His mom is always going to come first. You can either give him full and uncomplaining support, or you walk. My MIL lives with us. She has dementia and it's getting worse. Fortunately, she's a very nice lady and unlike your MIL, relatively easy to take care of. But it's clear I don't count as far as she's concerned; only my husband (her only child) does. What I say doesn't matter; only what he says is important to her. Yes, she stresses him out. But he has learned that he can in fact say "no" to her more unreasonable demands, and it isn't the end of the world. You'd be surprised how hard that lesson is to learn, sometimes. And no one can do it for anybody else; that's a personal journey of self-awareness (aka maturity) that every person has to travel by himself/herself. I'd suggest therapy or counseling for both of you. If you get someone good, it can be a great help. It isn't easy to always admit one needs help, and a lot of people feel they're too busy to do it. But it can really be a lifesaver, or in your case, a marriage saver.

Actually the folks over on the quilting forum could probably be of great assistance to you. Carolyn

As long as those soil samples have been kept dry they should be okay. Contact your local office of the University of Missouri Cooperative Extension Service and they can advise you better. I think you will find the UMCES people of more help than a commercial lab. When mowing, if the grass clippings tend to clump you are trying to mow too fast, especially if you are mulch mowing, and/or cutting too much grass at one time. Cut more often, if possible, and maybe raise the mower deck and cut less grass off. Some simple soil test you can do that may be of some help. 1) Soil test for organic material. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains’ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. kimmq is kimmsr

Here is a photo of how I would prune it. Yes, those branches are water sprouts and will be taking valuable nutrients from the main part of the tree. It will not do well in fruiting since they are so low that sunlight will have a difficult time reaching it. The photo shows I cut all of the water sprouts and made a few pruning cuts at the top of the tree to promote the balance of the tree and develop the sturdiness of the remaining balances so they will hold fruit well. Every spring before leafing its a good idea to remove up to 1/3 of the trees to promote better structure and air flow. I would also remove a bit of the dirt around the base of your tree, the grafting point to check to see if there are any suckers below the graft. You planted the graft too close to the ground, but should not be a major problem if you occasionally check for growth below the graft.