Yes, Ginny, that's a good point. My DH keeps suggesting that I get a greenhouse so I can "garden all year" - and I keep saying No way! My fall gardening season is coming to an abrupt halt after tomorrow, as I'm leaving for a 5-week trip on Saturday. There are lots of volunteer tomatoes about to ripen, the crape myrtle has just started to really bloom fully, the huge Salvia leucanthemum is peaking, and most of the old mums have not really started showing color but are full of buds. The Franklinia altamaha is looking perfect ... at least a couple of them (I have 5, I think) are loaded with flowers and buds. My newly planted border still needs constant attention to keep ahead of the weeds and volunteers and to add mulch here and there and check the soil moisture, and the newer trees and shrubs need to be checked every few days to be sure they're getting their water etc needs met. When I get home, it will all be frosty and brown. DH is not going to be able to keep track of anything, and I'm just hoping we start getting some regular rain, soon. It will be spring before I know what survives this kind of neglect. So, if you can keep gardening this month, count your blessings, and enjoy these last few weeks of the season. It's going to be a long winter!

I wish I never bought the damn thing. I tried to register at this site with the user name Liebhate, which pretty much says it all. I purchased a CS 1611 30-inch unit on 1/24/12 and I have had nothing but trouble, though so far not much solid ice in the refrigerator section. Except when the defrost crashed and the tube that delivers condensation somewhere froze solid. The service man fixed that. My problems are in the freezer section, where the defrost unit has never worked. I am on the 4th non-working thermostat. The freezer section is too cold, and the E3 error signal has been up there forever. Every time work has to be done, I spend two days defrosting the whole thing, wiping lots of water off the kitchen floor. I have tossed at least $600 worth of frozen food, maybe more. This has happened 6 times. Now it is out of warranty and my problem is that although there is no charge for the replacement parts they send, I must pay all labor costs. Yesterday I paid $180 to install another part that didn't work. I called Liebherr to report that the part they sent was flawed and wouldn’t work, and to complain about the high cost to me. I have never before considered using improper language with a customer service representative, but the bored condescension of the arrogant lout I spoke with tempted me to reply with the usual advice, but I refrained. My recommendation: Don’t ever buy a Liebherr refrigerator, and warn all your friends not to, as well.

I spoke w/ my sister yesterday and asked if her if she really wanted me to give my honest opinions even if she may be upset at them and she said yes. I floated the opportunity of having Sue come here w/ us for a month for a lifetime - whatever she wanted and needed. I told her that if she felt it would be good for Sue to please discuss it w/ the psychologist. I really tried to press her more about other things as I just wanted to try and expand her thinking and options. Like I said, my sister is a follower where as I knock down doors asking questions looking for feedback and answers. My sister does not. I guess that's what big sisters are for. If the younger one can't do it we assist in clearing the path to help them walk it a little easier. I really tried to drive home the 'Family Counseling' and how would they manage that? If BIL is on the road how will ER set up the family counseling to adapt to that? How will they individualize it for that because him not working isn't an option and working means being on the road. I tried to impress upon my sister that it's not just Sue's problem but that the family as a whole needs counseling as well as my sister and BIL in regards to better parenting alternatives as to what they currently do. I attempted to drive that point home to her that if they don't work as hard as Sue then nothing that they do will amount to a hill of beans. I let her know that mandatory family counseling w/ Sue was a great pro about ER and something that I could not offer them because I think that Sue has to be a participant. I also mentioned that even if Sue weren't a factor in this whole thing that I still thought they needed counseling as a whole. I asked her if she just sat back and listened to what the psychologist said and if she asked questions. She said that she did ask questions but when she told me what the questions were they seemed to be on the 'follower' side of things. I asked her to think outside of the box and ask more probing questions. I told her to think of it as if she were diagnosed w/ a potentially deadly disease and what would she do. She said research and ask very pointed questions. She would want to know the Dr.s background, how often had they treated the deadly disease, how would they treat it and why specifically that way? What was the success rate w/ of recovery w/ the Dr.s pts.? Did the Dr. only ever refer pts. to 1 specific place and if so why? And so on. When I posed it to her that way a light bulb seemed to go on in her head. I told her not to be afraid and to try and find a chunk of quiet time to write her questions down and go back to the psychologist w/ them. I pointedly asked if she ever thought about counseling for the 2nd daughter and she said 'No. Why does evryone think that she has a problem. She's fine w/ us." I told her to carefully think about that statement and ask herself why others have said that. I left it at that. She cried and asked me to talk to BIL that he needs to hear what I've said and just talk w/ me. I asked her what point she would like to see come across if I spoke w/ him so that I could gather my wits about me. DS has tried and always keeps trying to do the right thing for Sue, I just think that many times DS doesn't see what she's doing herself. Funkyart - no need to feel uneasy - we all have perspectives and thoughts and come from varied backgrounds always giving a different viewpoint. I guess I am just of the being that we do what needs to be done, don't look back and take it day by day. Once we set a realistic goal ther is no quiting - we try every way possible to finish the task at hand. We try to raise our children that way. Ever since I was in the Marine Corps I always told myself "Only God can can stop the end of the day from coming" and it always made me feel that no matter how hard a task was that eventually I would see the other side - that a task could not go on forever, I just had to be strong. Nobody or nothing humanly possible could stop me.

Ok. I actually know this one. (Anyone not looking to know about Acrylpro should skip this whole entry.) If your tile is larger than 6x6 you cannot use Acrylpro over redgaurd. Period. Really. Even according to the people that make it. Redguard (a waterproofing membrane) and Acrylpro are both made by custom building products. From the horse's mouth ... You can find that under "technical/installation" and here's the link ... http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/products/setting-materials/mastics-adhesives/acrylpro-ceramic-tile-adhesive.aspx# And here's the phone number ... Notice it states you can use it on tile up to 8" but that isn't when used over redgaurd, as you can tell in the first screen capture. I had 6x24 tile. When I mentioned we can't use Acrylpro my guy said, "what do you do all day?" "I do it all the time and it's never been a problem." I showed him the screen capture and it stopped him in his tracks. He just said, "what do you want me to use instead." That's when I called the helpline. You need to use a MODIFIED thinset - one that comes in a powder form and you have to mix it. Here's what I texted my guy ... We didn't get the brand they quoted but my guy took it to heart and read the fine print and brought back the only thinset at HD that was rated for large tile. More from the help line (I called back three times and each guy was great) ... "Anything pre-mixed in a bucket is mastic, not thinset. Any contractor knows this." (No, they don't.) "If you have redgaurd and large tile it's like sticking the lid on the bucket and the Acrylpro won't dry." (Or like water between two sheets of plastic.) "Thinset cures chemically." (Aaaah, that's why.) Google thinset vs. mastic. Or don't because it will freak you out that your guy is even considering using mastic. You might also want to ask what kind of grout he's going to use since there's new grout that doesn't need to be sealed and won't stain or grow mold.