I find it depends on the bulb size, Lizalily, although, the more room you can give them for root growth, the better... within reason, of course... I've had to stuff a few larger bulbs into pots that are a bit too small for them, but it's all I had available at the time... I think the norm would be a pot that allows about 2 inches between the bulb and the pot wall, all the way around. I have some of my smaller bulbs planted in 4" pots that are rather short and squat... and my really big ones in 8" or 10" pots... those are taller, of course... most of what I'd consider to be medium sized bulbs are in 6" pots. The Lovely Garden klister I planted as a whole is in a larger pot... I'd say it's probably about a 12" or better sized pot... when I shop for clay pots, I try to get a large variety of sizes... and I prefer the inexpensive plastic drip saucers to the clay ones, only because you can more easily bottom water using them... they're a bit deeper than the clay. I don't know why I didn't think of poking holes or making slits in plastic pots before! It could be done quite easily using anything sharp and heated, such as an ice pick or even a butter knife if it were heated enough. An old wood burning tool, that you don't mind ruining a tip of, would work, too. You could even get fancy and create different shaped holes or slits... if you could find something metal that could be heated, and was in the shape of a heart or star or anything, really... you could have some really cute, and cheap, orchid pots! Lizalily, I have found lots of clay pots at secondhand stores, flea markets, garage sales, Salvation Army and Goodwill stores... but even if you buy them at your local garden center, they're relatively inexpensive... I have found that they cost more at Walmart than at the garden center! I pay an average of .69 cents for a 6" pot and .89 cents for an 8" pot... the larger the pot, the more costly, of course, but unglazed clay is fairly cheap. You might even be able to find them wholesale online for less... I've never checked because I think shipping could be more than I'd want to pay, plus they're rather fragile...

Natal we had a lovely day today and I was wandering around the garden thinking about how much I was going to enjoy taking the flowers in during the spring and summer. It's a new yard to us, and honestly more than I can handle, but for one summer I'm going to live like the fancy people and have fresh flowers all over the house every day :) It's been pretty mild here and the yard is full of lovely evergreens and several types of wonderful rosemary. Such deep lush scents. I've started doing little winter floral arrangements with the herbs and evergreens. All for free :) Then I just sneek in simple stuff like babys breath or a few flowers from the store among the beautiful herbs. I love fresh flowers and this silly house seems to ask for them so I'm having a great deal of fun being creative. So that's my personal little pleasure lately, but on a regular basis I thank god for every morning my son gets up healthy and goes to bed the same. It's been such a long road for him. Seeing his life become "normal" since we've moved is heaven. he's blossomed so much, and now he gets to go to school with other "normal" kids :) He's so happy about it and wants to go every day, morning and night heh heh And watching him run to the gate with his silly little thomas lunch box, full of food he will never eat (he's had the same snacks in it for two weeks and does not eat them, but wanted a lunch box like the other big kids), his happiness makes me smile. He's sick today for the first time this winter. It's a simple pleasure, but we really enjoyed the little vacation from illness. My kitty just told me to mention how much I love his purr....we've been together (kitty and I) since before DH and DS and when he crawls into bed and tries to sleep on my head, it reminds me of simpler times, which also makes me smile :)

Thanks, everyone! I love sharing this stuff with you. Have you designed a project for a larger hooked rug yet? With your new frame how large of a rug can you create? One of my first hooked projects 20+ years ago was a small rug I designed. Then later I bought a pattern that appealed to me and hooked that. I think both still need to be bound and finished (procrastinating about this step is a problem common to many rug hookers). Currently, the two projects I have lined up are a chair seat (I have five but need one more) and a new cover for my footstool. My new frame (which should arrive in less than two weeks) is the same size as my old one, but both can accommodate any size project, as you just lift the rug up and move it to work on different sections. Here's a story for you: Last night I was trying to come up with a design idea for the hooked chair seat. I looked through one of my books on rug hooking, and got nowhere with that. Then I reached for a book on folk art, thinking as I did so that it had been years since I'd opened it. Inside the front cover I found cut-out patterns my daughter Jill and I had drawn for a quilted table runner I made years ago. I didn't use the horse she drew at the time, but there it was, a perfect size for the chair seat. I feel that I was guided to open that book. Here's a picture of the pattern I drew on the linen burlap last night. I'll do some sort of design in the outer border. Now all I have to do is pick which wools I'm going to use. It's like coloring. :-)

My husband was as shocked as my dad & I. SD had hugged him, said goodbye & left to get in the car with grandma... he was sitting down with me, eating when I happened to notice the grandma's huddled & looking at our direction. We thought they had left so I asked DH what was going on... he went over to find out & was told by grandma that SD was hungry so SHE (BM's mom) was going to let her make a plate & let her eat. DH should have stood up to her then but instead, told her that SD had eaten earlier but nobody told her she couldn't eat. What is ridiculous to me is that if SD gets in the car & says "grandma, Ima won't let me eat & I'm hungry" (which isn't true but probably close to what was said)... then why wouldn't grandma say, "don't worry, we can stop on the way & get something." instead of causing a scene & making a big deal or just making a point that SHE was going to show me. All that was accomplished was that SD now knows how to get both grandma's in on her action at the same time. DH did call her out on some of it but I think he was not fully aware of what was really going on. We had a long talk last night... My dad mentioned an analogy to compare it to a situation he might be able to relate to. Every week, DH goes to pick up SD. Sometimes she hasn't eaten so they have to stop & get dinner. Imagine how well it would go over if he showed up at BM's house & SD gets in the car & says she hasn't eaten dinner... so DH gets out of the car & tells BM she needs to feed her before they can go... yeah right!!! I also informed DH that what his mother did was no better & probably worse than if BM had said or done something. The funny thing is that BM isn't even involved enough to be there or care. This is all between the grandma's, they didn't even go to DH first. I wonder what they would have done if I hadn't noticed them at all and if he hadn't gone over to find out. I'm still infuriated about it... every time I think of these moron grandma's. MIL, who does nothing but talk crap about BM & BM's mother... how she thinks it's so awful how BM won't come get SD, how the other grandma made SD wear a mask on a 3 hour drive so she (grandma) wouldn't get SD's sick germs, after all the crap they've put DH through in fighting him in court, trying to lower the child support, etc... How MIL could huddle with her as if they are team grandma against the wicked SM??? WTF! And I also pointed out to DH how it was interesting that a couple of weeks ago, Grandma wouldn't let SD come in & eat Father's Day dinner with DH... she hadn't eaten then either so I assume she took her to a drive thru on the way home.. and SD was upset she couldn't eat with DH on Father's Day. Geez, MIL was there then too. She even went outside to talk to BM's mother then too. But, isn't it funny how now BM's mother can stand there for 30-45 minutes so SD can eat the food I cooked & they had to make sure if SD could sit with her daddy. I know I just need to let it all go & make myself scarce when SD is around... and MIL is NOT invited to anymore parties, in fact she will be told not to come. I don't hate SD, I feel sorry for her but I can no longer have anything to do with that situation.