thecurious: Definitely not too late for Beets. Do yourself a favor and grow Chioggia, the sweetest Beet in the world, and it doesn't "bleed". An Italian heirloom, it's the one with the alternating pink and white rings. About 70 days if I remember correctly, so it'll be plenty sweet in the coolish weather of September and October in your zone. Do yourself another favor and grow Kohlrabi, with a taste of Turnips and Cabbage, but twice as sweet as either. Also about 70 days for the heirlooms White and Purple Vienna (as I recall), and a shorter period, still, for hybrids. Also a good time to grow Turnips, particularly the sweet all-white varieties, that mature from 50 to 70 days. The three above are always at their best when harvested (and eaten) in cool weather.

Hi UV, Here is one idea for a sleeve for a 4" pot, if they are still available: The Container Store had sturdy, thin plastic containers that were round, flat on the bottom, the sides were accordion-pleated and fanned out. They were approximately 4" high and 4" wide when opened up. They were shaped like big cupcake holders. The pleats allowed them to strecth out to snugly wrap around a 4" pot. They were a perfect size to use as a sleeve to slip a 4" pot with violet into. The top of the container was about 1/4" taller than a standard size 4" pot, so it covered the rim. They could be slipped off for watering. They came in several colors. Mostly, I recall dark red, white, and green. I got red for the season. They were lightweight and attractive. They dressed up any violet and made a festive presentation. I hope to stop by the Container Store again soon to see if they still have those. (They came in various diameters, larger and smaller.) I used to like to give AVs as gifts in 4" pots to people who did not usually raise them, that way, they would not have to worry about repotting when the plant grew. Joanne

TOS, I don't need a website to tell me that the majority of kids today are in non intact families. I was surprised back when I worked for social services, how many children lived with grandparents and other relatives. I was equally shocked at how many father's had custody and uninvolved mothers. I was a single mother and I figured that there were very few mother's that didn't have custody or see their children. While KKNY can yell from the rooftops that only 10% of fathers have custody, I think that's an outdated statistic. It may not be much higher, but that doesn't mean 90% of mothers have custody. Obviously, if 4.5 million (and I still think it's higher) children live with grandparents and I saw many cases of children living with other relatives that would not be included in those statistics (as well as non relatives raising someone's kids)... when you factor that in, the percentage of mother's raising their children drops. KKNY, like I said, you can't discuss EVERY possible scenario before you get remarried. When there are children involved, you have to accept the unexpected. I guess the first rule is IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, DON'T MARRY SOMEONE THAT DOESN'T LIKE CHILDREN. Doodle married someone with small children and it's clear she loves kids. How can you anticipate whether you will want to babysit grandkids or how often (I think most people would want to babysit their grandkids) 15-20 years from now? Nobody can look into the future and tell what will happen years or decades from now. Like I said, i am looking forward to my grandkids. I can't say for sure if I will be available to babysit when my kids want me to. I think that when you get married, the best you can do is discuss how you feel about family and look at your partner's family ties... Id family as important to them as it is to you? etc. Some families are very close while some only get together at the holiday's or hardly ever. I think it's important to discuss family in general, it would also alleviate disagreements over in laws, etc. And then since the divorce rate is over 50% (and rising), I suppose that prior to the first marriage, while talking about whether they will have kids and how many, they should start discussing who will get custody and what kind of parenting plan they might have in the future. They should discuss how a step parent will play into the equation. After all, it's more likely than not for today's children to experience their parent's divorce, live in a single parent household, and eventually, live in a blended family. Might as well discuss it before having kids. I think you are right, the more you discuss, the better. And I'm always in favor of putting it in writing. People tend to change their minds and forget what they agreed to.

Good grief. I hadn't even seen this discussion thread, much less read it until now, so I guess I'd better post. I've been so busy at work (still am) on a major project that I barely have time to do a load of laundry so I'll have clean underwear, much less read many disussion threads here... Anyway, to get to the discussion at hand -- When I was about 14 and my brother was about 7, I was in the breakfast nook one afternoon talking to my mother. My brother came in from the backyard, said something, then went back outside. I said something to the effect that it wouldn't suprise me at all if he grew up to be gay. My mother replied, with shock in her voice, "How can you say that? He's just a little boy!" I said, "I don't know - it's just a feeling I have." Our parents died when my brother was 14, and I became his legal guardian. We had always gotten along really well as kids, and I never felt "burdened" to be his guardian. When he was 17, my brother came to me one day when I was in the family room and said that he needed to have a serious talk with me. I said, "Okay." He then said, "I'm gay." I replied, "Yes, I know." He said, "You know?!? You don't mind?!?" I hugged him and told him that I love him, that I'd always love him no matter what, and that of course I didn't "mind" that he was gay. He said that he'd been so stressed and worried about telling me. I told him that I was so sorry that he'd been stressed and worried, and that everything was ok. He wondered what our parents would have thought, and I told him in all honesty that I knew they wouldn't have had a problem, either. In February 1988 he found out that he was HIV+ and I promised him that he would not die alone, which was his greatest fear. In 1993, when he was living in San Francisco and Hubs and I in the Sacramento area, my brother converted to full-blown AIDS and was hospitalized, not expected to live through the night. He was in the hospital for over 9 weeks, 6 of which were in ICU, and I was with him the entire time with the exception of about three nights. When he was discharged my husband and I moved him in with us, and I was his caregiver. He died in my arms in 1994. He was, bar none, the bravest person I've ever known. I love him and miss him so very much.