Bindweed is notoriously difficult to combat. The seeds remain viable for decades, and the roots spread so much that bindweed that you see coming up in your lawn may be an offshoot from a plant quite a distance away. So even pulling it all out won't get rid of all of it. If you're following an organic approach, your two choices are hand pulling and bindweed mites. Bindweed mites are not available everywhere, but they're small mites that eat only bindweed, so they kill teh bindweed without affecting anything else. If you're not opposed to using chemical weedkillers, your best approach will probably be to use diluted glysophate in the fall. The reason for diluting it is that if you use it full strength it will kill the top growth and leave the roots alone. If you dilute it, the plant will die slowly and bring the poison into its root system. This is more effective in the fall because that is when the plant is storing food for the winter in its roots. The approach I read was to take a jar and dilute the glysophate to 1/3 or 1/4 strength. Partially bury the jar so it doesn't spill and kill the surrounding plants. stick part of the bindweed plant into the jar and leave it there. One word of warning. Don't try to kill it by tilling. If you till it, you create lots and lots of little roots, each of which can grow into a new plant.

Another hearty vote for the mugs! They allow folks to stand while 'eating,' and they can easily be rested on tne mantel, a windowsill, a plant stand, the edge of the staircase, etc... any little niche... allowing the diners to chat by two's and three's, and to move around if they desire. Be sure to do as suggested and check at dollar or discount stores... maybe you can find a nice inexpensive holiday mug that the guests can take home. If you can, find a way to put each guest's name on a mug - makes for less confusion in a stand-up or move-around party. If you decide on plain mugs, you can personalize/decorate each one. If you use a paper sticker or something similar (perhaps created on your computer) for this, it can be washed off so the mug can be enjoyed year-round. If you throw a lot of parties, you might want to do this and keep the mugs to redecorate for each party.

Karen, I just copied recently for when it gets cold enough in Houston for soup. Here you go! I have made this recipe many times, it freezes well too. SPICY CHEESEBURGER SOUP 2 C cubed potatoes (peeling optional) 1� C water 2 carrots, grated � C chopped onion � C chopped green pepper 1 jalape�o pepper, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp salt 1 Tbsp beef bouillon granules Combine the above in a large pan and cook until potatoes are tender. 1 lb lean ground beef Brown and drain ground beef and stir into cooked potatoes 2� C milk 3 Tbsp flour Combine flour and milk and stir into soup. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. � lb Velveeta Cheese, cubed (have used cheddar also) � tsp cayenne pepper Stir into soup, just until cheese is melted. bacon crumbles (optional) Top each serving with bacon if desired. Makes 4-6 servings Nancy

I hear what some of you are saying (really), but this home really is a pretty good deal in the area. In this school zone, my options for a house this size are either a turn-key for about $600K (example 1) (example 2) (example 3) (example 4) OR I can get something that needs some work in the $400K range (example 1) (example 2) (example 3). With these options, this house became very attractive to me. It's one of the biggest options and it's in a very nice lakeside neighborhood with lots of updated homes (I don't want the nicest home on the block once I'm done.. that's the situation I am currently in). None of these $600K listings have $130K kitchens or $70K master baths... even the nicest homes in this area don't have that. My current home (less than a mile away) has a nicer kitchen than most of these homes and I paid $35K for it by buying cabinets and counters from the warehouses themselves and subcontracting the work myself... I also cashed in at HHGregg's going out of business sale on Kitchenaid's commercial style appliances. My master bath redo was about $7500. In this town, almost everything under $1M just has new cabinet doors slapped on with a fresh paint job and Whirlpool appliances, so a $130K kitchen is definitely way off base. I can put $125K into the inside of this house and it will be nicer than any of the similar sized (and most importantly, same school district) $600K homes... the inside is not my main concern as I have been there and done that (within the last year). My main concern was that the $600K homes I'm looking at (linked above) have more curb appeal.. which is how I got around to making this post.