Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

"... Then I tried some when the hulls were yellow and almost felt like the bean should have been pealed." That has been my observation also, for most of the runner beans I've tried as shellies. That, and the "off" flavor of many of them, had me questioning whether runner bean seeds were really suited for use as shellies. Now I suspect that those issues can largely be overcome, whether by choice of variety, level of maturity at harvest, or means of preparation. This is, IMO, mostly uncharted territory, so there is still a lot of research & experimentation yet to be done. The beans are so large & visually appealing, it would be wonderful if their flavor could be made to match their appearance. My hope is that canning will prove to soften the skins of the mature beans. I've never been very fond of canning vegetables, since I prefer the fresh flavor of frozen produce... but in the case of runner bean shellies, canning might improve their palatability. Who knows, the pressure cooking itself might yield favorable results. I'm looking forward to experimenting, provided that I have enough beans next year to do so.

Bonded leather is rubbish. we purchased abonded leather sof suite from furniture Bazarr and after a year it began to peel and crack so we had a vinyl repair man repair the worst areas and decided to move our seating to the front lounge leaving the bonded leather suite having very little use however it deteriorated to a point where it was not of acceptable appearance due to cracking and peeling. Furniture Bazaar was not interested in any refund and stuck to the one year guarantee policy ignoring the Australian consumer laws that overide any retailers warranty. We now have fair trading involved and I thik we will win our claim as we are well protected under Australian consumer laws. As an interest the Australian ACCC took fantastic furniture to task involving bonded leather (amongst other retailers) and they were not only fined for misleading advertising but court ordered to not use the word leather unleess the product is real leather they also determined that the bonded leather was in facf only 10% leather. The fine under consumer law for false or misleading statements to gain a sale is 1.1 million dollars for a company and over $200000 for an individual. It is not in a retailers interest to deny a genuine claim as a complaint to ACCC could result in great expense to the retailer if ACCC proceeds with an action

I am happy to share my experience with Ethan Allen Sleeper sofas hoping it will help others. We bought a Paramount Sleeper Sofa in 2013. In 2017 we noticed that the front pad that supports the cushions was bulging out (see photo). We contacted Ethan Allen and they said that because the problem was not in the frame, it was out of warranty. I looked at other pieces of furniture in our home and I noticed that the EA sofa, unlike other items, had a very “squishable” pad to support the cushions. We told EA that the sofa is seldom used (at most 20 times per year) and that my husband an I are not heavy and felt that there must be a problem with the design or construction. The final decision came in an email, from which I copy directly: “In conjunction with our warranty department, Jenn and I have carefully reviewed each of your questions and concluded that the sofa is up to our manufacturing standards.” We were told that our only option was to buy a replacement pad and pay a technician to replace it. When the pad arrived it was tightly rolled in a box (see photo). How is this soft pad supposed to support the weight of someone sitting on it? As I wrote EA, the sleeper and frame are “great”, unless one sits on the sofa. Not a good thing... for a sofa. And certainly not good “manufacturing standards” for Ethan Allen.