Hi Rjinga, Thanks so much.... We built the shelves out of treated 2x 4s but they are not touching any aluminium (learned that here on GW). We attached the shelf to the aluminium on the (wall) using cedar. The wall is not going anywhere when it is windy it does not even move....Pretreated wood is not good for aluminium. The wire is vinly coated 2 ft wide with 2" by 4" squares in it. You can get it at any menards or lowes. We designed the length to go all the way down the wall. 11 and half ft and it is 2 ft wide. Than we divided the height by three for three shelves. The top shelf is tall. I am 5'10" and need a step ladder to water the seedlings. I just climb on the shelf it is that sturdy to water them. LOL I need to buy a stepladder. It sures feels good I have to tell ya after all that hard work. We made a water barrell out of a fifty five gallon barrell for winter. We cant use the water lines due to freezing. The barrell works great. Wow I am pumped. I cant wait to start more seeds. I will get more pics tommorow after work for ya. Gonna go back to the superbowl. barb

sheilatse, krystyna When I first came to this forum, my AVs culture was "horrible": I got several plants in one pot, my soil was heavy, my plants were full of suckers and I knew nothing about wicking or leaf propagation. Then I started learning from reading all the posts on this forum as well as the AV bible "Rachel Reflection"; gradually my understanding of AV culture became better and my plants became prettier and healthier. Now I know how to start babies from leaves, how to pot and re-pot with confidence, how to remove suckers, how to feed, water, etc. and it seems I almost have no problem keeping my AVs in good shape. This forum is the best school to learn about plants, particularly AVs. I believe your AVs will be beautiful, too, in no time. Oh, I forgot to thank you for your compliment about my AVs. Xuan (proud AV mom)

Nancy, I'm so glad the recipes worked well for you! The girls are all so cute, and they look like they were having a great time! I'll bet you had a great time too! I used to love doing stuff with my son and his friends when he was young. Now I'm going to have to make some calzones, just looking at those pictures made me hungery - the girls did a great job. By the way, your daughter is a real cutie! Joanne

For the life of me, I cannot remember what my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas. Shame! Shame! Shame! on me. I know they were thoughtful gifts and something I probably loved because that's the way she was, but I can't remember what they were. I say that because I know she loved me and threw me two surprise birthday parties (short time married to her son), baked the cakes herself. And, I know her son's second wife had a hard time with MIL and had to live in my shadow for 20-something years. She often told my daughter how much she cared for me. Anything I wanted, she saw to it. The first time she made creamed peas was because I said I wanted some. I feel so bad that I don't remember the specific Christmas gifts. Problem is it was so long ago that I was married, I guess. I think I fell second only to her own daughter, whom she nearly worshipped. I guess the moral of my story is that my MIL was a warm person, who made an impact on my heart in many ways all year. You are a thoughtful MIL to want to please your daughter-in-law at Christmas, and I admire you for wanting to make sure your gift is a nice one. Maybe begin with the simple things, like if she's a real coffee drinker, get her something exotic or a better coffee maker than she has. There's a gift idea for coffee drinkers on the board. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it's a nice idea. Something similar if she's a tea drinker. Or, something she doesn't normally do for herself, like a massage or day at the spa. A nice little getaway. How about a keepsake jewelry box with her name engraved? A cell phone if she doesn't have one, or a better one if she does. Something for her computer. Has she made any complaints of aches & pains? A foot, shoulder, or back massager.