Hi Folks, Sorry for a little confusion about how to access the new forum. This is all new territory for me. We have arrived. As of this morning we are listed in the garden forum's main index page so folks should be able to find it without much trouble. Please let all your fellow Gardenwebbers and friends know about our forum and hopefully within the next year we will have one location for folks to go to find out anything they need to know about milkweeds. Thanks again for everyone's help. Mark (wildflowerman_2000) Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed Forum

@ ladeeanne I'm laughing at your jingle at the end, but NOT laughing about what CS did to your clothes. Most people love the product or hate it. Initially I had good results and said good things about the product, but over time I noticed my whites greying and starting to feel stiff. I emailed Charlie's and they suggested I use 2 TBS instead of 1 TBS per load. That didn't do anything. I have soft, conditioned water. I stopped using CS and went back to my trusted Persil. I've added Vaska and Clorox Green Works to the mix as well. Vaska, although a liquid only, is everything CS should have been. I'm sure CS works for some folks - there are many satisfied users. But because the product does not contain the usual ingredients you find in more mainstream products - soil suspension and color protection agents, water softeners and chelators, etc. - results will vary wildly depending on water conditions. People often criticize the mass merchandise products (Tide, Cheer, etc.) for having too many and possibly toxic ingredients. However, those products also perform rather uniformly across a wide variety of water conditions. Once you take away those ingredients, you must make sure that what you're using is suitable for your water conditions. This is the reason that Charlie's Soap now sells a product to use with CS in hard water conditions. A primary ingredient in CS is sodium carbonate. If you have hard water, that sodium carbonate will cause the calcium in the water to form a precipitate which will then settle back onto your clothes and washer parts. That may be what you're seeing in your dark clothes. Try soaking them overnight in vinegar to see if that can loosen or dissolve the calcium. You can also use citric acid, which can be purchased in your grocery store's dishwasher aisle as Lemi Shine. Throw a couple of tablespoons into your front loader and run a cycle with your ruined fabrics.

Hi, Marti :) Yes, this is the same place we've lived for many years, with the old farmhouse next door. Right now, we're just fixing up the manufactured home we've been living in...getting ready for my mom to move in this fall. She is amazing and great friends with my husband, too....so it's a good thing! The old farmhouse is still my 'future' project...just further off in the future. LOL We still may redo it, when we get our finances back to a healthy state, but for now...it's fun fixing up this place. And with the changes we're making, I think it's going to be really cute! Of course, it does help to be able to shop the farmhouse for vintage sinks and other cool details. And....if we decide we do want to move into the farmhouse later on...my mom will have a great space right next door! How are things with you? I've been out of the loop the last few months.

Congratulations! It definitely sounds like a win-win for everyone. "I am running the gambit emotionally over the move. Sometimes I am elated, other times I feel anxious, or, worried, or stressed, or defeated. I know it's the best thing and that I will be happy." All very normal feelings under the circumstances. Moving is always a very stressful situation. Just take your time, and take care of yourself first! Get the rest you need and don't push yourself too hard. It will all work out in the end. And it will be wonderful once you are settled in your new place, your dog with you and you with your family. Rusty