I think you're thinking in terms of tropical fish. Typically, with fish, you use tap water, which usually has Chlorine. Letting it sit allows the Chlorine gas to evaporate. For most CP's, they live in nutrient poor conditions. Not only will the Chlorine kill them, so will the minerals in tap water. Evaporation concentrates the dissolved minerals. Rain water doesn't need to sit. It's normal for the media to smell. Not a problem. As long as the plants are green, they are okay. If everything turned brown, then I'd worry! Maryland, depending where in Maryland, may be too cold to leave outside for the winter, without mulching. I live in the Buffalo, NY area. so I take my plants to a co-worker, and he keeps them in his windowed garage for the winter. That works for me. Are you near the coast or near the mountains? That makes a difference.

Thanks Sylvia and Sally, This is a large organization that I know does do a lot of good. Apparently, they do more in the area they accustomed to working in. I can understand if they don't have members in our area and the volunteers are reluctant (or whiney) about the drive. We won't be requesting a refund or publicizing this because we don't want to harm the good they are doing elsewhere. The lady (Judy, a volunteer from the organization) who came when we rounded up the kittens a month or so ago came today and picked up Cookies. He will be tested for leukemia and feline aids then vaccinated and, a little later, neutered. During this time he will be living with a foster mom. Then he will go with the rest of the kittens to a PetSmart in Richardson. Adopters must agree that the cats will be indoor cats and that if for some reason, at any time things are not working out, the cat must be returned to the organization and not just given away or "thrown" out. I understand that the adoption fee at PS is around 125.00. Hopefully if someone is going to pay that much for a cat, they will give it a wonderful home (considering the number of free kitten ads they could have chosen from). I told myself I wouldn't do it, but I cried. Just couldn't help it and can't help it now. Barb, Candy and I discussed this morning with Judy the possibilities of us doing it all on our own. She volunteered her help and traps and we will be contacting the organization to get their approval which we will need in order to work with the local veterinarian (free spaying and neutering) and our local PetSmart who won't accept animals from individuals. Anyhow, thanks all for your advice and help. I know Cookies will be fine and find a great home, but I need a tissue right now. Take care, Kristi

You should have a lot of fun! My DH and I did this trip in 2000. What are you using to help you find the original segments of the route? We used the Route 66: Travelers Guide and I think we had another book but I can't remember the title for sure. Sometimes it was a challenge to puzzle out some of the directions but we went on a lot of the original route including a brick section and one of the few sections of single lane road that remains. They were having trouble getting enough money to complete the route so they built some sections just one lane (9 feet wide) to finish paving the path at about half the cost. Mostly each evening I planned the travel for the next day. The path of Route 66 changed during the time it was in use so there are often alternative routes to choose between. One of the places we stayed was the Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico - built in 1939, each room has a garage next to it for your car which was typical at that time. Drive carefully. Here is a link that might be useful: Route 66: Travelers Guide

Hi Mike,,, He emntioned, the zone valves were a better option than all the circulator pumps. I agther, part is more readily available, and then if one goes, I guess you trip the lever and are able to override and provide heat to that zone. I checked the BTU for the new system. Its Weil Mcclain.. Gold CGa-6 SPDN.... Its rated for 175,000 BTU. Thats what i was thinking, air lock or soemthing; there appears to some heat going thru the baseboard, because the pipes feel warm, etc.. Juts not sure.. Further what i did, when I left in the morning at 7:00, the room temp was 69.. Then took a ride home about 3 hours later, figuring when the morning warm up, sun was out etc,,, the room would be around 73.. But no, it jumped up only 1 degree in over 3 hours. Maybe its getting some water, but not enough or something.