Marigolds are amazingly forgiving plants. Each year I start some seeds off in trays and usually forget about them (or transplant them to tiny containers and then forget about them) while I'm busy tending to more esoteric and exciting plants. When I do get around to actually planting the marigolds, they stay small for a while, but (providing the slugs don't get to them first) they then start growing and surprise me every time by turning out to be big, bushy, strong-flowering beauties.

OMG... what awful times. I was out of work for four days for CPR training and getting my new teeth installed. The factory has always had drug testing to get hired and if a person did something questionable. While I was out a couple dozen laid-off people were called back and the whole group sent for drug testing. We don't have the work for these people and it looks like the company is simply looking for an excuse to fire people. Two quit, one was positive for a prescription med, and only one pot user was caught. I've never seen my co-workers so upset. Two of the people lost had been with the company for more then ten years. The salary supervisors are claiming the company wants to close the shop and is looking to get rid of people by any means.... hopefully they have bad information. I'm ashamed of my employer. If we wanted these people drug tested it could have been done in better times. Seems like a cruel blow to people who are already down. One of the young guys that was fired had worked under me when he hired in.... he was dependable, a quick learner, and had a skill level most people never reach... feel like I've lost a kid. It takes a year to really understand how to run a particular machine and more years to understand how that affects the process downline. The company is firing skills we really need to survive. How in the world will I get quality work out of people that are now frightened. I've worked so hard to get people to invest in their jobs and build a strong workforce... all blown away like dry leaves in the wind. My guess is that some managers are about to go and they are desperate to look good. The company is very top heavy at the moment. : ( lyra

Elyse, Your family has big hearts, so I know things will work out for you in the end - lotsa good KARMA headed your way! We also put our kitchen on hold to help a friend almost two years ago. In fact, we were halfway through ripping out the old one, when an old friend/co-worker of my husbands showed up in dire straits. We decided to take the kitchen money and finish out the space over our detached garage into a studio apartment for him and my husband hired him back at work. He stayed for 7 months, long enough to get his feet back under him and be able to afford to go out and rent his own apartment. So, in that respect, I guess we did what we set out to do, but in his case his depression and lack of willingness to take his medications or to take actions to improve his own conditions had us asking him to leave. We lived with that half torn out kitchen for just over a year...but, in the end, WE ENDED UP WITH A MUCH BETTER KITCHEN! When we tore out most of the old kitchen, we moved the refrigerator to the new location and we found out we HATED IT! OF course, it wasn't the built in version we have now, but I knew I couldn't live with it there! I could hear every ice cube drop all night long as it echoed down the hallway to the bedroom. Also, by moving the refrigerator, we moved the main sink and added the prep sink. We really love the kitchen we have now! Also, had we done the kitchen earlier, we wouldn't have gotten the cabinet finish we have (wasn't offered yet) and the GORGEOUS marble slabs we found just days after they were delivered to the slab yard. I think our good karma worked for us in many ways with the kitchen! And, I know it will work wonders for you! Best of luck to you!

Resolution: About a week ago I got an e-mail from Wayfair asking me to rate on a scale of 0 - 10 how likely I was to recommend them to a friend or colleague; given the current situation I selected -0- and stated my reason. The next day a representative mailed back and said she'd read through the correspondence I'd had with the previous two reps and would like to discuss the matter further. I again stated what had happened, she replied that she did believe I tried to cancel the order and to resolve the situation she refunded to my cc most of the shipping fee (and sent a 10% off coupon) so the matter is closed finally. As important as having (most of) the shipping fee rescinded, finally having someone there believe that I in fact cancelled the order in due time and was not being untruthful, that was more hurtful than being charged something I didn't owe. I want to thank all of you so much for your support and empathy (and sharing it on their FB page), I can't tell you how appreciative I am for all your kindness and concern.