2 & 3 yrs ago only had 1 male come to nectar feeder for a couple weeks. last year had both male and female come to grape jelly and nectar feeder for a couple weeks also. this year we set out 3 feeding stations with nectar feeder, grape jelly and a bowl of diluted grape jelly. had multiple males and females coming to all 3 feeders. the males likes solid grape jelly the females likes the diluted grape jelly. our first sighting for orioles were may 3rd. they stopped coming by may 25th. they disappeared for about 2 weeks and returned June 6th. by June 30th starting seeing baby orioles. we have been blessed to see parents and babies playing and flying from tree to tree in the trees that surround our property and also feeding at 1 particular feeding station.

This has been a fun process for me because I've decided to downsize considerably in order to justify having a few nicer things in the small space. I'll be going from an 1,800 sq ft home with separate garage/workshop to a 530 sq ft apartment above a 500 sq ft garage/workshop. This is an experiment for me both in simple living as well as in designing a living space that will cost as little as possible to heat or maintain. I'm also a bachelor, so it's a bit easier making a tiny space work. This structure is also being built on the edge of an heirloom fruit orchard of mine (16 acres), and much of my time is spent outdoors. The apartment is a comprised of a main living space divided into three areas: a well-equipped little kitchen, a dining area, and a home office. There's also a separate bedroom with a large closet as well as a full bath. The workshop/garage is large enough to hold a pick-up truck, tractor, a laundry area, a workbench, and three large chest freezers for storage. My challenge has been to take a serious look at what I truly need and I'm willing to give up in order to make this space work. I've learned a lot about myself in the process. In particular, a piano is more important to me than a sofa! When guests come to visit, our time indoors will have to be spent around the dining table. This is a concession I decided to make in order to have space for an upright piano. I also had to give up having a big, comfortable leather club chair and ottoman for reading and relaxing. Instead, I opted to have an over-sized bed (California King), really comfortable dining room chairs and an ergonomic chair for my desk (Aeron). Having sized down so drastically though, I will own my home outright (and all of its contents.) It's also been designed to be so well-insulated and airtight that I'll have a monthly utility bill of around $195/mo that will cover all space heating, air conditioning, hot water, electricity and propane, including a gas range and a top of the line steam shower. My Scrimps have turned out to be what I've simply given up: *No formal living room *No sofa *No space for a comfortable leather chair *No guest room My Splurges are: *Kohler Unwind Luxury Steam Shower (with six shower heads) *Sun Valley Bronze architectural hardware *Custom made Cedar garage and entry doors *Custom made Cherry kitchen cabinetry *Custom made Cherry rolltop office desk *Custom made Cherry Shaker Panel bed and nightstands with storage drawers beneath *6 Cherry dining chairs & table by Gary Weeks & Co. *BlueStar LP gas range *Yamaha Avant Grand N2 piano *Lie-Nielsen Roubo workbench (in garage) *BR-111 Tiete Rosewood floors and staircase *Sorpetaler Triple-Glazed European windows (from Germany) *Farrow & Ball paint *Caesarstone countertops *Rohl faucets and apron kitchen sink *Fisher & Paykel refrigerator/freezer *Bosch dishwasher *Motawi tile for bathroom and kitchen backsplash *Jaga...

Sorry to say I am not at all surprised by RH's duplicity in pretending they are selling one of a kind rugs (or one of a kind anything, for that matter), or their incompetence in tracking their stock, their fake shipping dates and timely charging of your credit card. The company is a complete fraud, from the ground up, IMO. Honest catalog retailers state their wares are "unique" because the item being described is hand made and therefore the one that arrives may not look like the picture. RH seems to play fast and loose with that concept as their ad copy makes you believe that a featured item is truly the ONLY one like it. I always wondered how they could spend so much money showcasing single run new items or one of a kind vintage or antique things. Now it appears they have revealed their true business model to you. I always thought their brand appealed to the yuppie worst in us all. I include myself in that, I'm sorry to say. I have purchased a curtain rod from RH about seven years ago and probably would have bought other things as well, but after receiving their massive catalog missives decided not to do business with them any more.

Really depends on what you are using it for. I think most of us use it for whitening which pure sodium percarbonate will do. If your using a powder detergent there's more than enough carbonates in it to boost the SP. Another thing to remember pure SP has no bleach activator in it and will require super hot water to activate it..I think if I remember 140F to activate it. I really only use pure sc when I'm washing whites of course but I'm in the mood to play around with a non whites detergent LOL otherwise I just use Tide with Bleach powder or Persil Pearls. .they are both loaded in oxi and have the activator. Anyway Timsmommy..Happy Washing lol