Thanks Vagas and Tclynx. I had the cocoons in a plastic bag w/o air or food. Just worm doo and cocoons which aren't that recognizable to me yet. I could not imagine leaving them in the plastic bag vagas, so I prepared a bed of peat moss/a couple cups of cornmeal/ and a couple cups of wellllll rotted bagged cow manure that has been laying out in the weather for about 3 years/and a few handfuls of small shredded paper to break up all that dirt looking stuff. Well Mixed and damp. I poured the plastic bag of worm cocoons out onto this mixture in the bin and covered it with a layer of dry shredded paper. I did put some drain holes in the bottom, and I did put another container w/o holes under that to capture any liquid excess or baby worms that might fall through and of course the brick to keep the upper plastic container from falling down below the air holes. And I did put a soaked piece of cardboard box down in my bin to cover the holes for the babies to lay on,first thing. I did that about 3 days ago with the cocoons and I don't see any babies yet, but since I am still afraid I will damage them if I put my hands down in the mixture to look, that doesn't mean they aren't there, I'm sure. In the meantime, I am down to opening and looking at the worms only about 3 times a day and that IS a struggle for me. I put the 3 containers together like Vaga said. The worms are awfully skinny and aren't moving too fast just yet. It has been only about a week and a half since I put them(1000) in there and NOW I can see that they are eating the bedding up and pretty quickly. So, Friday, I set the second prepared container that makes the tiered bin on top of that W/Oa brick (The worms around outside are all laying under heavy stuff so I figured the small weight of the container could be helpful) and I put about 1/2 lb or less of kitchen scraps and coffee grounds and of course shredded paper in it in case they wanted more to eat. They really are skinny. I have never seen such skinny little worms. I am sure they must grow (red wigglers)bigger. Anyway, Today when I looked at them, I DID find that they are migrating up into the food...or at least about 20 of them have so far. Out of fear that they would attempt to escape and inadvertantly commit suicide, I placed the whole 3 layer bin in a large black garbage bag leaving it open and loose in case they try to explore outside the box while I am gone. That way, I won't find them dried up on the floor or step on them. Once I saw that they weren't trying to get away, I took the bin out of the bag. Not one fatality due to escape...not one worm in the bag either. =o) So, I am learning not to sit and prowl through their bedding to see what they are doing.....all the time. Just nervous about them I guess. Trial and error is the way of life, I suppose. I will either get more worms, or they will not do well for me. Thanks so much for your input. It helps to know that you guys are out there willing to share the information with me. =o)

So is the new computer you got yesterday a Dell? If so, have you tried calling their customer support? If you need a 'good' number for Dell (an English speaking one on this side of the pond) feel free to send me an email. Oops...I see this thread is nearly a month old. Did you get fixed up yet? Hope so. Sue

Thanks everyone. I cleaned the computer (as much as I can right now, will probably remove more later), installed the recommended anti-spyware tools, installed Avast and Firefox, and turned on Windows Defender and Windows FW. Now I'm trying to set up the wireless connection which is giving me trouble. We have a wireless router and the set-up on the laptop is asking me for a security passkey which doesn't seem to be the same as our router password or any other password or security key we've been given. We have a router password. The Router documentation says to provide the SSID and WEP numbers during the set-up, yet it seems to ask only for the WEP. So, I seem to be stalled for the night.

Your rug is marvelous and a classic, if you get rid of it, send it to me! Seriously though, please keep the rug, and don't fall prey to that monotone monotonous one color bleached out look that is the trend these days. You do need throw pillows for the chairs and sofa that pick up the colors from the rug to unite all the upholstered pieces. I am not crazy for the coffee table for it's look, and it is undersized as well. A larger table and one that is glass would look well in that space, as it would show off that gorgeous rug.