Animals aren't collections, even if you do have several, okay 6 cats and four dogs. China isn't a collection...you use it. Besides, some of it was my grandmother's and some mothers, and I really liked the soft pink abstract rose on that set and you need Christmas china, and of course, you need different china for the grandkids at Christmas. I suppose having 350 different daylilies means I must admit to collecting them. But all the Christmas decorations are just decorations, not a collection...except maybe the Dickens Villiage is a collection. And Josh, I am really impressed with all of your languages. In addition to English, I speak only Spanish and German, and, like Melissa, I can read French, but I do not speak nor understand the spoken French. And like Susie, Books are not a collection any more than food is. kay

Check with your state's Extension Service. Each county has it's own Cooperative Extension Office which provides free publications and information for the asking. Each state should have web sites with lots of info. They should have plenty of information on vegetable growing and building raised beds especially for your own area.

The question of, "why do I need to clean if I'm going to sand" hit me last night. The steps are pretty clean. I was at SW yesterday and the only Dirtex they had was the spray kind. That's all I'm finding anywhere here. I saw some other cleaning stuff like Krud Kutter etc. but didn't look at them too close. I have a hand sander I'm going to use. Have all my sandpaper etc. you recommended in my last thread about my stairs ready to go. I really like that Ready Patch stuff. Tried it on a different project and it was much easier to work with than stuff I've used in the past. So as long as I sand well and clean off all the dust (use tack cloth?) I should be ok without the powdered Dirtex? I'm going to pass on the TSP and water idea.

robo, you're right of course:) but it's not just seeing the listing, it's getting there in time..I can't get there without my realtor, they won't let me. Until she writes me back-I miss on a property. It was a very hot market that year. anyway..she was a nice lady, it was just very crazy time. Our relationship was kinda strange too and it's on me, partially..I was fascinated with her Southern accent..what I couldn't predict-that she'd become fascinated with my Russian accent, and try to erm..speak like me. She also thought I'm very little and cute, out loud too many times, and I felt like a gnome or something..:) Which is fine, I do have some gnome eerm..attributes, I guess lol. But I was too stressed to actually enjoy all that. Now I remember it and the truth is, it was funny as hell. I usually am highly amused in such situations. It just was a hard year. She btw was pickier than me..I really tried to like houses since I was desperate.. while she would say "no, honey, it's not good enough" she wouldn't take us to our-now house, she said it'd be too small so we went ourselves to open house. and then we were torn. and then we brought her, to hear her advice. and this house, with all the shortcomings which were many, kinda won her over too. it's a cute house. it's a house fitting for a gnome:) like a toadstool, you know. she said "it becomes you". well she was right. it becomes me. took us 27 months to actually remodel lol..if I knew that I wouldn't be in such a hurry..))))) but it becomes me. a perfect toadstool. lol.