made it clear that if he didn't take care of his hair AND save up the money to pay for getting it braided himself, then it would be cut off. Well my son is now almost 22 with hair below his shoulders and he is very responsible about taking care of his hair. Actually he is almost obsessed about it :-) That was one of the first real mature decisions for him, just like it was for me. I think depending on the maturity level of the kid, 14 is not too young to start experimenting with hair. As long as it is made clear to the kid what the potential ramifications are, then I think it is fine. I think we as adults have to remember what it is like to be that age and struggle with individuality vs what's popular and how hard it can be for teenagers. It is just hair and it will grow back. I have had every imaginable hairstyle under the sun,afro, long, short, asymmetrical, mullet and braids. Each style represented me during a particular period and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to do different things. We have to support, be honest but let them discover who they are. Oh yeah one other thing, as soon as my son started growing facial hair, he loved it and I hated it. He would let it grow long and I would beg for him to please shave and my hubby gently reminded ME about letting him express his individuality :-) To me he looked like Grizzly Adams but to my son it made him look older. Ughh.... So the running joke between us was that I would call him Grizzly but if he wanted to look like a mountaim man, that was his choice. Again fast forward a few years and he has a very nice goatee that is now well manicured and he looks great. I remembered my own experience and let him be and he eventually grew out of the Grizzly Adams look. Thank goodness!

I really don't want to comment on patty's judgment of my parenting other than to say that kellyeng is so right about picking battles. I have 3 kids, same parenting -- one turned out to have ADD, executive function issues, anxiety, and the tendency to be a slob. Luck of the draw, not lack of parental discipline. I didn't "create" his challenges. But thanks so much for your constructive advice. Maybe someone else here can benefit from it. Oh wait, I said I wasn't going to comment. Just popped over to Home Goods and picked up a cute quilt with blues and purples, now just need to find nightstands that work with the low-ish bed. This week I'll be touching up the paint and finding a good carpet cleaner. I decided to clean it rather than replace it, at least for now.