I'm having the same trouble trying to plant Sunflowers and while I haven't seen them, I'm almost positive it is the squirrels. We don't have deer or rabbit. It might have been a groundhog, but he would have eaten a lot of things and made a huge mess. I've sown the seeds three times already. After the first set of seedlings disappeared [all but two] I sowed more seed and put hardware cloth down over the seed area and some of those edges were sharp. They still managed to get in between them a little but it looked like they gave up. But, to get back at me, they pulled out the two remaining sunflower seedlings that were about 6 inches tall already. After the second set of seeds germinated, I didn't want them to grow up through the wire, so I took it off and weeded around them. Back they came and did the same thing. So I've started the third bath which are already up. I've kept the wire covering on and bent it up a little to allow the sunflower seedlings a little room to grow. This time I am not going to weed around them because I think disturbing the soil at all, is a trigger for attracting them to the area. I even left the pulled sunflower seedlings right where they left them. If this doesn't work, I'm going to try using the netting I have over the strawberries, that seems to be working fine for the strawberries. Maybe that way I can get them to a decent size before they can get at them. I hope.

Hey Guys : Thanks for all the welcome backs. I pop in once in a while to help someone. Shaun , I'll try to find the Photo's . I had problems with my Computer. Many times before, I've said everyone makes a big deal about, " who's Pizza Dough is better." Basically they are all about the same, except for minor variations. You can't please everyone. Some like thin Crust and some like The thicker Crust like the Sicilian Pizza. I enjoy any kind as long as it is Crispy and Tender, not like a piece of rubber that wants to fight you. Of course it has to taste good too. Lou Here is the Pizza Dough Recipe : An alterative to baking on a stone is to use pans. A 12 inch round pizza will take from 8 to 12 ounces of dough. According to thickness you want. After the dough is made weigh it out and roll into balls. You will have to adjust the size of the ball to the thickness you like. Oil the pans and place a dough ball in the pan and flatten slightly, working the dough towards the side of the pan, with the palms. Then let it rest a few minutes. Repeat this every so often until the dough reaches the side and up, enough for a crust about inch. Let it raise slightly , pinch the dough all over, with a fork and put into the oven to bake at 400 deg. If it bubbles while baking pinch it with a fork again. When light tan specks show ,take them out onto a rack to cool fast. Then you can use them right away or freeze , to use later. When cooking the Pizza, place the Pre Baked dough back in the oiled pan , Or cook on your Stone. put a latel of sauce on the dough and swish it around, sprinkle some Parmesan or Romano , put it in the oven for a few minutes. Take it out and spread the topping of your choice and the Cheese Topping. A good topping cheese is a mixture of Mozzarella and Provolone chopped and mixed. The provolone gives it a good flavor and doesn't get like rubber when it cools. I use all Provolone. A little trick for baking. Keep a cup of water and brush handy, to baste parts that are cooking too fast. If you can get new metal pans, (uncoated) they have to be cured in the oven, so they won't stick. Coat them with oil and bake them for at least 6 hours. Never clean them with soap and water. Just rinse with water & wipe with a paper towel. Dough recipe: 1 cup of warm water (not hot) 1 Package of rapid rise yeast 1 tablesps sugar ,in a half cup of warm water 1/4 Cup of Veg. Oil 1 teasp.Salt About 3 1/2 cups Flour ½ cup of Whole wheat flour or up to 1 cup Place in a mixing bowl, the Water, 1 cup of flour, wheat flour , yeast if risen Add the oil and salt and more flour. Add enough flour to make a soft ball of dough, that doesn't stick to your hands. Knead until smooth. Put it back in the bowl , Smooth side up and Rub on some Veg. Oil Cover and set in a warm place to rise until it doubles in bulk. I put it in a warm oven, Covered with a damp towel. It rises in about 1 hour. When doubled, punch it down and knead it well. Divide into Balls , about 11 to 12 ounces and place in oiled pans. 12" round Dough should be about 3/16 " thick on the bottom and about ½" around the edge. For Sicilian Pizza , I used most of the dough in a 11" X 16" pan Follow the previous instructions. Good luck, Lou

Super Soft - NYC soft water. Whirlpool. A better explanation. On your laundry tub, where the perforated holes are - that is where most of the water sits during a wash cycle. If you start looking past that, where the wall of that inner tub starts to form leading all the way to the edge of it - that is the area where you will get water just strictly by nature of agitation and overspray, but not as much as it doesn't really *sit in water* during a wash cycle, Too many variables, as different makes have different tub designs, etc. For me, that is the scum ring - but it's also due to how my wash cycles are.. I do suspect that while most people are looking at their gasket, how many of ya'll go to great lenghts to check out the cavity I'm referring to.... I'm a OCD clean freak deep down. I have a commercial grade steam cleaner that not only produces steam but allows me to shoot boiling water through the nozzle - I will put the nozzle in that tight cavity and steam clean/send high pressure boiling water through that cavity (after seeing how this a problem prone area) around the entire perimeter of that area. While this cleans the area , nothing beats a sanitize cycle with the overloaded water dosage to really clean it.

enright5 - I feel ya on the cool/warm issue. We just bought a bank owned train wreck, nearly a complete gut. All the flooring will go and we will need a new kitchen as this one is miserable. We will be saving up for that so it is a couple of years off, but I love bookmarking ideas from people like you and beekeeperswife. I'm currently painting every room in the house in cool tones - blues, greens, greys because I know my future kitchen will be cool with super white counters. Hubby nixed the idea of white cabinets though. I think having a contrast between cool and warm is ok as long as your house doesn't look like a fun house (one room royal purple, the next lime green, etc). And there is a difference between cool and cold. Cold is institutional and uninviting, cool is what you have. And the cabinet lighting is a nice bit of warmth. What other rooms attach to your kitchen besides the dining room? What is the view from the kitchen sink looking out past the island? Just curious as to what the rest of the area looks like. It seems like you have a window on the other side of the room letting in lots of light. You could bring a pop of color into the room with some window treatments. I definitely agree that you need to go white not ivory if you are going to go with a solid color and I DO like the idea of the arabesque. I looked up your WZ tile and had trouble finding it. Is it still being made? I linked up thread that has a picture of it to confirm that is actually your tile. I do like it, but I take it yours is plain white? Two issues I will just point out. Do you forsee selling the house anytime soon? Always need to keep resale in the back of your mind. While this shouldn't make you choose something you hate, you should always put on a perspective home buyers hat, especially if moving in the next 5 years. Also, speaking from experience, tile is forever. Appliances can be swapped out, cabinet hardware changed, even counter tops changed. But removing tile pretty much damages the drywall. Which leads to new dry wall, rehanging of cabinets/new cabinets. Its like peeling an onion. Go with a marble tile like you had in your first picture, arabesque in white, or white tiles in a different pattern like herringbone to mix it up a bit. All choices would be classic and timeless (i.e. no need to update the kitchen for future resale, cross the kitchen off the list)! Get your color from accessories, flowers (this is where your husband comes into play) and window treatments! Here is a link that might be useful: Walker Zanger Gramercy Park