We have a very pretty screen door on the front of the house. It has the old-fashioned method of closure, just a little spring loaded doohicky. You just push the door, no knob to turn. Rex mastered it in no time flat. I retired to the security of the bedroom about 8-8:30 last night, helpmeet was watching the Kevin Spacey labor of love, "Beyond the Sea" (it's great) and dozing off on the couch. Evidently, the huge one decided to let himself out (helpmeet having forgotten to close the big door to prevent "AbsentWithOutLeash" activity). He was awakened by frenzied barking and several high-pitched, anguished animal cries. He flew down the stair and called Rex, who returned immediately and obviously stricken. At that point I vaulted out of bed, rolling the sleeping cat (Vera) uncermoniously onto the floor. I raced down the stairs in my night attire, underpants (not lime green ones). I have little fear the imagination of the crew will cue up a nice visual of the dash down the stairs... . The helpmeet was examining Rex, fearfully looking for quills and oblivious to the slowly permeating smell of something akin to burnt rubber... . Yup; SKUNKED. First time in my life I've ever had a pet skunked! Still clad only in underpants, I ordered the boy and his dog OUTDOORS and raced back up the stairs to Google "cleaning a skunked dog". I retireved the dog shampoo, rubber gloves, towels and presented them to the helpmeet. I stumbled to the spigot and hooked the watering wand to the hose and dragged that to the stricken cur (securely tied to the contractor's trailer...) and bolted back upstairs to put on a tee shirt and locate the remaining amount of "Skunk Kleen". And we washed the dog. The helpmeet then located Mr. Skunkie, by the side of the road. To quell the rising smell he decided to put him a plastic bag and bury him in the morning... but Mr. Skunkie was still alive. We decided to call the cops and ask what to do with a wounded skunk in the road... cop arrived, rolled down the window and helpmeet said, "so this is the glamorous side of policework, huh?". The officer cracked up and they went to the site of Mr. Skunkie... no skunkie, but a pool of blood. No blood trail, and a careful search of the area revealed nothing. So we have no idea where he is now, or whether or not he's died somewhere nearby. We do not know if he'd been hit by a car and Rex "discovered him" and was then sprayed or if he was contentedly scrounging around the gaHden and Rex discovered him, attacked him, and then was sprayed. What I do know is that my home still smells of skunk, the dog is going to receive a repeat of the neutralizer, and he is going to smell unpleasant for some time to come. I hate dogs. Eden, beautiful room! Denise... have you seen "Little Miss Sunshine"? LOL, I'll never look at another VW bus the same way again.

Val - Keep On Truckin is registered at 30 inches. I have it growing in a pot, and the scapes are only about 22 inches. I imagine they would be much taller if the the plant were in the ground and settled in a bit. Mantis - You are right. That is We Are the Champions. I have a bad sinus infection and my brain must not be working quite right. I don't think its flower fits a form. But I like it in all its incarnations. By the way, I got much better bud count on it the second year and much taller scapes.

Tetracha (Megacephala) carolina Pan-American Big-headed Tiger Beetle photo & distribution map usgs Now don't get a "big head" from having photographed it so nicely. Tiger beetles can always go faster!

You can buy luggage carts all by themselves. Basically, a scaled down, foldable hand cart. (hand cart - like you might use to move boxes - what the UPS guy uses to stack boxes on and wheel them out to the truck) Luggage carts are often more heavy-duty than a wheeled suitcase, as they are designed for strapping on several suitcases at a time. You'd still have to have the sewing machine in a case of some kind, and you'd have to strap it on - probably with bungee cords, but you could also strap on additional cases. Look for a sturdy one; some are on the lighteight side because the goal is to make them easy to put in a carry-on bag, while others are clearly designed to carry up to 200 pounds. Here are a couple of links you might find interesting: http://www.adorama.com/ZZC.html?sid=1153027279764319 http://www.luggageonline.com/product.cfm?product_ID=382 http://www.keysan.com/ksu2606.htm CMC Here is a link that might be useful: Also, Target luggage cart only $39