I plan to make all my seedlings (that I can handle) flower, then force them for the following year, and give away. I already promised the first one for Cindeea, for she sent me seeds, the second one for Maria, for her seeds... And then the rest will go to Project Angelfood. Hopefully they will see it as a nice gesture and not an unnecessary burden. :o)

ttod, You poooor thing! I feel for you, I really DO understand! I'm going to tell you a rather long story, and really there IS a point to it.:) With any luck, maybe it will zero in on your problem or maybe it won't help you but just maybe it will help someone else who's going through this. Exactly what you describe is what was happening to me three years ago. At first I too thought chiggers. Then fleas, then mosquitoes then allergies from something I got in to. Never on my face. The first couple weeks it was only on my torso and a few on my legs, usually the outside thigh area. Going into the second month I would wake up with the little 'bites' on the outside of my arms then on my outer calf area. More and more, month after month. Doctor was baffled. Sent me to a dermatologist who sent me to some uppity-up specialist who asked me how often I bathed as in his words, it looked like it was a case of bad hygiene! Back to square one. Every day from the moment I put my feet on the floor until I crawled in bed, I checked, double-checked and then added to my spiral notebook list of things I came in contact with that day. Another doctor who didn't want me in his office because he feared I was contagious, prescribed a lotion for scabies over the phone.I used it as directed, no results but I did learn it causes cancer. Neat. A whole year and bottles and bottles of liquid Benadryl and OTC itch creams later, I was again sanitizing the family room. The fold-out couch was rather heavy so I asked my son to give me a hand moving it. As my son got behind the couch he asked "Mom, what's this????" Heck, looked like someone had sprinkled a whole container of tan baby powder on the back of the couch...the part you lean against. Long story a bit shorter...... The couch was in front of the very large window. Outside that window, with it's fronds just reaching the window screen the year before....was our Australian Fern Tree. A bit of Columbo'ing and here's what we figured out..... The fern would create this really tiny, very fine powdery stuff on the underside of it's fronds....it's spores. The air would blow those fine particles against and into the screen and onto the couch. I took my daily nap on that couch! My face was at the far end of the window, and my head was elevated and resting on a hand towel. Even though I would vac the couch, those teensy spores from the Australian Fern Tree would just filter back in through the screen as fast as I vac'd. I never saw that little powdery spore stuff...they are a golden color as Was the print on our couch (notice I say "Was" ?) I'd take a nap and those spores would stick to my skin. I'd crawl in bed taking the spores into bed with me where they had even more time to embed into my pores. I took a shower every morning but lie on the couch again and if I didn't nap on the couch, I'd crawl into bed at night where the spores, that I took to bed with me the previous night, were waiting for me. Hubby never once was bothered by the spores in bed. DX= terribly allergic to spores from ferns. And of course, ferns of any kind are my very favorite plant life in my back yard. Moral : A year and a couple thousand dollars later, and arms, torso and legs full of scars today, going nuts changing detergents, clothing manufacturers, sanitizing my home, not touching anything I was not familiar with....... And it all came down to fern spores that came in through my window screen (Southern Calif----that window remains open all year). Whatever you have, I really feel for you! I know getting a good night's sleep isn't easy when you are itching and worrying about what is causing those little red 'bites' you're losing even more sleep......it's sooooo frustrating! Maybe start thinking outside the box. Wish I would have...would have saved me a lot of time, money and stress! I hope whatever it is that is eating you, you find out soon. Please keep us updated!

My mother is one of those people who loves to give gifts, but unfortunately, has no sense of what the other person likes. She orders junk out cheap catalogs, re-gifts (for instance, a make-up case where an eyeshadow or two was used), or wraps up prizes she won at bridge tournaments (keychains or BBQ tools marked "Delta Dealin' Regionals"). She is well-to-do, (maybe because she doesn't spend much on presents? ha) so she's not giving inexpensive items out of necessity. She just doesn't get it. Christmas is tricky--but my family chuckles. (My husband got a Humane Society calendar this year, the one they send for free if you've donated. He also received a plastic Thomas Kincaid corkboard/keyholder thing in a busted box that he immediately took to a "Dirty Santa" party.) But then I am left with boxes saying "As Seen on TV!," useless kitchen gadgets, hideous plastic decorative items and heavy sense of guilt for wanting to get rid of it all. "Gosh, it may not be much, but she chose it with love and wrapped it with me in mind. I can't just put it in a yard sale." I was wringing my hands over my quandary, as my closets slowly filled with unwanted items ("but my MOTHER gave me this!"), when a wise friend had a talk with me. She reminded me that when a gift is given to me, it is now mine to do whatever I like with it. It is not Mom's, with strings attached or say-so about what should be done with it. It is MINE. I own it and I have the authority to decide where it goes. And it is perfectly okay if I think it should be donated to Goodwill and be enjoyed by someone else who might love it and think they found a treasure, instead of sitting unopened and disliked in my closet. So I no longer feel bad about "recycling" her unwanted presents. The only time I've ever spoken to her about the issue was when I had to gently ask her not to give me clothes anymore, since her taste was so different than mine. Now I thank her And sometimes she does hit the mark and I am delighted by her gift. You cannot control someone else's desire to spend money on your presents. They enjoy shopping for you and they like thinking they found the ideal gift, even if it's expensive. Of course, if you don't like it, it makes you feel bad that they invested in it, but every so often you might get something you want and then the cost doesn't bother you, right? I think you're being very gracious about trying to decorate with this item to spare your mother's feelings. But it's not up to her what you do with it, because she transferred ownership when she gave it to you.

hi erika, we don't have a formal dining room. we had one, but needed it to redirect the traffic in our house. The dining room was essentially a pass through from the entry way... very awkward. in this renovation we completed we did away with it and have a nice table in our living space (which is sort of a combo family, dining, kitchen space). our architect came up with a plan that will allow us to turn our laundry room into a dining room down the road if we feel we need one (this would mean putting the laundry upstairs which would mean adding on a bedroom upstairs (on top of a flat roof)... all of this would be a significant investment so we don't plan to do it unless it really irks us to not have a dining room. I personally don't feel the need. that CP photo you posted was one of my inspiration photos for my kitchen. I love that kitchen .the designer i used said that it is in Portsmouth, NH... I asked lots of questions about that particular kitchen and studied it as if I were preparing to take a final exam! on another note, I wanted you to know about a Boston area GW get together coming up in early September. at this point, I think the 6th. It will be in burlington, MA so maybe something not too far from you and hopefully you can make it. keep your eyes peeled for a post on it.