As I stated, gambling is illegal in AL. Casino 'off-shore' gambling is allowed in Mississippi...like you, 45 minutes down I10. The gift shops, hotels, restaurants, etc. are on the shore. You actually cross from the shore to water. The 'cross-over' is so well disguised most people don't realize they are on water. The gambling is only allowed off shore. The casino sits on a huge barge in the water. Again, it is so designed, constructed, set up where you don't realize it. When we have a major hurricane, ie Katrina, the barges are taken north into canals and rivers for protection from the wind and water surge. Before this type off-shore gambling started about 15 or so years ago, you could get on a gambling boat. The cost covered your cruise for about 3-4 hours, your dinner, a dance band and drinks. When the boat got 2 miles off shore, the casino opened. The boat would then run 2 miles off shore back and forth with the shore line. When it was time for the cruise to end, all gaming was stopped on the ride back to the dock. It's amazing how the laws can be 'stretched.'

You're asking the big questions, Anele, & you are getting a lot of wonderful responses that are speaking to Truth, if not providing concrete "answers." There is something to be said for Surrender...accepting that we don't have all the answers & never will. Life is largely a mystery that can't be contained by our minds- within our concepts & thoughts about it. But while we will never have all the answers tied up with a bow, there are pointers! A common theme you see over & over on this thread is the redemptive nature of adversity. Repeatedly, we see that without losses, hardships, suffering, the better angels of our human nature would not have been revealed, much less developed. We can't help but conclude that ultimately, Suffering, the situation we would never ask for, serves a purpose in our evolution as humans. I like this quote from Eckhart Tolle- "Even within the seemingly most unacceptable & painful situation is concealed a deeper good, & within every disaster is contained the seed of grace." Another pointer I see expressed on this thread is to be careful how we label things! Do we really know (since life is so mysterious) what is "good" or "bad?" Here is one of my favorite stories that illustrates the wisdom of not labeling experience. "Maybe"- A Chinese story, kind of a Taoistic story about a philosophic farmer: One day, the farmer's horse ran away, and all the neighbors gathered in the evening and said that's too bad. He said "Maybe." Next day, the horse came back and brought with it seven wild horses. "Wow!" they said, "Aren't you lucky!" He said "Maybe." The next day, his son grappled with one of these wild horses and tried to break it in, and he got thrown and broke his leg. And all the neighbors said "Oh, that's too bad that your son broke his leg." He said, "Maybe." The next day, the conscription officers came around, gathering young men for the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. And the visitors all came around and said "Isn't that great! Your son got out." He said, "Maybe." Often we decide what is good or bad too hastily, while Life's wisdom unfolds...

Forget the cornstarch. It forms a dough-like goo that clogs the intake screens of most handheld spray bottles. I just went through this experience a few days ago, when I was hired to clean windows for a lady who missed out in high school science class. She insisted that I use her "natural" cornstarch window cleaning solution. Frustrated at having my sprayer clog every 30 seconds, I quietly dumped that junk onto the lawn and refilled the spray bottle with a mix of tap water, ammonia and a dash of Simple Green. She was pleased with the results, but unfortunately, still believes the cornstarch did the trick.

Hi, Toni, This variety is unstable as to how it will bloom. If you start a new plant from a leaf, you might get another solid purple. There is no exact answer or guarantee because the folks at Optimara themselves do not know. They explain this variety was a "sport" of Trinidad II. Then, Yellowstone developed a spontaneous mutation in light yellow called MySunshine. Another sport of Yellowstone is a light pink flower with a silver-green edge called MyDelight. If your plant can spare a leaf, you can try to restart it to see what happens. if it blooms a third time, it is difficult to predict if it will again show the white edge or will remain solid purple. The genetics of violets are very complex. A hybridizer named Jeff Smith came up with a list of variations and what is likely to be dominant so that people know what to expect when making crosses or trying to predict future blooms of a plant that has sported. Although I don't recall exactly, I am guessing that the white edge, often referred to as a Geneva edge, is not a dominant trait, so it might disappear. If you really like the plant as it was originally with the white edge, you can order it directly from Optimara, their mail division is called Selective Gardener. However, they would not be able to guarantee that the plant will remain stable in its bloom color combination for future blooming. It is just one of those traits of AVs, often, they are not stable in how they bloom, especially with Optimara's. The folks there constantly experiment to come up with different combinations. They often change what they offer. They do strive for stability in how the plant reproduces, as well as novelty in what they offer. Hope this helps. Joanne