Rodden, Thanks. I try my best to be helpful. :) Do you know what happened to your Mom's Kalanchoe? I'm not sure the material is ceramic, it has a more of a... hard plastic feel to it. If it's the same material as another pot I used to have, it won't be difficult to drill holes into. I purchased a pot last year that was some sort of hard plastic (at least I think it was hard plastic; that's about the best I can describe it) and was able to drill a few holes in the bottom. The other pot and this one don't give at all like a "normal" plastic pot. I've seen some "biodegradable" pots before that have the same feel as this one, but I'm not sure I'd stick this pot in the ground lol. The interesting thing about those pots was that they were hard like a "normal" pot, not the biodegradable pots you find used with container vegetables. I know drilling a hole into a ceramic pot would be a disaster for me lol. I think some have found a way to do it. You have to have a diamond drill bit I think and a continuous flow of water on the pot to keep the bit from getting too hot. If that's something you're interested in, I think you can find a few posts on Gardenweb about it or even online. I think the drill bits can be purchased on eBay, but I hardly buy non-draining pots or pots I can't drill normally, so spending the money for one of those wouldn't be as useful for me. I don't think $13 is bad if it's a large plant, but for a plant that's only about 5'' tall and maybe 4-5 inches wide... I think I'll save my money lol. I bought a 'Green Bonnie' spider plant the other day for around the same price but it's quite large. I live in SC. We have some of the oddest weather. Last week it was 80, last night it got down to freezing. Heck... we had a bad ice storm a few weeks ago and it snowed before that. So, you go from snow, ice, to 80 degrees, back to freezing. I've given up on trying to figure out the weather. I'm sorry to hear your state is experiencing wild fires. I know the West (mainly Arizona and California come to mind) are often troubled with wild fires. Wildfires are good for "reproduction" in the sense that the ash is good for the ground, but it's not good when the fires destroy homes. I hope some rain comes your way soon to "stomp" out the fires. Planto This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Fri, Feb 28, 14 at 14:45

We just went with Morgan county seeds which is actually masterblend. Their hydroponic tomato nute and cal nitrate each at 5 pound bag is right at 30.00 delivered. I was paying 15.00 for 1 pound pre mixed so this is much cheaper! I am following the u tube directions. I will know in a few weeks how it works. I do believe it is the same as the urban hydroponics mix. I think the issue I was having with the urban hydroponics mix is the cal nitrate and masterblend were pre mixed. The problem is they are diffrent consistancies. The cal nitrate is little pebbles and the masterblend is fine almost powder. They don't stay mixed well. I like being able to put them in seprately.

I've just discovered this thread and not a moment too soon (or late?). I can sooooo sympathsize. I'm also a stay at home mom former teacher debating the return to work. I have gotten totally jazzed reading all the great ideas and options. like you, I know htat my whole family would be miserable if I returned to work full-time. Right now I have a great set up subbing at my oldest dd's school. I have MIL babysit and when she can't I swap child care with a neighbor who works evenings. If you ever do feel the need to sub, find a nice girl's school with strict rules. My daughter's school is a dream to sub at. Small class sizes, the teachers always leave extensive plans and the girls actually respect the teachers (even subs). But as you said the pay sucks. It really only works out to be spending cash for me. So the ideas in the thread about future employment when my youngest starts school are real boosters. Good luck with that pet sitting. I am envious of your opportunity and the excitement that goes with something new and exciting - not to mention lucrative!

She likes them, Deb, thanks for asking. She's also liking the .99¢ yarn at Hobby Lobby! She's taking her time really catching on to the looms, though, because she doesn't want to read the instructions, she's convinced she's too stupid to understand it. She's not, but you can't tell her that. My friend Andre came over one afternoon for several hours and gave her a lesson on it, that was so great of her to do. And Pops and I try to help, but since I don't know anything, I'm not much help. I've bought her all the little booklets that Provo put out and I send her links that Pops shows her and little by little she's learning, with his very patient help. She really likes that I got her the hot-colored set, bright neony colors and she was going to Wal Mart that very day after we came over to get herself a set, but I beat her to it by hours! lol Phew, that was close! I'll tell her you said hi, she just loooooooooves you, CR!