Xuan, Yes, or some diluted general fertilizer - whatever you have. These plants aren't choosy, but you don't want to feed them heavily with a high nitrogen (the 'N' in the NPK numbers on the fertilizer) -containing fertilizer. Like so many things, some people never fertilize, some do so heavily, and some (me, too) do it now and then during the growing season. The only problem I have with Osmocote is that sometimes I want to water my plants only, not fertilize them too, but that's just MHO. Others think that Osmocote is the Second Coming and use it always in their mix. And yes, we would like to see status reports! TFS.

I love the following story from an estate sale of my parents things a few years ago. My sister had priced this hand trowel at $2. Before a buyer was interested, I had yet to see it. Well, a possible buyer brought this shovel to me and asked if I would take .25 cents for it. I was shocked...this thing had never been used! Plus, I could tell that it was an oldie, but goodie. The stamped label was clear and crisp. I couldn't believe that my sister had only $2 on it. I would have put $5 on it. I pointed all this out to the buyer, and stood firm on the price. Well..... The woman kept the shovel and then walked up to my sister and asked the same thing...25 cents? Before my sister could answer, I walked up, grabbed it out of the woman's hands and turned to my sister and said..."I think I will keep this. I'll give you $2." The look on that woman's face was priceless! I know it was tacky of me, but she made me so darn mad. This shovel has indeed been an "oldie, but goodie." The label is now worn, so I cannot read the maker, but it is sturdy and sure brings back memories of that garage sale day. Our sale went pretty well. What we didn't keep or sell, went to Habitat for Humanity. Another thing that I could not get over was the stealing, or trying to steal of items.

Gosh Fun2BH, are you in my part of the country? Phoenix. I can't imagine not using A/C with 100 degrees. The older I get, the harder the heat seems to be on me. I'm glad you're enjoying the Fall pictures and hope you decorate along with us the rest of the year.... and next ;o) Luvs, I miss many of our old gang too. Judith taught many of us sooo much, and she was the reason I found this forum in the first place. I'll always be indebted to her!! I have no idea where the two Lynn's are, and Frou. Hope all come back. I'm sure Yacht will be here soon tho, now summer is ending. I should check Tam's blog and see if she still keeps it up, her decor was gorgeous... as well as Dining Delights. I often think of Betty and her DH Alfred, and hope they are doing well. I'm so anxious for the Fall holiday decorating to start and just know more our buddies will be back. That means you too JIM if you're lurking out there! We need furkids updates from you too. ;o) Meanwhile, here's the direct link to the Halloween Inspiration Album. Don't forget you can access all our albums on Photobucket thru it. I've already been looking thru the Xmas ones. LOL hugs, Karen Here is a link that might be useful: Halloween Inspiration Album

Staging and adding color to curb appeal would go a long way. It looks like you got the decluttering thing down, but maybe a little too much--some rooms are a little too spartan and thus not very welcoming. My first impression after looking at the photos was: -The kitchen was updated, but the color and style clash with the table and there are no stools at the island. These things tell me that I will need to repaint either the kitchen or the rest of the house right off the bat to make them flow better. The table (while it would be going with you & not staying) gives the wrong feel to the otherwise modern kitchen & the green tablecloth has to go. The absence of stools at the island make me wonder if there is not enough room for the stools and the table in that space. The chandelier & light fixture don't look like they were updated (the pots hanging from the ceiling draw your eye upward so you definitely notice the lights)--check out the big box stores for some affordable, easy to install updates. Love the window treatments and that wonderfully large window! -Living & Dining rooms both feel very spartan and cold in the photos. Pulling the curtains back will help bring in more natural light and make it feel more welcoming & open. Is the dining room table centered in the room or pushed off center toward the window? It seems cramped at the window end which to me says the room is small and family dinners will be elbow to elbow. As mentioned above, too many different paint colors--the yellow doesn't do much for me & the white or pale blue in the living room is very cold. Framed prints on the walls and an area rug would go a long way to warming the rooms up. -Bedrooms need warming up too--more framed prints & an area rug needed. Slide the bed in the master over so its more centered in the room. The way it is now, it appears cramped. It looks like there is a tray ceiling in there too--an off center bed is negatively accentuated in this situation. The green curtains need to go and be replaced with neutral colored ones and again, pull them back to let in natural light to give an open welcoming feel. -Masterbath needs some warm welcoming touches too. Framed prints, some candles, strategically drape a folded towel along the edge of the tub, add a pretty container of bath salts to the tub corner, add a pretty window treatment to the window above the tub vs. the plastic mini-blinds. Warm, fuzzy, yet tasteful bath rugs will help too. The walls need some color. Make it feel like a spa environment-somewhere potential buyers would like to retreat to after a long day at work. Don't forget a handtowel on the towel ring! -Love the family room--maybe an area rug...that's it. -J&J bath--looks good. Add a framed print or two, a window treatment, fuzzy warm yet tasteful bath rug & hang the hand towel up. Choosing a nice neutral color of towel throughout all the baths would help too. Something in a fluffy white or beige to give that spa like feel would be good. -Laundry looks great--open the curtains. -Nursery looks great--maybe a framed print or two. -Exterior: Deck needs new coat of paint. The front looks a little tired. Adding some spots of color will help the curb appeal--a tall fat planter with colorful flowers on both corners of the porch, some colorful flowers planted in the beds, maybe a couple tall plants under the porch lights. another planter or two with plants and flowers on the back deck would help make it seem more welcoming too. It seems like you were working on updating the house and managed to get to the kitchen, family room, laundry, nursery & J&J bath. The rest appears to have not been updated since the house was built. While I love antiques, the furniture in the unupdated rooms with this scenario does not help. The obvious brass fixtures in the master bath scream 1980s and most if not all potential buyers are wondering how hard will it be to update them. You definitely have 3 vastly different styles going on in the house which can cause a major disconnect with potential buyers. If you were to repaint the kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, master bath & living room to more neutral colors (similar to family room & J&J bath) + update brass fixtures + add warming touches as outlined above to rooms for staging + exterior color and I think you could probably relist for the $290K in the spring and walk away with around $260-$250K. My BIL is a real estate agent and when we sold our house with him he even said not to tell him the absolute lowest price we were willing to take for the house. I can confidently say that repainted & staged well (including replacing a couple light fixtures, new comforter for DS's room, new bathroom stuff, quick exterior spruceup by adding color) when we sold our house. We listed the house $10K higher than the exact house down the street that sold a couple weeks earlier for a higher than average price for our neighborhood. We had an offer in 2 days and ended up with a bidding war between two potential buyers that ended on day 5 on the market. Trust me, potential buyers need to be able to see themselves living in your home and driving up to your home everyday--your staging makes all the difference. Good luck to you!