Lee, You're welcome. When you used the word 'panic', I wondered if I should be panicking too. I'm glad to hear the answer is no. : ) It is a great relief that the Euro is backing off a bit on the freezing temperatures. Let's hope that the chances of frost start dropping too. I hope you have a great visit with your parents, and I hope the weather behaves itself so y'all can have a good time together without having to run for shelter. I can handle frost. Freezes worry me, even with row cover, but mostly because all the trees, shrubs, perennials, etc. are emerged and leafed out and I cannot cover the whole yard. My hollies (old and well-established) suffered massive damage when we went to 28 degrees, and normally that wouldn't happen. However, we'd been having a lot of days in the mid-80s or warmer, and nights in the 50s-60s, and the hollies had lots of new growth that wasn't conditioned to sub-freezing temperatures. On the other hand, Johnson Grass growing outside my garden fence and attempting to creep into the garden froze back to the ground. Of course it isn't dead, but at least it has been set back for a while. For future reference, to find row cover and frost blanket fabric in large enough sizes to cover anything you can envision, you can visit the website of Agricultural Solutions. That's where I find my frost blanket. I bought it in 12' widths, but they have it available in many widths---some of which are so huge that they clearly are aimed at commercial farms. Most places have it in only more narrow widths. I like the 12' width because you can cover a row of fairly tall (well, fairly tall for early in the season) plants with it. If you buy a roll they have it folded in half on the roll, which helps keep the shipping charges lower since it is a box a little over 6' long instead of 12' long. The very first row cover fabric I bought around a decade ago was 6' wide which sounds good, but really isn't. I was using it on 4' wide beds, so I couldn't cover a whole bed with it once the plants were any taller than 11-12". I've discovered that with row cover, wider is better, particularly since I grow in raised beds that are mostly 4' wide and often I have some plants that are knee-high to waist-high by the time the last threat of frost has passed in the first week of May. If the strong storms the next few days don't pound our plants into the ground or carry them away with the wind, we all might get to begin the month of May with gardens that are in pretty good shape. I like the idea of cooler temperatures. The longer we stay cool in Spring, the better the cool-season crops will produce, and the better the fruit set on the tomato plants. I did look at my Accuweather forecast the last couple of days since it goes out farther than the NWS forecast on the Norman webpage and farther than our local TV forecast, and it showed my lowest low next week of 43. Today that's been raised to 45. I'm starting to feel a lot better about next week's weather, but that doesn't mean I will become complacent and stop watching the forecast. I'll be watching it like a hawk. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: One Source for Large Sizes of Row Cover This post was edited by okiedawn on Wed, Apr 23, 14 at 12:09

I think that if I had seen that photo before we did our kitchen, I might have done the copper sink in the island. I really wanted to work in copper somewhere, but it didn't seem to fit anywhere else and I was picturing a green sink over time. Counters would not have worked for me, but I love the island idea. I wasn't trying to talk anyone out of copper -- just posing the likely questions and ones I wasn't able to resolve for myself. I also realized after I last posted that most of the things I was looking at trying to think about how copper would age were probably only thin copper plating -- like the roof of a bird feeder outside that quickly became pitted and yucky. You probably wind up with some rusting metal underneath rather than copper, and that's not a fair comparison. luvnola, I'm sorry you're not rebuilding in Nola, but glad you can recreate the charm you need wherever you are. I can asee copper like that adding to the charm, It is different, and that's what will make it what you love. That's what's really important -- making your kitchen nd your home what work for you -- functionally, of course, as well as some touches that feed the soul. I got flack for marble counters and for my three different cabinet finishes, but the end result just feels so right for me. I love many looks, but this is one I will alsways feel at home with. Enjoy! BTW, I did not find soapstone that would work for me and wound up with a brushed granite instead. Love it too, but I still love soapstone and may put it in our laundry room if I get a chance. The marble wsa less than my granite, and I would have thought copper would be more. The sinks and hoods are certainly pricey. You'll have everyone fooled. ;-)

He has asked that we go on Thursday. Lunch again, shopping for a bathing suit and a movie. MONEY MONEY MONEY, but so worth time spent with him :o)

Both the maple and crabapple will do very well with autumn planting. However, you will need to have at least a month of unfrozen soil so the roots can get established. I believe Chicago gets winter early and cold, so you may not have enough warm days left. I have heard that some contractors have applied 6 to 12 inches of hay as a mulch around the tree and this has retarded the frost penetration into the soil where the roots are trying to grow. You will also need to water the tree twice, once when the planting is half done and again when the planting is finished. Jiggle the tree during this watering so the soil is in contact with the roots. Do Not step on the root ball to pack in the soil. This causes soil compaction which will prevent water from seeping into the soil and the roots can not grow in compact soil. Also water the entire area every other day until it is frozen. The hay mulch and water should be applied in the root ball area as well as a foot beyond rootball. Even after the soil is frozen, the root tips will continue absorbing water. So the more water in the soil for winter the better chance of survival.