Hi Homey Bird, If you want a natural non-chemical feeding programme for your plants, it is still possible to a degree; you don't have to use chemical fertilizers, it's just that I've found the ones I mentioned in my previous answer have worked for me, give good results and they're convenient, chemically balanced and consistant in quality whereas animal and other natural manures are not. True, Guzmanias and other bromeliads grown in the wild, rely on natural fertilizers such as bird and small animal droppings falling into the plant as well as the broken down leaf litter which eventually forms into a soup (liquid manure) in the plants vases. These are all natural products without any chemical content introduced by man. I would imagine to copy this natural process in the home garden, you could apply a small amount of some type of old animal manure, cow, chicken, turkey, rabbit or sheep are the most popular ones. This would take the place of the bird and animal droppings in the wild. Sheep manure is said to be very good as it doesn't tend to be as hot as poultry manure and some of the others and besides, it comes ready made in a handy size pellet. I have applied this as a topping for orchids and other plants with good results. If desired, these can be supplemented with a liquid manure also, which can be made from any of the above manures by just mixing with water and allowing to stand for a week or two and then diluting with more water before applying. This would then take the place of the natural "soup" made from decaying litter in the wild. Likewise one of the many good liquid seaweed fertilizers now available on the market could also be used. This is also a natural product which is usually made from kelp, a type of seaweed which is also a renewable resource. In Australia we have a wonderful product called Seasol which is not so much a fertilizer but more like a "tonic". If you just Google "Seasol" you can read all about it. It is exported to other major countries so I imagine you should be able to get it. In summary, to take the natural route, you can mix any one or a combination of the various animal manures in your mix initially and when growth appears to have slowed down, add a topping of one of the manures decribed. This can be supplemented with feeds of liquid fertilizer made from animal manure throughout the growing period along with a seaweed preparation which can be applied right throughout the whole year if desired. You just have to work out what works best for you. The rule is to start off with little and increase gradually until you find the right balance. As a final question, is natural really chemical free? Remember even some animal manures contain chemicals as the animals are often fed on chemical supplements, growth hormones and/or antibiotics. It then stand to follow that the manure and animal parts used to make products such as Bone Meal, Blood and Bone or Hoof and Horn Meal may still contain traces of chemicals, so how do you guarantee something is absolutely chemically free? I don't know the answer. All the best, Nev.

Sorry to be so late responding. I appreciate all of the advice. My e-mail has been acting up so I didnâÂÂt get any notifications and forgot to look here. I thought of cooking it outside just to keep the odor out of the house. Using the garage isnâÂÂt practical with our house design. It turned out not to be a problem inside. I think that I've cooked it a higher temp in the past - often a vigorous simmer instead of barely a simmer. Much better broth quality with the lower temp. Grainlady, the homemade boullion cubes looks great! IâÂÂll remember that for the future. Ajsmama, the bones are from the half cow that I purchased last summer. Since most people donâÂÂt want them, I suspect I can get more from the processor quite inexpensively. I love the effect of the parboiling. I put the bones in a stockpot, then covered with cold water. My stove brings this to a boil in a few minutes. After a vigorous 3 minute boil, all kinds of crud surfaced. I rinsed the bones, then roasted them, and made the stock as usual. There was almost nothing to skim during the stock making and the stock tastes wonderful. I probably didnâÂÂt cool the stock as quickly as I should have, but it was all down to room temperature within 30 minutes from removing it from the stove, and straight into the fridge. I wish IâÂÂd thought to use the blue frozen packs as we have a ton of them. I sadly ended up losing half of my bones before I started, so made this on top of the stove. Fortunately itâÂÂs easy to maintain a bare simmer on that stove. I found that the pan from my 24 quart roaster fits perfectly in my prep sink. We filled the sink with ice and water so that it came up around the sides of the pan; then strained the stock into the pan & stirred to cool. Since my stock was very concentrated, I also added ice directly to the stock, about 2 trayâÂÂs worth. This was a mistake, as I did lose the visible gelatin. It still tastes good, but I certainly won't dilute if at all when drinking.

Excited to share that after much deliberation, GW thread reading, and sale price watching, my new everyday dishes have arrived. I decided to go with bone china, in the hopes that they would prove chip resistant, and grey cutlery mark resistant. I am so sick of those gray lines. I was also inspired that my two sets of pfaltzgraff dishes combined were down to 5 plates and 3 bowls. Comments from the family peanut gallery like 'why dont we ever have plates' pushed me to decision making 'code red'. I got a great deal at Macy's with a buy 1, get one place setting offer. I got 5 place settings of Lenox, Tin Can Alley 4 and five of Tin Can Alley 7. It also seriously considered Wedgewood Nantucket Basket but it is made in China and the Lenox is made in the US- clincher! The in-store price was less than the on-line price, and in-store still honored the bogo. Plus I got my 15% of macy's card discount. All told the 10 4 piece place settings delivered to my house came in at less than $350- I thought that was awesome. Now I can serve Thanksgiving in style! Last night we used the new dishes at dinner and it was lovely. The thinness of the china is a delight after heavy stoneware. It looks so pretty, even when dirty and loaded in the dishwasher. Thanks GW for inspiring, and educating.

It's not just fitting the style of the house (which may or may not actually have one stye!), but where the house is located. The Tuscan and Santa Fe look for bathrooms and kitchen backsplashes was not a great idea unless one lived in Tuscany or Santa Fe. Both certainly looked ridiculous in Des Moines. Stainless appliances are here to stay; black stainless is not. White really only work well in super high end kitchens where most are built in and concealed anyway. Cabinets that are kept simple - no fancy stains, not knots and "rustic" look, no glazes - are best. Shaker and slab will never scream "dated" like other styles. Asking a kitchen shop is problematic. If one asked the shop that did my kitchen what their top sellers are (it's one of the most high end shops in town), they would tell you "cherry" and "glazed cream". Both have been out of style for years, but that's what people in my town still seem to want as that's all they see. My gray kitchen is the first (and only!) one this shop has ever done. Perhaps in 20 years, gray will become "trendy" in my town! Think about ease of cleaning in a kitchen. All those highly carved corbels are dust/grease catchers and cleaning them is not easy. That's not where I want to spend my time. I think separate kitchens are returning in high end houses - or at least SOME separation. This is going to make deciding on how ones kitchen should look SO much easier. My gray kitchen is harmonious with the dining room on one side (totally separate room with a swinging door between it and the kitchen) and my back hall (single doorway, no door due to space restraints). But it is a separate kitchen and my LR and DR use lots of color and pattern, but my kitchen does not.