Barb in LA. When you repot in your own soil, are you going to keep AV's in the pots they were shipped in or transfer? The reason I'm asking, when plants are grown in square pots, root shape is also square. So, my question is, as your AV's grow, will you repot in square or round pots? I have the same problem with new Rob's AV's..How in the world do we repot from square to round? Trim roots? That's not something I'm looking forward to doing. BTW, your AV's are nice-looking..I like the different varieties, colors, shapes. I too prefer bottom-watering AV's. AV's and Cyclamens are the only two plants that drink from saucers. Like Irina says, you need to space plants so foliage don't touch. We stopped at Walmart. They have different sized, oblong trays/saucers. Around $3.00, depending on size. They're deep enough to bottom water. The trays weren't in the plant supply aisle..They aren't meant for plants, but work as plant trays. If you can't find the trays, how about round, plastic trays? They sell two types..one is thin, so you'd need to buy 2 or 3 to group 3+ AV's..they also sell a thicker version, much stronger than the first. Home Depot sells both saucers. As for cats, I've discovered something they don't like and won't harm them..Cayenne Pepper. Just sprinkle pepper around the rim of pot nearest the edge. Kitty-cats detect the odor before approaching a plant, so they won't walk up the plant. It will NOT harm a cat, believe me. I love cats would never advise anything that would hurt them. We had our cat (17 yrs) who decided to use an old, Dracaena Corn plant as a scratching post. I sprinkled Cayenne Pepper on the edge so he never bothered it again. BTW, pepper won't harm a plant either. Carrie, I don't understand..Did you AV's from Robs/Violet Barn have mites or was it a pH problem? What symptoms did your plants display? Toni

Thanks again, Jane. Yes, my supplies must be ordered on-line and I need to allow at least one week to receive them, just in case. The director at the A&C Center doesn't seem to understand that I require that one week lead time to offer any really neat classes. sigh. It's just as well... I've had "no shows" at classes in the past, as well as individuals who claimed they weren't aware of a 'materials fee'. Karen, thanks for your input. I'm certain that a fully woven star basket is just too difficult as a beginner's weaving class. People who have signed up for my classes have varied from being general crafters to being scissors-challenged, and I need to allow time for the latter type to complete the project during class time. I try to find weaving projects that give everyone a sense of accomplishment. My favorite students are the ones who are astonished that they're able to make something so pretty and functional! In a muffin basket class I offered, one woman kept saying her husband would never BELIEVE that she made it. lol! Jeanne, if you were near me you wouldn't need to sign up. We could meet up any time you wanted to weave! :) But your comment about a long class is telling... a typical beginner basket takes at least 4 hours to weave. I pre-prep the materials and assist as much as possible to cram a weaving class/project into a 3 hour class, yet it seems too long for some people. I'm still debating on offering the bells as a class. I realize that it's not a 'wow' object, but the technique I came up with is an excellent way for a beginner to start weaving and learn shaping technique. Thank you all very much for your input!

Dell has become more competitively priced, and I purchased a desktop for my wife for Christmas 2006, so we have just over a year on it. It is not used for business, but it does get use, I'd estimate 2 hours per day, mostly on the web and email. It has worked without any problems. As said, given it is competitive price-wise, I think Dell is an easy choice based on its long history as market leader in PCs/Notebooks. As for stores, that's relatively new, I see Dell at Walmart but have not given a close inspection. Except for Walmart that usually cuts a tough deal with suppliers, I'd expect you can save money buying over the web directly from Dell, don't forget to add in the shipping before comparing price. Web orders too, allow selection of component investment on all/most models.

Not sure if you are calling the original plan A or if the first one modified is Plan A. I will make my comments about the two modifications. I like the FIRST modified plan, except I think you need to move that bedroom door for "girl" down the hall. If that child is not a person to clean their room nicely, then that will be about the first thing that visitors see. Guests can see the door to the bath in that one, no mistaking whether it is in use before they get to the point of turning the knob, cuz it shows if open. I do like the two baths back to back, for economy in plumbing. One day down the road, you might consider putting a little powder room where that laundry room closet is. You have the space available from the garage area. Now, I notice in both plans that you have a pair of double doors at the back of the garage. Do you have a riding lawnm0wer/tractor to drive in that side? Is that going to be walled off from the car parking spaces? Looks really good, and that area can be reached from the far end of the deck. Your deck is quite sizeable, so if you are looking for any space in the living room, a really short bumpout. However, that would involve roofline changes and also no straight wall through the LR and garage which might be a load bearing situation.