sckitchen_gardener; Just relax. The plants look fine. It is not unusual to have a few plants look like the runt of the litter. Usually has to do with nutrients, but can be many soil factors. At any rate the plant looks healthy. In my opinion they have sufficient space. I use the the 3 in a hill 3ft apart system for summer squash. Since you only have three plants, you may want to try injecting Bt into the stems if you don't won't to use conventional insecticides. You may still lose the war with SVB but by winning afew battles early, you get to eat a few more squash Here is a link that might be useful: My squash

I read with interest this posting with pictures showing curvatures in the trunk of the tree describing it as 'noodle' and 'funky structure'. Could someone explain please how such repeated curves are created? That tree seems to be at least 20 ft tall, and is still doing it. Is it simply weak wood? These are permanent kinks in the stem. I have a 5ft Picea orientalis 'Skylands', 8ft Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns' and 4ft Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst' which twist similarly after planting them in 2010 and 2011. Skylands seems to be straightening out, I staked Pendula Bruns. All 3 turned away from the sun the first year, Pendula Bruns is still doing it. Bernd

I used to play this for hours and hours a few years ago...then one day I got this message and haven't been able to play since! I loved it too! Unable to Connect to Server Explanation: In order to play, the Java applet must open a network connection to our servers. The applet was unable to open this connection. This could occur if you are trying to connect through your company's firewall. Other things that might cause this error are that our servers may be temporarily down or that one of our other systems is currently unavailable. This problem might also be caused by Internet connectivity problems. How to Fix the Problem: There may be the possibility that one or more of our servers are not running. We typically try to keep the server downtime for maintenance and upgrades to under 15 minutes, and we apologize for the inconvenience. If you don't think that it's a server issue, then there are several things that could have gone wrong: The server just started up and is still initializing. Try playing the game again to see if you are able to connect. There is a network problem that is preventing you from reaching the game server. If you know how to use traceroute, you can try to find where the problem in the network is. Otherwise, you should try to play again later. Sometimes, major routing points have glitches in their systems that cause intermittent outages. If the problem persists for 24 hours, you should contact your network administrator or ISP for support. You are located behind a firewall or proxy server. If you are located behind a firewall or proxy server, you will not be able to play the game. The firewall/proxy is preventing the applet from connecting with the server (that is what the firewall is designed to do). This is typically what happens if you try to play from work. All you can do in this case is to play the game from an account that is not behind the firewall (for example, a home account instead of a work account). EA.com Pogo.com is a great place to play free online games, game downloads, flash games, and multiplayer games. © 2008 Electronic Arts Inc. Trademarks belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Younger kids are easier to buy more for... there is so much cute/fun stuff to choose from that they'll like and as kids get older, they may have particular interests and it' gets harder to know what they'll like or think is silly. But, the issue isn't really about the gifts, right? (Gifts are given from the heart & should not be forced.) I decided this year, to buy SD separate gifts than what DH gets her. I bought a few nice things but nothing fancy or off her "list" which consisted of iPod, laptop, PS3, & lots of other expensive, unrealistic items. Then DH went shopping on his own. He spent more $$ than me, but he got her... well, I thought it was boring, lame things like a comforter & backpack. (just plain ones too!) and I pictured SD opening them & then the tears... nothing from her list. I know she will not tell DH anything about the stuff he got her, she cares about his feelings. So, I went & got a few more things & added them to the "from Santa" pile so she won't know they are from me. I don't plan on being around when she opens them. (she comes back on Sunday night) My presence would probably make it less comfortable for her so I'd rather her share the moment with her dad, unless she asks for me. As for her noticing favoritism & it affecting how she feels about you. That could be happening. But, sometimes there are differences in how stepchildren relate to the stepparent based on gender. Son's usually 'like' and are nicer to a stepmom than a daughter. That could be because two females are 'competing' for dad's attention/affection. A stepmom might be seen as a rival to the daughter but the son may see the qualities in the stepmom, that attracted the dad to her. Likewise, son's may feel more rivalry with a stepdad... it's seen more when they are 'competing' to be man of the house. Daughters may see the qualities in the stepdad that mom finds attractive. There could be many factors in why people like or don't like someone, and in step situations it's more complex because there are the stereotypes, different perceptions, assumptions, etc. It's made worse when kids experience mom & dad splitting to two houses... but when they hate each other, find someone new & want the kids to be as excited as they are, etc. Imagine how a child feels hearing mom say she's found her soulmate in the new BF.... what about my dad? or vice versa. Oh yeah, I have three kids. I love them all. I'd jump in front of a bus for any of them but they all have different personalities & traits. They all get on my nerves at different times... occasionally all at the same time. I do more for one or another when I feel they need more & trying to be fair or equal doesn't work. I don't consider how many gifts or the price of the gifts when shopping for them. I try to get them what I think they want, need & will appreciate. This year, I bought my middle son many things (he has moved out & is his first apartment, struggling financially), my daughter got less but everything she asked for (she still lives at home), and I have not yet bought my oldest son anything... I may give him cash because he has to fly back to his base & it would be very expensive to ship anything back east. He needs furniture for his new apartment so cash will suffice. I bought his son (DGS) about half of what SD got, mostly because he doesn't really need anything & he's running out of room for toys & clothes. He's 21 mos... he won't really care.