Hi all I am new to this site .We live in southern Az We have a koi pond, water guarden and new veg garden .I am hooked on butterfly plants ! We have a few and alwase looking for more .Also need ALL milkweed seeds or plants for butterfly guarden this year .Any help would be GREAT!!! thanks David

Good idea, Nana. Too bad the Garden Web folks can't delete unwanted spam like this. I also wish they'd change our "title" to Holiday DECORATING so we wouldn't get the travel stuff. hugs, Karen

Hi. I have kids who like me like to do stuff when they are in the mood....you can't do that and keep a clean house. We now have a pact that we focus on one room a week that must be spotless before bed. This means that our bedrooms can have a little mess (including mine) and no room can be really gross but each week we focus on either kitchen, family room or bathrooms as our must be spotless room. (The formal areas tend to stay uncluttered and clean with a once weekly swipe). It is a little silly maybe but it works. If family room is the perfect room then it must be free of books, blankets, a spare popcorn bowl and floors dusted if needed. If it is the kitchen then there cannot be even a spoon in the sink. On family room week then rinsed dishes can be in the sink as long as trash is outside etc. Bathroom week sucks because I have kids who love to drop towels, etc. but we each grab a bathroom and in ten minutes we have it picked up and all the surfaces wiped down. I would rather we wipe and clean each room every day but I've learned it is not my reality." I'm pretty good at getting rid of "STUFF" except for my DH! (Same old complaints there!)" Not great at quoting posts yet...I found that getting rid of my husband helped...LOL. Just being funny. I hope that you mean your husband isn't a declutterer or picker upper ....and I can't give you advice on that! Most of all...be easy on yourself. Work towards a very happy, comfortable home. A happy, loving family is better than a spotless home.

Hi fellow Midwesterner, Great Laker and Small Homer and welcome home! Do you sail on the smaller lakes or on Lake Michigan? Or have you served in the Navy or Merchant Marines? Always wondered when I saw your name. I have a nephew from northern WI serving in the Navy now. Do you have pictures to share of your renovations? At least a reminder of what you were doing to your home when you were participating with us before? I have a poor memory. Two to two and a half years ago I was going all crazy about my "new to me" kitchen designed with recycled cabinets from Green Demolitions. Believe it or not, we are not quite done. One cabinet door was missing. Our carpenter found it in his shop, but by that time it was too cold to work in the garage to stain it. For various reasons, I have not done it yet. Meanwhile, the garbage pull-out door fell off. I just ordered new hardware and will be fixing that cupboard soon. My backsplash has been in for almost a year. If I can get the two cabinet doors redone, I can actually post finished pictures! Welcome back and join us in watching and commenting with Marti's finishing of her updated kitchen and all-new dining room, Lavender Lass's house remodel planning, waiting for pics of Eatrealfood's kitchen, the completion of young-gardener's kitchen (she took time off to give birth to a baby boy at home!), Msjay2u's kitchen renovation is also in progress, and Mama Goose is still doing everything she can by herself on her kitchen and I think she has mostly just flooring left to do. So be sure to check out all of those projects. Forgive me if I have forgotten any others. -- Oh! MoccasinLanding is about to start her kitchen remodel, or maybe has delayed it. Oh, and Jay- Flgargoyle - is building his retirement home in the woods. Desertsteph has moved into her new-to-her doublewide and is getting it all ship-shape. Check out all the doings and jump right back in with us. And remember we like DETAILS and PHOTOS!