Cutting the crown will not prevent thrips since they are more often on the foliage than in the soil. If all flowers are disbudded for 2-3 months, that's a start. Then to get the flying thrips, put up sticky cards. Set up a clove of garlic planted just below the surface of the soil. The scent of garlic will inhibit thrips...and vampires!!! Since your small collection does not call for beneficial insects, I would suggest either getting rid of everything, and washing thoroughly all equipment and the place where the plants are or trying to fight them. Disbud--take all buds and flowers off for at least 2 months. Do not add other plants or violets to the area. Use the planted garlic as suggested, and the sticky cards for flying insects. Maybe you could isolate each plant in its own plastic sack to see which plant is hideing these monsters. Thrips are bad in two ways, they suck vital juices from the plant and they carry other virus and bugs on their backs. USUALLY thrips are not a hard insect to get rid of but plants must remain budless and flowerless for 3 months since they eat the pollon. Nancy

Looks like my clipping link didn't work so well... so, here is the content. The following text is copied from a PDF I received from the Charlie's Soap people (topic = hard water) ***excerpt*** Water Quality and Laundry Problems Ann Vanderpoorten Beard Extension clothing and textiles specialist, The Texas A&M University System This paper has been altered (....) by me, Charlie Sutherland, only to clarify some terms and show how our Charlie's Soap relates to the report. Research on laundering has shown that many factors affect the cleanliness of the wash. One often ignored factor is the quality of the water used. Several laundry problems are directly related to minerals, organic matter, and other impurities in the water supply. Some laundry problems may have similar symptoms but more than one possible cause. To determine if a combination of factors or water quality alone is responsible for your laundry problem, consider your equipment, water, products and procedures. Problem: Hard Water Laundry Symptoms: Dinginess or graying, yellowing ÂGeneral soil build-up ÂStiff, harsh feel to fabrics ÂWhite or gray streaks on colored fabrics Calcium and magnesium are usually the minerals that make water hard. The greater the concentration of these minerals, the harder the water. Hard water doesn't clean as effectively as soft water. In hard water much of the detergent added to the washer goes to soften the water instead of to clean the clothes. This means that more detergent must be used than in soft water. Softening water by using more detergent has two drawbacks; it is expensive and if the detergent contains phosphate it can add to water pollution. Heavy duty liquid detergents will remove soil in hard water almost as effectively as powdered phosphate-built detergents and they do not contribute to water pollution. Normally, non-phosphate powdered detergents and soap do not perform satisfactorily in hard water. (Charlie's Soap is generally quite good, but very hard water needs some extra attention.) Solution: To prevent the problems caused by hard water, First, use water as hot as recommended for the fabric since all detergents perform better at higher temperatures in any quality water. Second, soften the water. Water may be softened in the washer with nonprecipitating ion-exchange water conditioners* (these are the phosphates you were just warned about), commonly sold in grocery stores simply as water conditioners. Water softener systems which exchange sodium for calcium and magnesium may also be connected to the water supply lines for the washer, the kitchen, or for the entire house. However, persons on sodium-restricted diets should consult their physicians before adding a water softener system to lines that supply water for drinking and cooking because the sodium content of the water will increase. To remedy problems that have already occurred, fill the washer with the hottest water appropriate for the fabric. Add (a double scoop of Charlie's Soap Powder) and one cup on nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner. Agitate just long enough to wet the clothes. Soak overnight or for about twelve hours. Drain and spin without agitating. Launder, using regular cycle, no detergent, and one cup of nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner. If needed, repeat the launderings using one cup of nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner and no detergent until no suds appear during the rinses. In order to remove all dinginess it may be necessary to launder with one cup nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner and chlorine bleach if safe for the fabric, following package instructions for the amount of bleach to use. ***end of excerpt***

When we built in 2001, we couldn't do some rooms we wanted because of lot size . . . when all kids and grandkids were there it was very crowded. The house we're building now started out to be all on one floor . . . then we got talked into adding a walkout lower level, and now I have all the rooms we wanted last time and more -- including laundry room off the master suite, formal dining room, kitchenette downstairs, and craft room -- where grandkids can finger paint or whatever and I can start messy projects and leave them out till they're finished!! The house is too big, but we're planning to enjoy every inch of it!! What I'd love would be a glass greenhouse -- not just a lean-to on the side of the house but a fancy, elegant one, where I could do seed-starting and grow tropicals!! But I'm not complaining!!

Thank you all for you kind words. The sad thing about this dog is that she was my fourth rottie, but the least liked out of all my dogs. So I wasn't as emotionally attached to her as I was to my others, I still felt horrible about making the decision that an animal is going to die. My boss said that I should think of it as to how lucky she was, because if anyone else had her, she would probably have been put down, or just a guard dog at some industrial park. Which is true, she was difficult and lucky to be living with me. Those words made me feel better. Every day gets a little easier, but it is just a weird feeling to go from a home with a dog to a home without a dog. I think about taking a walk with the dog and then realize there is no dog. Also I felt very secure with her, because she was an excellent watch dog. I didn't realize how secure I felt until she was no longer in the home. Thanks again for all your hugs!!! I will try to post some pictures next week of some of remodel happenings. Karin