Thanks all! I have a love/hate thing with the peonies--only love them for a few weeks, then rest of the summer not so much. Good thing they don't need me at all--they just do their thing and I do mine and we are two ships passing in the night, pretty much, until it's time to mow them. Don't know the names of them, they may have been at my house for 100 years or more, for all I know. I really like Mary Rose, wish she were more fragrant though.

Hmmm....where to begin. When I shared the letter with Dave I didn't know that it would be shared publicly. I don't have any problem with folks knowing the good deeds of Rosie--I think she's a fabulous young lady and we all should be thrilled by her selfless, inspiring accomplishments, but I am concerned that her name and address were innocently and openly published. I sent Dave a new copy that has the name edited out and when possible Dave will change the letter over to the one that doesn't show her address. (I personally believe that gardeners are good souls at heart but for the sake of Rosie it's important to remove her address from public view.) After the change is made anyone who wants to help Rosie can contact me for a mailing address to send her a donation c/o WinterSown and I will forward your personal letters of encouragement and seeds to her as they come in. Many people aware of the internet presence of Trudi_d at GW (friend or foe that I am to some of you) and/or know that I freely offer seeds and info about the Winter Sowing Method, and that I also maintain a small, donor based, free and open-to-the-public tomato seedbank at WinterSown.Org. Sharing seeds to individuals through SASEs accounts for less than half of the seeds which are dispersed through WinterSown. The majority go to organizations that have requested them--foodbanks are working with extensions to create community gardens for their clients because there is a need for fresh produce to prevent mild to moderate malnutrition, budgets have been slashed and/or dues for youth clubs can no longer be raised, seniors on SS can't make ends meet so they need to grow a salad garden to help put food on their table, people are fired from closing factories and they can't find work--they need to supplement their food stamp allocations with homegrown food. These are the most dire examples, but there are also community beautification projects, senior clubs and other worthy organizations whose good work must continue despite collapsing budgets. Recently I've shared seeds with some VA Hospitals--one along the Canadian Border that is doing horticultural therapy to provide psychological benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans that are suffering from acute PTSD; another VA Hospital in the midwest is currently celebrating Women's History Month with a "Going Green" theme--they received tomatoes with women's names (Isis Candy, Juliet, Liz Burt, Aunt Ruby, etc). Many people across all the tomato and gardening forums have donated vegetable, flower, ornamental and tomato seeds and/or their funds to WinterSown which is a registered 501c3. Seeds never stay here long, it's sometimes like the revolving door at a downtown hotel--I am just spinning. Prepacked seeds start going out in SASEs immediately, the others, as soon as I've packed and labeled them, go out right after that. Funds are pooled and go for supplies like ink and toner, labels, cases of 20 and 24lb weight papers, the little 2x3 mini zips which I used to order in 10K amounts but I just bought 15k because before when 10K would last three months it's now gone in five weeks. The economy stinks and people who never before gardened are now faced with having to grow some of their own food. Across the whole country it is an economic horror story. SASE requests have increased in a near mirror image of the stock market. I am grateful to everyone who is helpful and supportive. Together we get the seeds and the info on sowing and growing them to beginners, people who are facing hard times, or to organizations who use the seeds for education and rehabilitation, or to little girls who have a big heart for helping wounded animals. Sometimes the seeds are only for growing food to put on plates--this is very important; some people only want tomato seeds based upon their climate and location because heritage or heirloom is not foremost on their minds (many don't know what that is and they don't care), reliable croppers are what they need and what they ask for. Tomatoes are many things to many people, to those who can afford it they are a recreational hobby, to some others they are a source of education, to some they are there to keep hands busy and create a means to uplift the soul through the success of growing them, and to some they simply are a food that can be grown cheaply. God bless little boys who aren't sure they like lima beans, God bless little girls who want to help rescued animals, and God bless everyone who makes it possible for good things to happen through seeds and horticulture. T

andeew first you need a load calculation for both heating and cooling. what is size of existing unit? did it cool adequately or did it ever struggle to keep you comfortable? don't you have reasonable electric rate? if so, i would add a properly sized heat pump. and if this was my home I would replace everything, both inside and outside unit with Carrier's Performance 15 HP (25HPA mdl) and Infinity two stg var speed furnace with Infinity Controller. whay is brand,mdl,size of existing furnace? And a Manual J is HVAC jargon and refers to the software package that professional dealers use to accurately size new residential HVAC equipment. let me know if you have any further questions. IMO

AnnPann - I did a little digging for you, and although I didn't find any specific sites referring to that situation, I found some books that might address it: Australia-focused home front books: S.J. Butlin and C.B. Schedvin, War Economy 1942Â1945, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1997 Darian-Smith, Kate. On the Home Front: Melbourne in Wartime, 1939-1945. Australia: Oxford UP, 1990. Saunders, Kay. War on the Homefront: State Intervention in Queensland, 1938-1948 (1993) The Home Front Volume I by Nancy M. Taylor NZ official history (1986) The Home Front Volume II by Nancy M. Taylor NZ official history (1986) Political and External Affairs by Frederick Lloyd Whitfeld (1958) NZ official history Britain: Calder, Angus . The People's War: Britain 1939-45 (1969) Harris, Carol (2000). Women at War 1939-1945: The Home Front. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-2536-1. Marwick, Arthur (1976). The Home Front: The British and the Second World War. Rose, Sonya O. (2003) Which People's War?: National Identity and Citizenship in Wartime Britain 1939-1945 Misc: Costello, John. Love, Sex, and War: Changing Values, 1939-1945 1985. US title: Virtue under Fire: How World War II Changed Our Social and Sexual Attitudes Noakes, Jeremy ed., The Civilian in War: The Home Front in Europe, Japan and the U.S.A. in World War II Exeter, UK: University of Exeter, 1992. Then below is a link to an interesting site about a community in London with oral histories etc (won't hurt your eyes).... Might be relevant... Here is a link that might be useful: Hidden Histories: East Community Heritage (London)