Taras - the very young plant - probably will do better if you stick it in a covered transparent box - and move it away from the direct sun. It will preserve the moisture and it will be OK. It is risky to change your method of watering just before a vacation - because you are not experienced yet. So probably a friend with a watering can will be a better option. Otherwise - seems that 1:1:1 soil is correct. You need to have enough water in your reservoir - it can be a cut-off soda bottle - or a glass jar or you can put your plants on top of the deli containers will with water with fertilizer solution with a hole in a lid - you can thread your wick through. You need to see how other people do it - then you can figure out the best way for yourself. Keep searching the internet for plant wicking and check if you have a violet club in your area. Somebody to show you the ropes would be perfect. Good Luck Irina

Bud, I would go for it! People who aren't into old houses won't really care but those who are are likely to go bonkers! And I would cry over those windows - I've already gotten a bit misty for the loss of the windows and so many other things that I am sure were in my own house-to-be once upon a time. If when you go to sell it you try marketing it through an old-house specialist, you might have a better chance of selling it to an old-house buff who will care about the history and the integrity of the house. Make copies of as many photos of both inside and out as you can get your hands on, especially early ones that show what the house looked like before its modernization. People's faces can be blurred with Photoshop if you want to preserve someone's anonymity. Package them so that they won't stick together, which can be a bad problem if photos get too hot or damp - there is a special tissue paper called "interleaving tissue" that you can put between the pictures, and it is not at all expensive. You can get it at photographic supply stores, archival suppliers, and some scrapbooking stores. Type out as much information as you and your family can put together, no matter how minor it sounds - "Grandma always had peonies and azaleas in the front yard" or "the tile in the bathroom was jade green and pale yellow" might be useful to someone. Make copies of deeds, wills, floorplans, blueprints, whatever you can get your hands on. If you can, use acid-free paper (quite inexpensive if purchased by the ream, and places like Staples or Kinkos will happily use your paper to make copies on). Make two sets of everything. Package one set up in an acid-free archival box, label it "history of 37 Oak Street, 1913-2010: please keep with the house" and put it in a safe place. Put the other set together in a nice album or two and leave it on display when the house is being shown for sale. You could also make up a third set for the local historical society, if they are interested. Make it a family project - cousins, aunts/uncles, family friends may have pictures or stories to contribute. If you package these things properly they can last another hundred years; stored improperly they could be crap in less than a decade. I don't know a lot about the circa-1900 house we're buying yet but I do plan to research it with an eye toward eventual restoration of the stripped-and-remuddled house. I am hoping I will be able to find family members willing to talk to me and who will have pictures to show, because I have been hearing horror stories of family members who refused to talk or were otherwise unhelpful.

I was thinking the Spa was pretty expensive, the rest was not bad. I have to clarify what the Stamped Coping and Cantilever edge charges include also. I do not know any Gunite installers in the area, I was set on a Liner, but might get a quote for Gunite, it looks like it is not that much more. I was worried about Gunite in New England. Thank you for the replies

I just complined to Toys R Us about their Thomas the Train event on Saturday. We took the boys there at 10 minutes to 11:00..they were supposed to start at 11:00. At 11:25 they finally started to set up the tables for the kids to color. Then they had a girl doing story time while they colored and the kids got a wooden train. Well the employees all acted as if they hated being there, the girl reading was so quiet you could barely hear her. The kids that came up a few minutes later were informed that they can't have a train because they had to be there for storytime! No where was that mentioned in the email we got. Our boys got the train because we were there...EARLY! But the poor kids that got turned away were so sad, I felt so sorry for them. The employees were so boring, you'd think they'd have someone more upbeat to get the kids excited. I told them in my email it was the most un-eventful event I'd ever take the kids too. So boring and most people standing there were so disappointed. This is their response I got a few minutes ago.... Dear Vikki : Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us. We value all your feedback, positive and negative, as it helps us to understand how our guests feel and gives us an opportunity to evaluate any possible issues. Hearing from you has helped us to do just that. Your comments are important to us, and we have forwarded them to our Corporate Office where they will be reviewed. Again, we appreciate your feedback, and look forward to serving you again in the future! Vikki, I am sorry that the Thomas the Train event did not meet your expectations. I am sorry that the store was not prepared. As stated above, I will forward your concerns regarding this event to the appropriate department. I am sorry for the disappointment this caused you and your grandsons. If you have other questions or concerns, Vikki, please call 1-800-869-7787. Sincerely, Toys "R" Us Guest Relations Team I am not counting on hearing anymore from them...just feel better that I let them know how poorly it was put together.