I've been growing them successfully in the ground, and outside in pots, for eight years here, and for a couple of years in Maryland way back when. We get all of our rainfall Nov. - May, and lots of it, with lows dipping in the mid thirties. It doesn't bother my old pair of obesa at all, even though Desert-Tropicals care advise is for totally dry conditions during a winter dormancy. Summers here have low humidity, no rain, with highs usually the mid-eighties, with rare 90-100F days. I water fairly liberally during the summer, meaning every couple of weeks. These conditions are similar to obesa's native cape region of S. Africa which is almost the same latitude as here. This environment is very different than your growing conditions, but the plant seems to be pretty tough. When I grew one in Maryland, the humidity had a large influence on how fast the soil mix dries out, so use something super porous, with 90% inorganics like perlite, pumice, gravel, turface, etc. in the 1/8 to 3/8-inch size range. I think you can grow it outside, but keep an eye on soil conditions. Brad

Well Today; things seem to be perking up; both plants have lost quite a few of their leaves the Caerulea has lost quite a bit of its leaves; all the ones that were damaged and had turned color fell off today; and some of the Buds as well. The Alato seems to be doing better than the Caerulea; the leaves aren't as droopy today; it has lost some leaves but not as many as the Caerulea; Both seem to be perking up now. I am sure it also had to do with the fact that I had to change the soil which in turn I lost some of the far extended Roots; but if I had left the soil in I think I would have lost the plant for good; so I had to take the chance and change it. Now that both have lost some foilage; the root system won't have to work as hard; and I am hoping it will come back better than ever. Funny thing; I put some of the same Fertilizer in my Lady Margaret and it is doing fine; when I saw the effect of the other two I took the top inches of soil out of the Lady and replaced it; but I never once saw any change in the Plant overall. It seems even though they are all from the Passionflower family; they all seem to need completely different things; From now on I am just going to give the Big pot with the 2 Different Passionflower plants the Premix Fertilizer; that seems the safest way to go.

The biggest problem I see, is that either you told him, or you thought you told him. Big difference. Hanging all of this on him, without knowing specifically what was said, probably isnt going to go over very well. If you decide to change it, its gonna be costly, for whoever gets to pay for it. I do agree about the countertop on the dining room side being a problem. With that said, if it were mine, I'd: Assuming they are framed cabinets, then, you could leave the uppers as they are, have the cabinet guy trim 1/4 inch off of each base scribe in the range opening. This would pull the base to the right 1/2 inch, allowing you to at least have a half inch overhang on your counter, and the counter would line up with the upper above, regardless. Typically, I try to line the countertop up with the upper anyway, and not worry about the base lining up in these types of applications. I think it looks better when ending tile, backsplashes, wallpaper etc. That seems to be the easiest fix to all of the problems, without having to rebuild 3 cabinets this late in the game.

DH and I bought a house together. Several years later, my Ex and his new wife bought a house a few blocks away. Ex travels for pleasure fairly often, and when he does, our teenage son goes over there to take care of the pool and pets. One of the first trips occured during some nasty weather, so I drove our son to Ex's house for his chores. The whole way over, DS was squirming and uncomfortable. When I pulled into the driveway, he finally turned to me and said "My Dad told me not to let you into the house." It was like a slap in the face. After taking a second to adjust to the pure shock of it, I told DS that I was sure his father meant that he shouldn't let *anyone* into the house while his parents were out, and that that was a very good policy. But DS said "No, he only said you." I should point out that we had been divorced for about 8 years at that point, had always been reasonably civilized, and that I'd never done anything unethical or 'slimy' to warrant that kind of treatment. I understand he didn't want me in his house uninvited -- that goes unsaid. I don't want him in my house uninvited either, and I'd be shocked if he didn't know that. But to make the kid "the enforcer" is wrong. Just plain wrong. It tells the kid "Your other parent can't be trusted." and "You have to tell the other parent they're untrustworthy." Talk about putting a kid in the middle! If you decide to leave your daughter home alone, have a very clear policy that is understandable and doesn't single out her mother. For example, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE is allowed in the house when you're not home. Or, people you know well (such as neighbors and BioMom) are allowed inside the entryway for a few minutes, but NOT free roam of the house. (There are nosey neighbors - blame them or paranoia in general.) If you think BioMom might be a problem area, have your husband call her and diplomatically explain the policy your daughter will be following, and that you don't want her putting your daughter in a difficult position. (Then get the firesafe and ask the neighbor for help.)