Thanks for all the helpful info! I don't know what kind of pumpkins they are, I simply harvested and dried the seeds from our last Halloween pumpkins, which were bought at a road side stall. I guess as long as the plant is healthy and the buds aren't falling off, then patience it is :) On a side note, we were pleasantly surprised today by our very first two female flower buds on our cucumber plant! They haven't bloomed yet, but they're coming in!

I've had subs on small jobs using Durabond 90 for more than 20 years. However, the drywall companies I use for whole homes have always hired tapers who use standard compounds--usually while walking around on illegal stilts. (Another story.) And I'm not about to second guess them as long as the finished job is acceptable. I've seen autotapers and flatboxes since forever. It generally works out to two weeks for taping and finishing a 6,000 sq. ft. home. I never calculate the wall area. I found it wasn't worth the effort to bypass a drywall contractor. I've had 6 screw pops. Sorry, unless perhaps you're using kiln-dried lumber I find that impossible to believe. Though maybe that's more in the definition. I have less tolerance for minor defects than some, a habit I picked up from dealing with picky buyers; no clue about structure, but a speck on the paint or drywall gets their back up. Screw-pops are not a warranted item here. Finishing set in action. Here is a link that might be useful: Auto taper in action

It came in a very fast mix. The guy uses mostly cypress mulch, some peat chunks, and lots of little plastic balls that are hollow, and maybe a tiny bit of soil, I really couldn't ID all the ingredients ( I spilled it once, so inspected the media). I bought a bale of mulch and used that to pot up, adding only Growstone and a bit of coir. The pot gets light in the summer almost every other day and I just throw in a full cup of MG Bloombooster (one time full strength, next time half strength), much less in winter, although that is when the vines grow the most, Then I use a lighter version of MG Plant Food for the green growth. Since I bought it, I have realized this plant loves full sun and plenty of water and all it does is bloom constantly and grow a foot a month or so. But this is a cv Sunrise clone and it has very large dark green leaves with thick vienage, my old Sno Caps had leaves half the size. So, to sum it up, it gets thirsty and hungry and loves light. Full sun helps, too. Funny thing, but living here in FL, I hear people saying they shade their plants so they won't get leaf burn. I grow all my Hoyas in FULL WEST sun, outside and the only leaves ever effected were the half white half green Carnosa KQ. Eventually the white half will die but the full white ones don't mind the sun at all. What's up with that ? Well that was longer than I expected, sorry. It is easy to get carried away in the world of Hoya. Marco

Thank you for all the thoughtful responses. I'll try to answer questions and update briefly. Sylviatexas, I'd thought of trying the back door, but couldn't get him to come to me there. He's so used to going out the back door in the morning. Yes, I think he connected me and the "big giant slab of door" big time. :-) Annztoo, when the door hit him I stepped outside and called to him with soothing words. There's no problem with his room. Once I bring him in and deposit him at the threshold, he goes right in. In the morning, he's curled up in one of two beds. (Scruffy is usually in the other.) Incidentally, that's the only room downstairs that has a door. I have a very old house with an open floor plan that evolved over the years. Yes, Rocky is eating and drinking normally. I don't have a way to plug in a heating pad on the porch, so for quite a few years I've been using these: Snuggle Safe Microwave Heatpad I have three, and I can't say enough good things about them. Emory, good point about changing a routine forever. I thought of that the other day. Cats love their routines! Or are slaves to them. Either one. Propping the door would be an interesting--and possibly useful--experiment, but it would let single-digit air in. :-) Lukkiirish, I've had experience with cats who were born "in the wild" (barns, etc.)--in fact, my present cat Peachy was one of the tiny kittens and mama we discovered in our ice house. Although these cats could be very affectionate, they were skittish when presented with sudden noises or movements. Come to think of it, so am I--and I was born in Manhattan General Hospital! :-) But Rocky has never been like that. He was calm, curious, and affectionate from the start. I suspect he was dropped off here, possibly because of a persistent infection in his foot that eventually necessitated the amputation of one toe and ended up costing me over $500. While recovering from that, and again from a later injury, Rocky slept with me. One sweet memory I have from those times is when I was petting him, and then stopped. He reached out one of his large paws and gently pulled my hand back over to him so I'd resume petting. Of course I did. Current Resident, good point about how traumas possibly experienced by Rocky in the past might play into this event. I can't know what happened to him before he came here, but I observed something that happened last year. Before that, for his first two years here, Rocky was perfectly secure as "king of the mountain" on our property. He and Scruffy were best buds (still are--no problem there), and he had plenty to amuse himself all day. You could sense his serenity and ease. Then last year a stray cat showed up and attacked him. I saw it happen, the cat leaping in the air and landing on Rocky. He remained in the area for a few weeks, and I heard stories of other attacks. Then he disappeared, but Rocky's demeanor was changed slightly, and apparently for good. The change was subtle, but I noticed it. Update: Yesterday was quite a bit better. Rocky didn't follow me to the mailbox like he used to, but he hung around me outside and got lots of petting. That morning, when I took him out of the bathroom I sat at my desk with him and gave him lots of petting and sweet talk. I received a lot of purring and paw-kneading in return. So last night it went like this: At bedtime I dished up his canned food as usual, but this time I took the empty can with me and set it on the porch. Rocky came over to sniff it, and I petted him a couple of times. Then I picked him up and brought him inside. With Emory's caution about creating a new routine in mind, instead of carrying him to the bathroom I set him down inside the front door. He ran off into the living room, but only briefly. Then he walked past me to the back door, but that was okay because it gave me an opportunity to show him his dinner dish, let him sniff it, and let him see that I was putting it in the bathroom. Sure enough, he followed the dish into the bathroom. Whew! This morning we sat at my desk again for more petting. I'm feeling more hopeful, even as I'm aware this will take more time and patience. Thank you all again!