Thanks lots, Larry! Susan, I ended up purchasing the Dictamnus after having no success at trying to grow it from seed. I've never grown any at all from seed but not for the lack of trying. I never had such a difficult seed to try to get to germinate and I've grown lots. I suppose there are others out there, though, that I haven't tried that are also really difficult. Even Rose Franklin told me that they're very difficult to get to germinate. Here's what she said about Gas Plants: "Gas Plants are extremely hard to start from seed. For every 100 seeds I plant, I get less than 10 plants---and sometimes they don't germinate until two years after planting. Gas Plants are also hard to get established in the garden. I too lost several before I finally got six of them to grow. One of the toughest plants-----but one of the most beautiful of the spring bloomers!" Me again. :) I asked her about them after having gotten frustrated trying to start them several times and that's what she told me. I decided to give up the seed route and decided to purchase them. I bought 7 in 2009 and planted them outside in one of the gardens. We had a really dry year that year and it was either that or the winter that did two of them in; 5 of them came back up last spring. So I purchased 2 this past spring to replace those 2 and all of them did well this year. They must be a thirsty plant then because we had way more than our share of rain this year! That's good that you have some host plants of the Giant Swallowtail. They're such a fantastic butterfly, I think! Did you get any GSTs this year? I also want to get some Wafer Ash trees started here eventually...I keep saying that! From what I understand, they're an understory tree, so I guess I'd have to plant them in the woods. Even if it were a tree that would do good out in the yard, I think my husband would choke me if I put any more trees in the yard. lol Last year we planted a dozen Paw Paws out there (he dug and I planted). The year before that he helped me plant 4 cherry trees in the woods. This year we planted 2 tulip poplar (those came up on their own in my gardens and had to be relocated), 4 hackberries (started those from seed), 2 crapapples (babies from the one we had to cut down that was old and rotten), and 4 birch (to replace the one that was eventually ruined by the tree cutting guys that go through here every year for the utility companies). Someone had given me some Black Willow back in 2007 and so I have two very nice willow trees now that are about 7 or 8 feet high. I put those down by our stream because I figured they'd like it where there's water. I read that they can be invasive, but I doubt if they'd be any worse than that passionvine that I just got rid of (I think) this year. I got an Incense from someone but am going to keep it in a pot all the time. Now that the other one has me paranoid, I might just have some concrete poured to sit the pot on! lol Just kidding! Although...hmmm...it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to watch the bottom of the pot to make sure the roots aren't trying to wander. They aren't now yet, but I meant for the following years. If you need anything, Susan, I don't mind trying to start it for you, even a wafer ash. I know you got one, but I didn't know if you might need more. I'll attempt to start some and I hope that I'll be able to do it. I read that they need a cold, moist period followed by a warm, moist period and then a second cold moist period for the seeds to germinate. That sounds like fun! :) Cathy

Gee it's great to hear from all of ya. My background in irises goes back only 25 years... The house I just left to come to this community was purchased just for the space large enough for growing irises.. Thus I was able to grow approx 1,200. However after I moved here All my garden layout maps were destroyed and all my garden books were donated to the American Iris Society Region One.. Never the less I will attempt to keep in touch with G.W. and answer as many irises questions as I can .. Okay ? THANX for all the nice things you said about my new friend, Lisa.. She is GREAT ! Love, Larry from Massachusetts

That child will be taken care of very well, regardless of whether he starts paying child support, now, court-determined schedule, or never. I'm not sure that there are details that have not been surfaced, but it's probably just a case of the family rallying 'round the Mom, and the fact that this kid is not up to their standards. Plus there is the story about his friends - what a reason to make a child or parent suffer! I'm sure though, Mom's family just wishes he would just go away. That's tough, especially if there is no way this kid could ever give as much as the Mom's family could, but his love. I'm not saying he shouldn't pay child support - they both have a responsibility to provide. But if the shoe was on the other foot, and Mom had to pay child support, her family would be helping and it wouldn't be as much of a burden. As far as starting to pay now - I think he should get legal advice, for sure. This family will try to take him to the cleaners. And I'm sure they would find a way to say that he didn't honor their agreement, or that it wouldn't be enough. I'm sure he would be called a dead-beat because he couldn't pay what they think is fair. But that wouldn't necessarily be true. I'm so not against child support. I'm a victim of a dad that walked out and hid from even the IRS (didn't work) so no one could find him (EXCEPT ME) and force child support. We had just moved into an upper-crust home, and bought a brand new car. Of course he left the car payment and mortgage for my Mom to pay on a measley nurses salary. We made it, but I think the stress led to my Mom no longer being here. But, in the situation of the Alaska folks, I think this guy will be left holding the bag. I just hope the child does not continue to be the victim of the childishness that is going on now. You gotta pay to play - we all know that, but also, let's be reasonable. The child will not suffer from a financial standpoint if the Dad can't pay. He needs love and attention as well. What little bit he could pay will not make an ounce of difference to a family that can take care of the child without his money. It will only be on principle. And when it is all added up, and the truth be told, I'm sure there was some suggestion of going-along to get-along to keep any bad press from hitting the streets during the election. Break-ups happen - that's just reality. The Dad needs to pay something, according to his ability, without tearing his life apart. The Mom's family will not be torn apart if they dont' get the optimum amount. Unless she leaves the family, Mom will be fine, and will have a good life. Sorry for the long post, but I guess I'm an advocate for fair and reasonable justice, especially when children are involved.

Mattress peaks and valleys are natural, due to compression of the mattress materials over time where people sleep (and where they don't). The quality of mattress affects the rate of compression, but all mattresses ultimately succumb. It happens quicker for king size mattresses with couples because there tends to be more space between them that never gets slept on. Rotating and flipping the mattress can help even out the compression valleys, but many mattresses are one-sided (pillowtop, etc) and that limits the variations. A regular king size mattress is only 4" wider than it is long. We bought a non-pillowtop mattress so it can be flipped. We also rotate it 90 degrees every month, giving us eight mattress orientations to help even out or avoid compression valleys. We don't rotate the box springs. When the mattress is "sideways," only 2" overhangs the box springs on each side. It's actually not noticeable unless you look carefully. Neither of us is so tall to miss the 4" of length when the mattress is "sideways" either. A California king is 12" longer than it is wide, making a 90 degree rotation pattern impossible. Just another consideration.