I think you have to hire two chamber maids and a laundress! Natural fiber sheets will only be tight right after you've washed them. I stayed in a Sofitel in Dijon in 2007 and it completely ruined me. The feather bed was so extraordinarily comfortable, I didn't even want to leave the hotel room. I found out here that they actually train the chamber maids to make the beds a certain way. For a while, I did wrap the feather bed in a flat sheet, fluffing and re-tucking each day or two. After we moved, it went by the wayside, but your post makes me think I should get back into the habit. We always sleep under a duvet with no top sheet, European-style. I find a top sheet just gets wrapped around my ankles anyway! :-)

Sunny asked: Is the Masakuni wand better for watering potted plants and vegetable garden? I wouldn't consider a high quality water break to be essential to watering plants in the ground; and, if you only have a few plants in containers, you can get by with any middling product just by using extra care. Where the Masakuni wand shines is in the fact that the number of holes and their small size allow the water to move through the device fast enough (so it delivers more water) but under low pressure so it doesn't blast the soil out of pots. I have a LOT of woody plants, and need to make the watering rounds daily, even if only few plants get watered daily, because some plants require watering every 2, 3, 4, or 5 days, so the variation in time intervals between individual plants getting watered means it's guaranteed that 50 or more plants are going to need water every day. The Masakuni wand cuts watering time in half and it allows me to apply water very evenly to the entire surface area of the soil, which becomes increasingly potential as the rate at which the water passes through the soil increases. In the mean while I found a website from Japan that sells Bonsai related products. Have you had any experience with Bonsai Network Japan shipping products to the US? I have no experience to fall back on with regard to Bonsai Network, but I wouldn't be afraid to purchase the #2836 wand with shut-off/ flow control from them, which sells for about $50 before shipping. I have a couple of bonsai friends who use that wand and like it very much. I read an article about growing desert rose, the writer mentioned your name and your soil mix. I know the gritty mix and the 5:1:1 mix have gained a fair degree of notoriety, which says much more about the usefulness of the media than it says about me. Still, I've had enough people define their growing experience as having been transformed by changing their thinking about soil choice, and embracing media that embody The Concept which provides the underpinnings upon which highly aerated and fast-draining media are based. In all honesty, understanding the concept is far more valuable than simply following a recipe as the concept broadens horizons and offers the grower a great deal more in terms of flexibility. John said: I'm too sensitive to plants and when they suffer, it's hard for me too. At one time, I solved this issue by consulting with experts on each plant and we chose the right lighting and I also began to buy special water for irrigation. Not always, but in a very high % of cases where plants are suffering, you'll gain the most traction with regard to turning things around by making sure you are using a grow medium that allows you to water correctly, that is to say, to beyond the point of complete soil saturation so you're flushing the soil when you water. Some media remain soggy for so long after a thorough watering that it severely limits root function, or worse, root health. If you're unable to water as described without need to worry about damage to root function/ health, you can be absolutely sure you're leaving a large fraction of the plant's potential in terms of growth rate, vitality (health), eye appeal, and yields where yields are a consideration, lying on the table. A poor medium can very easily be responsible for sapping more than 90% of the plant's potential in the 4 areas I just mentioned. While all cultural factors deserve to be considered critical, odds favor soil choice as the underlying factor most likely to be limiting. In many cases, even diseases and insect infestations can be blamed on soil choice; this, because a plant's ability to defend itself is linearly related to the plants metabolic rate. Trees and herbaceous plants prioritize their parts, but perhaps it's better to say that the strength of energy sinks has a distinct order: Energy is first allocated to respiratory function, i.e. to maintenance of living tissues, then, to production of fine roots, followed by flower and seed/fruit production, then primary growth (extension of both roots and shoots), then secondary growth (thickening), and finally, the synthesis of defensive chemicals.Since synthesis of defensive chemicals gets the short end of the stick, it's the first to be impacted by limitations imposed by stress. .... seems like a good place to close, John. I'll leave you with this Overview of Good Growing Practices, in hope you'll find value in it. It also highlights the importance of soil choice, and relates it to the quality of the opportunity growers might provide for plants to realize their genetic potential. AL

Yes, both straightneck and crookneck varieties are summer squash. Used before seeds form. 4- 6 inches in length are usually the numbers quoted, But they can be used any time up until the skin becomes hard and the seeds become non palatable. Generally, they are a bit smaller than zucchini.

Problem with Woodrose's hack is that this zipper has what appears to be heat set plastic parts that are supposed to prevent the zip from sliding off the ends of the zipper. They are not removable in general. You have a starter box and insert pin at the bottom and rather large stops at the top. If they are metal you could try to remove the top stop on the right and just rethread the zip down to the bottom but I just assumed they were plastic and heat set on. The zip mechanism might be damaged which makes it toast. It would not be a difficult zip to replace since it is not hidden. You would not need a zipper foot as the width of the zipper is a fashion statement. A zipper foot is called for when you have to sew right next to the teeth. I used to do a lot of sewing.