THANKS for sharing the seedling pics....my FAVORITE PICS to look at! My seedling bed seems to be in PEAK BLOOM right now with the established gardens just taking off.....LOL I am discovering what you think versus what you get plays no part in the end result.....LOL I sure have some beautiful seedlings blooming tho so NO COMPLAINTS here! Thanks for sharing your wonderful seedlings Debra!

" didnt understand "DH doesn't want to do PBJ because SS likes that too much--we want it to be a healthy alternative but nothing *too good.* " DH and I both feel that if the alternative meal is something SS just LOVES, he won't even give the prepared meal a chance. Also--in regards to the sauces--I always have them on the side. When I did the chicken w/peanut sauce, it was from a Family Fun magainze---the chicken was cut into tenders and then baked--and the peanut sauce was served on the side for dipping. SS didn't like that and we offered him ketchup or ranch and he just insisted he doesn't like chicken. Sigh. I get frustrated with it but I am sure I would be just as frustrated if it were my DD that were so hard to please. Picky is one thing--our issue with SS is that pretty much if it's not junk food, he doesn't want to eat it. This is absolutely not a reflection on him at all--I blame BM for letting him eat whatever he wants at her house and for not providing healthier meals. You should see his lunches that she packs--lunchables, or McD's or some other fast food--and then chips--and then he ALWAYS has two desserts, fruit snacks and then some sweet treat. Maybe she considers the fruit snacks a fruit??? haha. It's really sad. I feel like we try to counter-act with healthier but still yummy alternatives...but it doesn't go anywhere... We pack his lunch and it consists of a PBJ, or turkey or ham sandwich--and then chips (but we do the baked lays, or low-fat cheez-its), an apple or banana etc., and a cookie or some other small treat for dessert. And milk or a 100% juice box to drink. Then BM complains that he doesn't eat any of his lunch on the days we pack it. SIGH. It's hard....

rococogurl, It is obvious that he is here to try to convince people to purchase cheaper units that will break quickly. If he is in fact a repairman, it makes sense, since these units are the ones that will break the most frequently and provide more business for him. His statement gives him away: "So if your Lowes appliance salesman meant "these days" as in these last 4 decades... he is correct. However a 2016 dishwasher will use 1/3 the water, 1/4 the electricity, be about 4-5 times quieter, and will get your dishes cleaner than the 1970's dishwasher." Several posters replied with their very different experiences because they didn't believe him either. I called him out on it because I perceived his posts to be a subtle hijack of the thread to cause me and others to go out and buy cheapo models at Lowes by injecting misinformation, including a link from Consumer Reports--and Consumer Reports is little more than a propaganda site for major brands that are revenue generators for service people. It's a really great gig they have going. A gig that I wanted to avoid contributing to. What I am looking for now is a commercial dishwasher that is commonly used in residential settings as well, similar to the way Speed Queen (which I am very happy with) is a commercial washer that is commonly used in residential, and therefore avoids either some of or all of the energy star requirements.

Al's been around a long time :-)) I've known him on these forums for at least 20 years and he has been active in the bonsai world for even longer that that! He's been using both of those mixes for a long as I've known him (and me as well!!). And that's a few years before Whitcomb published his treatise so maybe things are the other way around?? Al may not have "invented" a bark based planting mix but the 5-1-1 IS his particular formulation that you are unlikely to encounter in exact detail elsewhere. It has been written up in scores of publications and is very well known in the professional horticultural community. I know professional growers and nurserypeople that refer to "Al's mix". Susanne, the turface is essential to the gritty mix and cannot be subbed out except with some similar calcined clay product. And sand just doesn't work, period. It is only the remaining granite grit/cherry stone/perlite/pumice component you can play around with (btw, cherry stone is chicken grit - just a particular grade/size). And the proportions, to some degree.