Sometimes there is no perfect solution available. In May we have a long discussion on Thrips. One of many I've read over the years on this forum. I've copied the summation of my thoughts from the May discussion below. A "search" on this topic will yeild many many posts on the topic: The thing is that I'm not opposed to using chemicals if absolutely necessary, it's just that in the case of Thrips aside from using Orthene every 3 days I haven't heard of anything that's 100% effective. And if you use Orthene that much you end up with spider mites that must be sprayed with Avid, and then the spider mites will develop an immunity to AVID so that within a year or less you end up not only with a Thrips problem, but a Spider Mite problem as well. So what have you accomplished? You've only made matters worse. It's the nature of how the Thrips feed deep inside the petals that makes chemical warfare so ineffective....Other solutions such as cutting off the spring blooms is maddening in my area of the country. Summer blooms are almost always inferior to spring/fall blooms(prime Thrips season), and you have to get up at the crack of dawn to cut them before the heat arrives. Eventually I've had to make some decisions about which roses I grow. There are some light colored roses that don't show the damage as much so I've switched to them. Honey Bouquet, Symphony, Tineke, all have Thrips but don't seem to show the damage as much. And I'm sure there are many others that I haven't tried yet, the point is that sometimes it's less frustrating to just go with the flow instead of fighting the current.

Hi Cindy, I want to add my welcome to everyone elses! HereÂs a little bit of information that may help you with moving your plants. The iris rhizomes you should be able to just dig up, knock most of the soil off, cut the foliage down most of the way, and stick the bottoms in a plastic bag to keep them from dehydrating too much till youÂre able to replant them. DonÂt seal the top of the bagsÂjust leave them open to allow air circulation. TheyÂll be fine! Rhizomes are like bulbsÂthey can be out of the soil for quite some time without doing any damage. When you replant them, either leave the rhizome slightly exposed on top, or cover them just barely with soil. The tiger lily is the same! Dig however many bulbs you want, knock the soil off, and stick them in an open plastic bag. Replant the bulbs in fallÂlate September or October sometime. With the daylilies, if youÂre ok with them in the pots theyÂre in, I recommend cutting the foliage down most of the way to make them easier to transport and stick the pots in plastic bags (also open) to keep the soil from drying too quickly. Cutting the foliage down a ways will also make it easier for them to get started when you replant them out here. The oak trees I canÂt help much with, but IÂd stick them in pots and bring them along. Oaks often donÂt do too well out here because of our alkaline soil, but anything is worth a try. They might just happen to like the place where you plant them and do fine for you. If Jennifer is right about the zone for the one oak it might not make it, but IÂd still say go for it! What do you have to loose! Your gerbera daisy is an annual out here, so keep it in a pot and take it in the house when the temps outside are getting too cold if you want to try to keep it over winter. Stick it in a window with lots of light. If you donÂt want to try to keep it over winter, youÂll find them available with the bedding plants in spring and you could just start over. The geraniums, if you have what most people think of as geraniumsÂthe ones with the big, bright red or pink flowersÂare also definitely not hardy, but you can keep them in a pot, cut them way back in fall, and also put them in your sunniest window. I kept one over winter last year that did fine and was blooming in late winter when the days started getting longer again. If your geranium is in a small enough pot to bring it the way it is, IÂd recommend cutting it back 1/2 to 3/4. When it starts to grow again, itÂll come back fuller and nicer than it was. If you want to bring cuttings, they root quite easily in soil, but youÂd need to be sure the pots donÂt get knocked over while youÂre traveling. And your houseplantsÂit depends on what they are, but most house plants can be cut back substantially too if that will make them easier to transport. If you know what they are, I may be able to give you some more specific information. With everything, be sure you donÂt keep them too wet, and leave the tops of any plastic bags open so they get good air circulation. If theyÂre closed up they could stay too wet and start to rot. And when you have plants in the car, you need to treat them the same as you would your dogs. DonÂt park the car in the sunÂeven with the windows cracked. ThatÂs true anywhere, but the sun out here at our high altitude is much hotter than it is at sea level. If you leave plants in the car theyÂll get too hot, theyÂll cook, and that will be the end of them. If you couldnÂt leave the dogs in the car, donÂt leave the plants in the car. WeÂre glad to have you joining us out here. IÂm sure youÂll love it once you get used to the different conditions. Drive carefully, Skybird

Thought I would update you about my quest. Last night, as I was putting water in the rice cooker to cook rice for chicken fried rice today, I thought, hmmmm. So I put the cornbread dressing in the water and mixed it well, then put in the rice, then added the cut-up, leftover chicken breast I was going to use for chicken fried rice, and last added the rice, and stirred again. Turned on the cooker and about 15 minutes before the rice was through cooking, poured petite green peas over the top of the mixture. No additional salt was added. I was very pleased with the results - just the right amount of salt for everything. Although it was good, I cannot say I will write down the "recipe" and make it again, but I did achieve my goal of salvaging the terribly salty cornbread stuffing.

I do think you should be thoroughly satisfied that you can't have wood before giving up or giving in (if wood is your first choice)...But just to throw this in: I looked at the Daltile Concrete Connection tiles when I thought we were doing large format tiles on our counters...Love them. I don't really see how it would limit your counter choices with that color still being a neutral...Just a neutral with more character than blah beige. :-) However, I am one to believe in deciding the 'whole package' before being tied to one choice. Make sure there are counter options you'll like before getting to the 'no turning back' place on the floor.