I remember how difficult it is to get started when you have a bare, flat yard. I kept staring out the windows, trying to imagine what I could plant where. It helps if you have someone stand outside while you look out the windows. Have your helper walk around from place to place, waving his/her arms, and maybe even holding a broom up overhead. Try to imagine your helper is a bush or a tree. When your helper gets to a spot that looks good from the inside, make a note of the position, or have your helper plant a garden stake (much easier to move than a tree!) Then go stand outside, or across the street, and see if that really is a good place for a tree. Use pots of annuals which you can move around until you find a space placement that suits you. THEN dig a bed. You can always set out empty boxes, or laundry baskets or even chairs to find spots for a shrub. Anything of a similar size that's easily movable will do. Here are some general principals I've found helpful. If the front is your main entrance, plant things that you will be happy to see when you come home. Start planting close to the walk and steps. This will encourage you to expand. Take it slow. I read once that you should live in a house though one set of seasons before you do any major changes. I translated that into planting annuals at first...which will have to be redone anyway. Fall is really the best time to plant trees and shrubs, as then they will get lots of rain. And, they will be cheaper at the 'year end' sales. Plant evergreens and long season perennials in the front as you and the neighbors will be looking at this area every day. Don't be afraid to take out something you don't like. Try to transplant it, or give it away. If it lives, fine, but you don't have to put up with something you don't like. Bare ground will make you feel better than a plant that irriates you. Don't plant acid loving plants close to the foundation of the house or near the cement path or sidewalk. They won't thrive. I figured this out after losing a row of azaleas, one by one. You can buy spray paint that is specially made to be sprayed holding the can upside down, so you can mark the edges of the beds. Just make sure that it isn't 'clear' paint. (Yes, it does come that way - a friend did this!) Or take a container of flour out and use that to mark plant placement or bed edges if you want a very temporary marking. The front yard is your house's public face and a place to show off your gardening skills. Rather than screening off the street, plant so that people driving or walking by will have something pleasant to look at and your visitors will find inviting. And for safety reasons, you don't want to 'hide' your house. Burglars go for entrances that are screened off from the view of the neighbors. Re paths: Make sure you leave good access to the utility boxes. Make sure you can get a lawnmower and wheelbarrow everywhere they'll need to go. You won't want low branching trees too near paths, either. If you don't have a pleasant view out the windows, one small patch of bright color will draw your eye away from the eyesore. Try a few pots of color, just set out on the ground, and see how they draw your attention. You do want to 'hide' the foundation of the house with taller, more solid shrubs. This will help transition the house into the lot, and help it look 'planted' rather than just 'plopped' onto the lot. Place lower plants further away from the house, along the path and sidewalk. You don't have to have ANY lawn in the front, but you don't have to take it all out at once, either. Have fun! Daphne in Tacoma

http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/load/insect/msg1118080723099.html?6 It seems that it's a not a bed bug but we can't tell that for sure since the images are not clear. But here are some information I read online on how to identify a bed bug and bed bug infestations. 1. Look for black residue on your bedding, mattress, headboard, and box spring. This residue is actually fecal matter that bed bugs leave behind after they feed. Because bed bugs only feed on blood, the fecal matter is nothing more than dried up blood. This residue will typically look like small black magic marker dots. 2. Look for behind eggs and eggshells (generally tiny, approx. 1mm). They also shed their skin. 3. Use lighter colored bedding. It is definitely possible for you to react involuntarily by rolling or turning over in your sleep if a bed bug is crawling on you. If you so happen to crush the bed bug, it will leave a small blood stain on whatever it was crushed against. This is much more easy to recognize on lighter color bedding. 4. Bites are the most obvious symptom of a bed bug infestation. Bed bug bites are very similar to mosquito bites. The most common way to differentiate the two is the pattern. Bed bugs like to bite in a pattern that is a linear group of 3. This is commonly referred to as "breakfast, lunch and dinner." Bed bug bites are usually more itchy and longer lasting than mosquito bites. Bed bug bites can sometimes last up to 9 days. 5. Look for them when they're active. Bed bugs are generally nocturnal and come out between the hours of 2-5 AM. They prefer to feed closer to dawn, so if you happen to be awake during this time, it is a good time to look for bed bugs. The most effective tool in searching for bed bugs in your bed is a simple flashlight. Gently remove your comforter and sheets while you are still in the bed and check underneath for bugs, particularly beneath the folds around the mattress edges. Bed bugs are generally large enough to easily see with the naked eye - an adult bed bug that has recently fed is often compared to an apple seed in both size and appearance. Try to limit your motion as much as possible - moving might cause them to retreat into their hiding places. If you find a bug in your bed, don't jump to conclusions. Make sure you inspect the body of the bug very carefully. Immature bed bugs are a light yellow translucent color, while adults are a reddish brown color. Their life stages, from egg to adulthood, are said to be "from sesame seed to apple seed." Regardless of their life stage, they will be darker after they have fed. As a rule of thumb, bed bugs are generally smaller than 1/4 of an inch long. Bed bugs are oval, flat in shape and do not have wings. I hope these information helps you.

I use coverlets because once I went through menopause I was always too darn hot no matter what. I found a hydrangea quilt by Martha Stewart for Macy's. It is very springy looking IMHO, however I have the double/queen in our country home and It is about 5 inches too short. I have the same quilt at our other home and bought it in the king size for a queen bed because my other one was too short. The king size one is too long. You would think that instead of being chintzy good old MS would have insisted on a true queen size in addition to twin, full, and king. A coverlet meant for a double bed is just not quite long enough for a queen bed!

I like a bed that is chair-seat height for ease in getting in and out. 30" would be too much like sleeping in a top bunk for me. I'd need a ladder to get in. my quilt does not cover the box spring all the way at the foot of the bed unless I pull it down, which leaves about a foot from the quilt to the head of the bed. Any remedies for that? Use a fitted bottom sheet that blends with your decor and bedding and cover the whole box spring with it.