We really need some pictures to be sure of anything. Pictures of the whole plant, the base of the plant and the canes you are concerned about would help. If it is Dr. Huey there are some things you can do to save it but we need to know for sure that's what's happening.

Hard Candy~ Artist:Counting Crows On certain Sundays in November When the weather bothers me I empty drawers of other summer's Where my shadows used to be She is standing by the water As her smile begins to curl In this or any other summer She is something all together different Never just an ordinary girl And in the evenings on Long Island When the colors start to fade She wears a silly yellow hat That someone gave her when she stayed I didn't think that she returned it We left New York in a whirl Time expands and then contracts When you are spinning In the grips of someone Who is not an ordinary girl When you sleep You find your mother in the night But she stays just out of sight So there isn't any sweetness in the dreaming And when you wake the morning covers you with light And it makes you feel alright But it's just the same hard candy You're remembering again You send your lover off to China Then you wait for her to call You put your girl up on a pedestal Then you wait for her to fall I put my summer's back in a letter And I hide it from the world All the regrets you can't forget Are somehow pressed upon a picture In the face of such an ordinary girl When you sleep You find your mother in the night But she fades just out of sight So there isn't any sweetness in the dreaming And when you wake the morning showers you with light And it makes you feel alright But it's just the same hard candy You're remembering again Again 4X It's just the same hard candy You're remembering again Again 4X And it's just the same hard candy You're remembering again Go ask her to come around And see me late after dark Don't ask me to come around Then wait to see if there's a spark. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deVpewZ2dGQ

Senosry activities are great at this age. Fill a small blow-up pool with water and dishwashing liquid and give each kid a straw & let them blow bubbles. The next week, fill it with small plastic balls and let the roll around in it. The next week, feel it with shredded, crumpled up paper and let them squirm in it. The next week, fill it with dry beans and rice and give them lots of cups to pour it with. The preschool where my older 2 kids went specialized in sensory play and they were so creative. They didn't do structured crafts, but everything was approached from a sensory perspecitve. Try to think that way for this age group and they will love it. Other things I remember from that school - when they are outside, give them big paintbrushes and buckets of water and let them "paint" the building. Give them buckets of soapy water and sponges and let them "wash" the windows. And, of course, PLAY DOUGH and rolling pins and cookie cutters is the #1 hit with that age.

You have to keep in mind that the Minnesota Quilter's show is a MAJOR show--quilts from this one will also appear at Paducah, Houston and other major shows, so the standards are very, very high. No matter how a quilt is made or finished, the level of workmanship needs to be as high as possible, from start to finish. Keep in mind as well, that there are many different classes in the show, so that different methods of finishing aren't competing against each other. For instance, machine quilting and hand quilting are separate classes. I personally would prefer to see my own quilts judged on my workmanship than by more subjective criteria like "artistic impact" or "use of color" which are all too often just matters of personal taste. In our small local shows (200 quilts or less) we rarely have judging. These shows usually just offer people's choice voting, so I like it that Teresa's show actually had a judge. I think a good judge can do a lot to help local quilters improve their skills. Annie