charlsie, Thanks for the heads up. I am Charlotte born and raised, but have lived in Raliegh since college oh so mny years ago. We do have a frost warning tonight, but no snow and a very warm weekend coming. It is going to get near freezing again some time next week. That's NC weather, always has been. I have my plants protected so I'm not worried about anything that I am planting. Sinfonian, Yes it is ambitious, but I have to prove to my dh that the sfg works so that he can let me have more space next year, or maybe later in the year. He is the one that got me my 4 brand named SWCs. because I made my own out of some pots from Wal mart that I modified in 2007. Thanks for the info on the trellis crowding. I figured as much, but I'm hoping that by making two trellises, I can at least cut done on the confusion. You are right with your planting counts 8-2-1-1 is the max for each space. I was hoping that by pairing the peas (may not be 8 plants) with the cantelope and the cukes with the watermelon, that I could cut down on too much confusion. As for my SWCs, I LOVE them, but they do not hold enough. I had them way over crowded last year. If you think my trellis will be crowded this year, you should have seen me last year. I had cantelope, watermelon (bust), cukes, zuchinni, bush beans all in one SWC. In another, I had 3 bell peppers, Okra, Eggplant, cukes, cantelope, and cabbage. Each one was loaded to the hilt. They all produced fine, but I know that they could have all done better had they been more spaced out. I like fresh vegetables, and I love growing them. If I can get this to work half as well as the pictures I see on the Internet and on Mel's site, then I will be hooked and more boxes will go up in the yard. Okay, I am rambling again, back to work for me.

My Xhusband is severely bipolar, however as this disorder doesn't normally manifest itself until the late teens-early adulthood, I'm fairly certain he wasn't when we got married, and by the time we divorced it was just kicking in. He's fine as long as he stays on his medication--which he never does! He is an addict, fully addicted to the "manic highs" of his disorder, which he can only acheive by using his "drug of choice", and for him that means NO drugs at all! And when this happens, he becomes a danger, not only to himself, but others as well and usually only goes back on his medication when he is forced to, usually as a result of being institutionalized, either in a mental hospital or jail! I hold such fond memories for example, of the time he broke into a stranger's house locking himself in their closet, and when the police arrived he told them he did it in fear of his life because he believed the nearby campers were drug lords who were plotting to kill him! He spent 2 weeks in a mental institution for that stunt. My personal favorite was the time he was arrested, on federal felony charges of counterfeiting! He convinced me he was being "set up" as part of a government conspiracy--and I actually believed him! I even went into serious DEBT for the next 5 years to hire not just a good attorney, but the very BEST, and kept on believing my husband, right up until the day I sat in court at his inditement and the prosecution held up a sample of the evidence, a $1 bill that had been artistically altered to look like a $20. Right then and there I KNEW he was guilty because I recognized his artwork! So I went to the attorney and told him the truth, along with all my husband's bizarre behavior and stories. That attorney was worth every penny too, because he went straight to the prosecution and managed to convince him to drop the charges completely on the basis that my husband had no malicious or illegal intent--he was just NUTS! Thank God he cheated on me because I never would have divorced him for any other reason. He remarried and had 2 children with his current wife, and what he did to me is NOTHING compared to what he's done to them, oh like, almost killing his one daughters trying to force the alien "pod" out of her, setting their neighbor's house on fire to stop him from developing biological warfare weapons, and his wife hasn't just caught him cheating on her with other women--but men as well! He commits these acts while in his "manic phase" followed by his "depressive phase" during which he suffers extreme remorse for his actions, to the point of becoming suicidal. Everytime I see his current wife, who is now confined to a wheelchair with MS with HIM as her only caretaker, my heart goes out to her and I say to myself, "there but for the grace of God, go I." Bipolar disorder is unpredictable and can "ebb and wain", sometimes the symptoms can completely disappear, even for years at a time, other times can result in a complete psychotic break from reality, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, and even hearing voices similar to a schizophrenic. It is a scary, scary disorder. So in my personal opinion, your DH has GOOD REASON to proceed with extreme caution in dealing with his daughter--who could disappear with her child tomorrow, or worse, and how would he protect grandbabies then?

"I love my husband to death but my stepson is going to break up my family." Your stepson isn't going to break up your family, your husband who sits there with his legs up & ignores his son's behavior may be more responsible for breaking up your family. The kid (how old?) sounds as if he has major anger issues & he is acting out for attention... and it should NOT be ignored. His behavior is a cry for help & if nobody listens, he will become an angry adult. Being mean to animals, being physically abusive, verbalizing threats... no way would he be allowed to 'babysit' a small child alone! Do not allow your child(ren) to be left alone with him & do not depend on your husband if he can't be trusted to protect your young kids. (Demonstrated by his leaving the SS in charge) Find someone else to leave your kids with when you're at work... just like you would if you were a single parent. (yeah, I know it's tough but you can't count on your DH to protect them if he doesn't see a problem)

Congratulations on a job well done, Dr. Janie. (Even resulting from using some of the local characters as guinea pigs). With them saying these days that with our diet and lifestyle being such as it has become, with so many juveniles tending currently to obesity and diabetes, and likely to suffer from them later, and that possibly the long average lifespan that we've achieved may reverse, with a substantial number dying younger in a few years, it sounds as though your specialty may be needed in those years. I hope that, along with our continuing emphasis on curing people's ills, we may become more concerned with building a lifestyle that will forestall many of those illnesses in the first place. I hope that you find a position where you can be of good service to the community and find much satisfaction while doing so. Good wishes to you and Eric as you step into the next phase of your life. ole joyful