Hi Phebe Greenhouse, Yeah, talk about mad... I spent forever trying to figure out what could be wrong in my garden! I'm probably overly paranoid now about manure, but short of getting a small amount and mixing with soil, then doing a test plant of bean and tomato seeds, there's not a good way to evaluate it. (Lab tests apparently exist, but they are very expensive.) Also, my experience with this was somewhat spotty in terms of which parts of beds were affected. English peas grew fairly well while the tomato next to them was twisted. I let a few of these plants grow to maturity and you could see the effects of the herbicide - an eggplant that had huge, beautiful healthy leaves near the ground and curled and twisted puny leaves at top. I started all my own plants, so I'm sure that the plants weren't contaminated from another source. The dairy farm was non-responsive when I reported the problem. I suspect they continue to sell the contaminated top soil to unsuspecting gardeners. :-( You're right about the diagnosis problem. If I hadn't talked to the county agent, I'd have never thought of herbicide. I was sure I had some virus as it was the second year of a fairly organic garden and I had quite a few leaf hoppers and other critters that could be spreading it... I hear you on the sad to buy it in bags... For gardeners just starting out in rural GA - there aren't a lot of resources for "organic" materials. Even the hay has been sprayed...

we are not afraid, lol. it started in the neighbors yrd and does spread into our blue spruce and around on the ground. we started trimming the spruce a couple of yrs ago then the creeper started climbing up it. easy fix really, the last 2 yrs i have just used a garden rake to pull it down. since it comes out all attached to each other it is only a 5 minute job but needs to be done yearly. we love it, it creates a great privacy fence. i read a tip somewhere about creeper and ivy too if you are worried about it on your house. if you girdle or sever the stems at the base and let it die off, it shouldnt do damage to your shingles or siding when you finally pull it off.

The owner(s) have formed an LLC (Limited Liability Company). That's not uncommon at all. Go to your State's web site, somewhere there is likely a registry of LLCs that lists the member's names. (see link below). I was afraid because I have been doing a lot of reading in the past and it stated that a landlord can evict u for no reason. That is absolutely 100% incorrect. Eviction is a legal process and so handled through the court system (in my state, a judge decides if eviction is warranted or not). A LL has to have good reason and proof in order to evict someone, such as failure to pay rent, trashing the place, etc. Keep dated records of your rent payments (receipt, canceled check). If you are following the terms of your lease you have no reason to be afraid. Get familiar with your lease and your state's landlord tenant laws, too, Those are your guidelines and being familiar with it should ease your mind. Here is a link that might be useful: How to Locate Members of an LLC

I have to say that I am not crazy about the round table in the middle of the chairs. It feels like the arrangement is fighting the shape of the room and the rug. Don't know if this would work, but I would turn the rug to run the other way in the room - long side running parallel to the double windows on the end. Then place the chairs side by side on each of the long sides of the rug - on square, not angled. Tables and good sized lamps between each set of two chairs for drinks, etc. No table in the middle. By keeping the seating toward the left side of the room ( as we look at the last floor plan), it would allow bookshelves to go on the long wall to the right of the window at the top of the floor plan. One other thing, just for grins. If the four chairs are identical in size and design, just different in color, I might try switching out the cushions - light cushions on dark chair frames, and vice versa. I think it will create a sense of greater continuity between all the seating.