Hi Kim...Don't be all worried...This thread is not meant for that..:-) It is just to keep our friends well informed and to teach others what to look for and be aware of, and up to us to decide what to do with it.. We just deliver the news and the public choses what they want to do.. If I were you, I would be more worried of not knowing what could possibly cause harm to your plants than to find out too late, possible after throwing a plant away after it's demise the way many I know had to do in the past. Now you are armed with information that will help you stay ahead of the game in case it happens, avoid future problems, and if you should have any problems from not taking precautionary steps, how it could of started, and what to watch for when you do visit places that sell plants or when you receive them from any source.. I would just keep a close eye on them, and if you notice any strange happenings with your plants, check your cultural habits.Be informed about how to care for them as best as you can learning from these forums.. Learn as much as you can about those jades and what keeps them healthy and happy..Visit the Cactus and Succulents forum..There are jade threads galore.. I would defiantly have a magnifying glass available, and this thread at your disposal if your plants should ever encounter the problems associated with pest's spoken of here.. Josh...My sister loves the point of peat moss you brought up..She says thanks! I say thanks for your advice too.. Rhizzo..Good point..Thank you for that and your offerings!:-)))) Danny: Fantastic points and thank you for what you added to this thread..Your comments mean a lot ..Thank you much. Hi Pug....You are the best! I can only hope that many of us never have to deal with "citrus minor" and other hurtful bugs your way..Do you have enough good predators to combat these type of insects, or do you have to treat your plants? Thank you Nancy... Linda..We learn something new everyday, don't we? That is what I love about these forums and one should never be afraid to freely express what they feel and think about their plants and how they view, handle them..Better to be informed than to withhold from each other what could other wise hurt/ harm their plants..Good job, Bo: Happy growing to you too..Thank you for your input and your words..I hope your babies are doing good.. Mike:-)

Zengeos, Solving the "I don't have beds prepared" problem. Let me preface to say I've only been gardening since I started WSing 4 years ago. I'm no pro, no expert, no vet. But this is what I did and it worked famously. It's basically a lazy lasagna gardening: 1. Lay down cardboard ASAP. Let it take advantage of your late Winter snows, early Spring rains...then you don't have to wet it down yourself. It's amazing how quickly the worms start working once that darkness is there (and protecting the ground from the moisture evaporating). 2. When it's time plant, put down a layer of manure-kitchen scraps-whatever-you-got organic matter. Doesn't have to be too thick in this case (with lazy-lasagna). You can add to it through the season and in the fall in prep for next season. 3. Put down potting soil on top of the organic stuff. If you don't have a lot, just concentrate on the one little area you are going to plant in immediately. Make sure the depth is enough that the seedlings won't touch the manure if that's the organic matter you used. 4. Plant your seedlings. You can do it the same day...the same hour. I have. And I've had no problems. When I have more time in the summer, I usually will amend the soil in that area some more, and apply the layers of medium more thoughtfully in the fall. But when I need a quick fix, this "lazy" method has worked great for me. I turned the area where an above-ground pool was into a garden this way, with very little work, and done within days of planting (and that was all sand underneath in that area!) --Also, don't forget containers...big pots and window boxes. Sometimes, I have just put a bunch of overgrown seedlings into big pots on my porch as a "holding bed". Sometimes they looked so good in there when they started blooming, I kept them there for the whole season. -- and on the sprouts...that's why I don't even look at the containers until I can walk the ground consistently without any snow and without a heavy coat on. I don't want to know what germinated early. There's always seeds in there that wait. They know when to sprout. Linda

I agree with the rest, keep the machine, get it tuned, and get a new foot pedal--popping and you could have a short in the cord because the cord is that old, could be hazardous so I wouldn't run it until you get it fixed. That was probably what was wrong with my 1963 Lady Kenmore purchased new, and you just made me realize that may have been the problem after 30 years of pedal to the metal--it and the blonde formica cabinet went to the dumpster during a move. Also, if you are running the pedal on carpet, put it on a hard surface such as a cutting board (I have plenty of them, so it works for me). I fried a $65 Singer foot control because I had it on carpet (it would start up, run and speed would slowly die). I now always have a board under the foot controller...I have mostly carpet. You are lucky you have the instruction manual...some aren't that lucky. Sears still parts and the extra feet for your machine, if you don't have those, for around $29 excluding the ruffler...the original box had the ruffler included, or you can buy any after-market low bar foot that screws on or has an adapter. You can go into Searsparts.com and look your machine up to see what parts and feet are available. Your whole model number should be on the electrical plate on the back and in your manual.

@ justmetoo----His now 21 year old son assaulted me, not the one that lives with us now. His mother does feed him stories and has for years let them in on the finances and done everything in her power to cause trouble and discontent. To be honest, in my opinion, this all went off the rails with this particular child when WE bought him a car. After my husband and I did this he kept the ca for about 2 months and decided that he didn't want it anymore. I had a truck that we were not using so SS came to me and said he wanted to buy it because, a. he wanted a truck, b. it would teach him what it was like to have financial responsibility. I should have seen through that right there, because I don't know many kids that would say that. I was honestly against it because I saw nothing but trouble, but after all the hounding I got from my husband and SS, I gave in just to shut them up. I stipulated that there would be rules, the vehicle would not be his until he paid it in full, it could not be driven out of the local area further than 50 miles, and since it was in my name and under my insurance he was not to haul all his friends around and he had to let us know where he was going. Keep in mind at the time he was 16, so I don't think I was being to unreasonable. That was fine for about 2 months and suddenly he stopped paying (payments were $50/month), breaking curfew, rude, sassy, etc. He wants to put the vehicle under his mothers insurance, because she doesn't have to know where he goes. Then he decides he doesn't want this vehicle and he wants to sell it and buy something else. Now I have no way of knowing what my husband and his son discussed or concocted, and they are famous for making little deals and leaving me out of the loop. (That's another issue) So, I agreed to allow him to sell it with the stipulation that he only keep what was leftover from what he owed us because I just wanted to be rid of the situation.. Well you would have thought I was asking for his first born, because suddenly he doesn't understand why he has to pay for something that had been given to me in the first place and why did I not just give him the vehicle. So he sells it and when my husband does not turn over the full amount to him, he says, "Mom told me you would not give me what you owed me!" HAHA BINGO! So I told my husband, BM is obviously planting seeds in his head, which you can't reason with this woman she is a nut job, we have tried. He gets a new car with his mother and adds it to his insurance and in even more attitude, he came over one night to fight with my husband about this entire transaction. Do I know if my husband has lied to him? No, I do not, however that is no excuse to talk to your father that way. In my opinion, bottom line SS is mad because he did not get what he wanted from us. This is the same child that asked his Dad to change the custody agreement so that he could stay with us more because he did not like living at his mothers house because everyone fights there all the time, per him. My husband even gave him $400 to register his new car that he got with his BM with the understanding that he would pay it back because he is working. This was 6 months ago and the boy has yet to make any attempt to give us anything, in fact he told his Dad in the past few weeks, "I don't have any F*&^ing money, so why would I give you any? I'm not paying you back." NICE! My husband left his son OVER $300 for lunch, food, etc whilst he has been away, gives him money to eat when the SS is at work, school, to go out with his friends....but the boy has a job, he is already in college. I feel that we have done so much for him and all he does in expect more and disrespect more. He will walk right past me in my home and look right through me and not say a word. I feel that I have done more for him in the 5 years I have been married than his own mother does for him. Its just a mess and it makes me very sad because it was NOT always like this. We used to do things as a family, have dinner together, go on trips and now I can't stand the sight of him.