mrshal07, first, if you can let us know where you live? Zone 8 is marginal for citrus in the ground, but I don't see any mention of putting anything in the ground - just containers - so I am assuming you would be able to bring your citrus inside at least to a garage temporarily, if you have a cold snap? Just need a little clarification regarding your zone and location. That might give us a better idea regarding cultivar recommendations if things are staying outside. If you can bring your container citrus inside during cold snaps, then cultivar selection based on weather restrictions isn't so important. Okay, as far as potting mix, no, I would not suggest a mix of citrus soil and potting soil. Much too water retentive. Putting "something in the bottom" does not improve drainage, this is a misconception. We have a great recipe for either "511" or "Gritty" mix on our forum, so search for that and copy down how to mix your own very well draining and long lasting potting mix. Hopefully MeyerMike will add his perspective on container citrus, as he is one of our most successful forum members with container citrus in a less than ideal USDA zone (Massachusetts). His trees are gorgeous. Fertilizing is usually done with each watering, 1/2 strength during non-growing season (late fall through early spring), then full strength. Most container citrus folks prefer to use DynaGro's Foliage Pro. I also use it, along with a time-release product with an NPK close to 5-1-3 ratio, along with micronutrients, even with my full-time-outside container citrus with very excellent results. As far as cultivars - if you can bring your citrus inside during cold snaps, then I would pick cultivars you like to eat, or provide juice that you would drink or cook with. So, all are good choices. I would make a suggestion for your grapefruit, though, as grapefruits need some significant heat units in order to sweeten up. So, consider a grapefruit hybrid, such as Oroblanco, Melogold, or Cocktail (which isn't really even a grapefruit, but actually a pummelo/mandarin hybrid, but absolutely delicious, and does not need heat to sweeten.) I would consider a Bearrs lime, as it isn't quite as cold-sensitive as the Mexican (Key) lime. And a Meyer lemon would also be a better choice over a regular lemon as it is more cold tolerant that, say, a Eureka or Lisbon lemon. Satsuma mandarins are lovely, but slower to mature, so perhaps consider another mandarin cultivar, there are many excellent choices, such as Seedless Kishu, Gold Nugget, Page or Tango mandarins (or mandarin hybrids). Rootstock are the "roots" that the cultivar scion gets grafted to, which can provide the cultivar with some significant benefits - size control, more resistance to disease, precociousness, sweeter fruit, more tolerance to cold temps, soil issues, etc. So, you'll find most citrus are grafted. For container citrus, you're better off finding citrus grafted to dwarf or semi-dwarfing rootstock. Four Winds Growers grafts most of the their citrus to a very semi-dwarfing rootstock called Cuban Shaddock, which makes them very suitable to container culture. And, they have every cultivar you've listed. They're a great company, grow beautiful citrus, and many of us on the forum have their trees. There are other good growers out there as well, but not many that you can find who graft to true dwarfing rootstock (which would be poncirus trifoliate 'Fly Dragon'), or certainly no one else I am aware of that uses Cuban Shaddock, probably the next most dwarfing rootstock out there. So, I would definitely look for citrus on at least semi-dwarfing rootstock, if you're shopping locally. If your area can support in-ground citrus, I would suggest going to one of your better garden centers, or even better, a citrus grower if you have one, and talk to them about the cultivars that do the best in your area, especially if you plan on leaving them outside. Just remember, if you have temps in the winter that drop below 40 degrees, you need to consider bringing your container citrus inside or at least, into the garage (with sunlight) for short periods, as container citrus don't have the root protects from cold temps as in-ground citrus have. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: Four Winds Growers

I stopped watching Criminal Minds when there was an episode that was particularly bloody and gory (maybe a family member being killed?). I know that with these cops/U.S. security-type shows, you have to expect that the envelope is being pushed further and further to get attention and ratings. I just wasn't prepared to nearly jump out of my skin during one of the scenes during the first episode of The Blacklist! (But haven't deleted the series from my Netflix list -- yet!_

My husband was a lot like yours in the beginning. I have a very strong personality and I made it very clear one summer that he had until August to show me improvement or we would be living apart every summer. Married but apart. I love my husband. He is an amazing father but the things his child did he saw as "normal" kid things. Most were not , but sometimes they were. As a new stepmom with no children of my own until 2 years later, and with his kids now several years ahead of my own, I didn't always understand child development. I would think, "My kid will never do that." Then four years later, my (now) eight year old daughter rolls her eyes at me when I am talking. When my SD would do it, I would be livid. How absolutely unacceptable!! I would react in the extreme. And when my husband wouldn't back me up, I would be even angrier. It was them against me. I always felt on the outside in these situations. Now, when MY DD roles her eyes, I very firmly say, "Go get your iPad. You may not roll your eyes at me. It is rude and I will not tolerate it." And the situation is over. I don't fume about it, I take her iPad, and I MOVE ON. One thing I read about step kids that really helped me is that we do NOT forgive them like we forgive our own children. We do NOT move on like we do with our own kids. Everything they do wrong seems personal. You HAVE TO, HAVE TO take any thoughts of it being personal out of your response, and to the extent possible, out of your feelings. 95% of the time they are just acting like kids, doing crappy things. It is when we take it personally that we stop being the adult and start behaving like a teenager. For the things that are NOT normal behavior, present them to your husband when you are not angry and propose a solution. For example, ss won't shower -- ever. He jumps in but doesn't use soap. This is not normal and it is not ok. I would like to propose that ss does not earn time on his electronics until he has showered with soap every morning. I don't know your situation well. Your stepson sounds like a handful. But if I were you, this is what I would do: I would tell my husband, "If you countermand me again in front of your son, you are on your own with him. What this means is: (1) I will not do his laundry, (2) I will not drive him to any activities, (3) I will not shop for food specifically for him, (4) I will not attend any of his activities, including swim lessons, soccer, baseball, et, (5) I will not parent in ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM your son. (a) I will continue to talk to him when spoken to by him. (b) I will allow him to eat any meal I have prepared for everyone. (c) I will attend family events where all of us are invited. That's it. You will have full responsibility for your son and his welfare. I am your wife, your partner and a parental figure in this house. If you support me in my efforts to parent your child I promise to: (1) be more patient with him and consider every consequence PRIOR to giving it, (2) pick my battles; (3) discuss any major consequences with you prior to issuing them to your son." Then I would do a breathing / anger management excerise I was taught whenever you deal with your stepon: I would count to ten slowly in my head and then state, "Your behavior is unacceptable. If you continue doing [xyz], these will be your consequences." Then the consequence will have to match the crime. So, if he is whining, he will have to sit QUIETLY in his room. If he refused to pick up his toys / room, he can lose all his toys / privileges until it is picked up. If he is ignoring you on his phone or iPad, he can lose his phone or ipad until he has recognized what he did wrong, completed what you asked him, and apologized. Take the anger out of your responses to him. Anyways, I hope this helps.

Thank you all so much for your replies! It's wonderful to see so many of you slogging through the Houzz changes in order to remain in touch, sharing your words and your photos. I hope others continue to chime in as they check in with the forum in between scheduled summer activities and in spite of current technological difficulties. Titian, thank you for the information about Florence's last posting. I may have missed it since it was located on a thread which began with another topic. I wish there were some way to reach her just to say how much it meant to share the exchanges that we did. We even shared family history and photos and artwork. Mary, I have no idea if Houzz ambushed the Furniture Forum with my post after the fact or whether I neglected to deselect the FF as a suggested cross posting site. I THOUGHT I deselected everything but Antique Roses. Since we will never know, and I prefer to maintain the fantasy that I can manage my own affairs, I'm going to cry "Houzz ambush" in order to save face. :-) Carol