Mtn: Oh, gosh, that is embarrassing. It looks like I read your post, got the idea, and then forgot WHERE I got the idea. Ooh, boy, creeping senescence... I am not concerned that slate used as a floor tile would not be food safe. I suppose your concern is not the slate, but a chemical sealer? My understanding is that slate is usually not pre-sealed. Moreover, I really doubt that they pre-seal the stuff at this price point; it certainly did not seem sealed, as water did not bead on it and it soaked the oil right up. And sealer, which is meant to bind chemically tightly to stone, seems unlikely to be transferred to cheese anyway. I did run it through the dishwasher before gluing on the backing foam. Yes, the square shape of the cheeseboard looks a little off. I had been sort of intending to cut mine to something like 7.5" x 12" (golden mean), but I didn't feel like filling the water tray of the wet saw. So, instead, I googled for images of slate cheeseboards, and saw enough square ones to decide to just go with it. The other "flaw" is that the edges are square. Most of the cheeseboards you see commercially have more rustic edges. I figured I would just whack the edges of my tile with a margin trowel or tack hammer, and spall the edges nicely. Well, it wasn't happening; I was just making small chips in the edge, rather than causing any of the lamellae to delaminate. I then decided that square edges were acceptable in a cheeseboard :-)

Marco, Please don't feel overwhelmed. Here is a link so you at least know what Dyna Grow is: http://www.spraysmarter.com/catalog/product/view/id/34216/.html?gclid=CLvomqOlv80CFVBhfgod2Z8Ohw Here is a quickie on fertilization that I recently posted on another thread: Adeniums should be fertilized via bottom watering weekly at 1/4 strength (or less) with one or both of two formulations, in alternating weekly applications: NPK 20-20-20 / 14-14-14 / 10-10-10 for leaf and overall root development and NPK where the P formulation is higher, such as NPK 6-12-6 (tomato food), for bloom development. I use 20-20-20 once a month and tomato food the other three weeks of the month at 1/4 strength. Never splash the leaves with fertilizer ... it will burn the leaves. In terms of all the rest: 1. Get some fast draining cactus soil and mix it 1/2 & 1/2 with perlite. Home Depot sells perlite in large bags. I used to get smaller bags and a great cactus mix at my local florist shop. 2. The reason why you should never use an oversized pot is that all that extra soil will stay wet longer, increasing the chance of rot. You will do best to leave about 1.5 inches of free space all the way around the fattest part of the caudex to allow for growth. 3. The longer the roots are underground, the bigger they will grow. Place a little more than half of that baby under soil. Water in and leave it for a week. Don't fertilize right away. 4. After a week, stick your finger about 2 inches into the soil to determine whether it needs watering. Only water when the soil feels dry 2" down. When you do water, water thoroughly until water runs out the drainage holes. Never let the pot sit on a saucer of water. Usually, once a week during the summer is sufficient. However, it depends on several factors, including climate, pot, soil, etc. Clay pots are great because they breathe, but require more watering. Test the soil with your finger until you can determine the correct watering schedule for your particular tree. 5. Move slowly into direct sunlight over the course of 2 weeks. Give it 2 weeks because we don't want to shock the little guy. 6. Fertilize at 1/4 strength or less. Never fertilize a dry plant. Water one day then bottom fertilize the next. Try to get a schedule going. Most of us do this on the weekend when we have more time. *** Another common rule of thumb is to never water on cloudy, rainy days. The reasoning is you want the heat of the sun to evaporate some of the water so the substrate doesn't stay excessively moist.

I've started shopping already-- which is pretty unusual for me. It's not a concentrated effort but I found a few things that were perfect for some of the people on my list and I decided not to hesitate or wait to see if I found something better. The truth is, I think the best gifts are those that make you THINK of them as soon as you see them. One of my sisters loves adult coloring books as a stress reliever-- she loved them even before they were hot. I found this lovely hardbound Swedish adult coloring book Summer Nights. I am very pleased with it--it's very gift-worthy as coloring books go. I am also planning to put together a "funky veg" seed package gift for a niece who this year had her first garden. She tells me "funky" is her second favorite F-word (we DO share that in common!) so this caught my eye. I suspect this kit has been on the shelf at amazon for awhile as they are sold out in most stores here in the US. I think I will put together my own using heirloom seeds. Another small gift that was a hit with the 20somethings.. cappuccino stencils. I kept getting text messages with shots of their homemade lattes/cappuccinos. You could make a more substantial gift by adding espresso beans, a cocoa shaker and a milk frother-- or just the stencils make a great stocking stuffer!

I cheated! I asked a neighbor whose girls play with the girl in question. Turns out "K" is a girlie girl so she suggested bath items, toiletries, etc. Ulta had these delicious smelling bath bombs shaped like cupcakes and that's what I got. She loved it and used that very evening. It was under $10, in line with small gesture I wanted to make. had money left to get one $2 bottle of TJ White Zinfandel. This particular wine is drunk like koolaid in my neck of the woods. Mission accomplished! Thanks for your input.