Laura, I've been meaning to write ingredients to rid Mites. Sorry, I didn't get to it sooner. Everytime I was about to, something came up. :) I've used this recepie so many years, I no longer measure. But, adding a little more of this or that won't harm a plant. That is, all but Fish Emulsion. I'll get to that. The night before spraying, I fill (about 3/4ths full) a 16-20oz spray bottle w/warm water and add 1-2 cloves of peeled garlic. Following Day: 1/4-1/2 teas Hot Pepper. 2-4 drops Dish Soap, 'Not Dawn.' 1/4-1/2 teas orange/lemon/lime or grapefruit juice. As a preventative or to kill Scale, and some other types of insects, 1 capful of Fish Emulsion. Mix thoroughly before spraying plants. Spray under and upper leaves, stems, and trunk. This mix can be kept for weeks, but shake the bottle so ingreients are even. Fish Emulsion: To prevent/kill Scale, in addition to above ingrdients, I add 1 cap of Fish Emulsion. WARNINGS: Leftover insecticide w/FE should be discarded. Fish Emulsion has a fishy odor. The smell can last 1-3 days. Although I'm not thrilled about the odor, I'd rather deal with it a few days, than find Scale on my plants. Since FE is organic there's no need to worry about inhaling or pores. It's totally harmless, won't burn roots/leaves. BTW, use a new or well-made spray bottle. Old bottles, especially when used frequently, don't work as well, or can drip. I used to use peeled citrus rind, but the peels clogged up spray bottle. In its place I use citrus juice. Mostly Lemon. The lemon that comes in a yellow plastic, lemon-shaped container. Preferably unsweetened. The same thing happened w/garlic. I used to chop 1-2 cloves, but pieces clogged sprayer top. BTW, before adding garlic to water, I squeeze each clove in water bottle so liquid blends in. Toss in squeezed garlic cloves, too. Hot Pepper. I've been using Cayenne Pepper powder, but any hot pepper will do...the hotter the better. These ingredients deter and kill Mites. Mites dislike the scents, so they steer clear. Eish Emulsion prevents and kills Scale. A friend who owns a Citrus nursery in Fl told me they use FE on ALL their citrus to keep Scale away. Not long after she told me about FE, I ordered an Olive Tree. It was delivered at night. I set it between two Citrus trees. While misting, I noticed a brown lump on a leaf. Taking a closer look, the entire Olive was Scale-packed. Not to mention the closest citrus branches. I phoned her to get the exact Fish Emulsion dossge. The Olive and Citrus were first isolated then sprayed. Within two days, all signs of Scale were gone. Since spraying, none of my plants had this awful bug. Ever. This happened, I believe, 1999. That's it. Spraying every other week should keep Mites at bay. (without FE) BTW, Fish Emulsion is an organic fertilizer. I spray plants w/the complete mixture before coming indoors for winter. Not only to keep insects away, but a last foliar feeding. If a plant is budding or flowering, don't spray, or refrain from hitting buds and flowers. Anyway, this recepie works for my plants. Considering the amount of plants I have, and each from diferent nurseries, I either have a Plant Angel or plain lucky..lol. Give it a try..can't hurt. I avoid chemicals, 'except a few fertilizers.' Let me know if you decide to give it a try and how it works..Toni

Ray, Those that I've grown, Betterboy, did poorly in my gardens Sweet 100, lots and lots of little red tomatoes, sun-gold's better. Black Cherry, tasty cherry, has very thick skin. Black from Tula, very bland, watery, tasteless. Black Krim, good tasting black, had concentric cracking issues last season. Brandywine, my favorite tomatoes, Cowlick's, Sudduths. and Glick's,then Black, and red, in that order. Cherokee Purple, my best tasting tomato last year, poor production. Arkansas Traveller, Decent tasting tomato, but very late. Costoluto Genevese, tasty tomato, good for slicing and sauce. Stupice, great producer of tasteless tomatoes, very early producer. Marianna's peace, nice looking tomato, not overly special. Kellogg's breakfast, great tasting orange tomato with creamy texture. Haven't tried the others. Of course thats my opinon up here in Pa. could be a world of difference down your way. Good luck with them all! Camo

With my children I've found that they tend to focus on wanting a particular wall color, but have difficulty envisioning the entire look and how one choice (bedding) impacts another (wall color). What has worked for me is to show them pictures until we choose an inspiration room. Pottery Barn Kids and Teen are a great source and they even list their wall colors on the website. I did a black&white & turquoise room for my older DD about 4-years ago and it still works. It's a classic look as is B&W & pink. I agree you can go many different ways with it; a Parisian theme or fun and bold. I try to work in the bolder colors with easy to change accents like pillows, etc. My DD turned 18 yesterday and has the B&W dotted bedding; but a friend of mine used that same bedding for her then 9-year-old and paired it up with pink walls and fluffy pink pillows. If you put the black in the bedding then your DD may agree to not doing the black accent wall (which I would try to discourage). If you have hardwood floors, then a fun and colorful rug is another place to bring in color. If your DD wants more black in her room, add in decorative black frames. Show her how to use black accents without painting the wall black.

Since you clearly like pink -- and your color choices thus far seem to have turned out very well, fully living up to your own high expectations -- rather than detract from your original color choices with something trying to steal attention, consider using only a single row of 4" black tiles as your backsplash and leave the rest of your backsplash walls painted pink. If you choose a patterned backsplash, you may end up with a totally different look ... one that is too "busy" for the white and pink and black color contrast to be fully appreciated. Also, and, I think, importantly: It's much easier to decorate and redecorate a painted wall as your tastes or needs change over time if you have a painted wall than it is to decorate and redecorate a tiled one. You could add a spice rack and/or a magnetic knife rack and/or your favorite colorful trivet(s) and/or a floating S&P& sugar bowl shelf and, with a bit of sheet rock patch and paint, remove them without leaving any telltale trace (holes in tiles) that they were ever there. DO save some of your pink paint for any touchups so you can be sure to match it should you want or need to do so.