I'm also an Eagle Scout, a scuba diver, an amateur guitarist, into hiking and exploration, a collector of knives and multi-tools, an unashamed geek and techie, an artist (I'm studying to one day write professionally), and dating a (female) biologist who works with raptors all day, and that's just to name a few of my odd interests! He has no idea what he thinks of me, and that makes him uncomfortable. :P I'm not bothered by it. As long as he respects me and doesn't bother my things, he's welcome to think whatever he likes about me. BTW, the local florist in my hometown is gay (and makes no attempt to hide it) and everybody loves him because he's such a great guy. You might not expect that to happen in a (VERY) small southern town, but it just goes to show you that there are good people and bad people everywhere. You just have to hope that you meet more of the former than the latter. :)

Rust does not make citrus sweeter . Sure wish it did ! Florida produces and sells more grapefruit than any other state . The Marsh Grapefruit - white and with seeds is the sweetest . Many swear that pink is the sweetest but it's just an old marketing tool to sell more pinks . Testing proves that the whites are actually sweeter . Here's a good reason to support your local growers and encourage everyone to buy Florida citrus : " Citrus groves provide land area for rainwater to seep into the ground to replenish the aquifer. Modern grove designs protect natural wetlands and create large on-site water retention areas to capture excess storm-water runoff. These areas provide excellent wildlife habitat and help to preserve Florida's green spaces. Florida's citrus groves also help to keep Florida's air clean. Through the process of photosynthesis, all plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen back to the air. Every acre of mature citrus trees takes in about 23 tons of carbon dioxide and releases nearly 17 tons of oxygen. Multiply those figures by the 621,000 acres of citrus in the state and you can see that Florida's citrus groves have a tremendous impact on the air quality in Florida. It is more difficult to place a dollar value on things such as wildlife habitat, attenuation of storm-water runoff, protection of domestic water supplies, clean air, and a safe, reliable domestic food supply. Florida citrus, as a major component of Florida's agriculture industry, provides all of these benefits to Florida's citizens." Here is a link that might be useful: Value of the Florida Citrus Industry

graywings has good information for cleaning up the mess. Spot Shot (aerosol) is a powerful solvent. I've removed crayon from the leather seats, plastic/ vinyl, and carpet of a used car we bought. For an ivory wool rug, I would carefully test an inconspicuous area for colorfastness first. For the crayon, marker, and paint on fabric bedding, possibilities are - hydrogen peroxide or Oxi Clean recommended dilution (FULLY dissolved) -- but this seems to work best on organic colored stains, and marker is certainly not organic - citrus solvent like Goo Gone - Spot Shot (might be easiest to just try this first) - Oops -- this powerful solvent mixture of naphtha, toluene, xylene, and ethyl alcohol will remove crayon and marker. I just mention the others because as a principle it's best to try gentler, less toxic cleaners first. ALWAYS test an inconspicuous spot first. Clorox bleach is another possibility. I had always assumed it couldn't be used on colors or prints, but many are colorfast. Always dilute Clorox as recommended, and always test first. Sometimes bleaching will fade the print a little bit, but sometimes uniform fading is preferable to stains or dirt that can't be removed any other way. If this were my bedding, I would carefully test each thing I listed, just because I'm a bit cleaning-obsessed and it would be interesting to learn what works. You might find one product works gentlest, while another works faster but fades the print a bit...and you could choose what's most important to you. I personally would not put anything precious, hard to clean, or unprotected in a guest room. An ivory wool rug, no way. Guests who are conscious of how nice, expensive, and hard to clean it is, won't be able to relax. Guests who aren't conscious of it may wreck it. Lose-lose. For my guest room, I plan to put a Smartstrand bound remnant or maybe Flor carpet tile (the high-traffic, washable fibers, with some extra tiles for replacement). For sheets, I have nice (400 tc pima cotton), but not precious, white sheets that I will bleach if necessary. This is where you want Costco, not Neiman Marcus. The first time my sheet set was used, they got stains from castor oil that they are using to treat a scar on my niece's face that's healing from stitches. They bandage it, but some oil obviously leaked onto the sheets. Stuff like this is unavoidable, so you just need to be able to clean it aggressively. The bed also needs a waterproof protector because young kids and senior adults can have accidents. Etc. When my nieces and nephews visit, I tell them the rules of the house. It's my house so I can have whatever rules I want. And I supervise them. They can't use any writing implements without supervision. Then, it's at the kitchen table with butcher paper down. I don't have or give them any toys that could make a mess, destroy anything, or annoy me (noise). They can't run in the house, or stand, climb, or jump on furniture. (I had to enforce that last one with my 5 yo nephew repeatedly.) My sister probably doesn't have the same rules or enforce them in her own home, and maybe thinks I am uptight, but she does support my rules. Lest I be only the taskmaster aunt, I play with the kids as much as I can. I have found that spending time playing with them is probably the most memorable and appreciated fun you can give them. Close runner up is to make my world's best pancakes, chocolate cake, and other treats for them. When they heard I was coming to visit them, the 4 yo exclaimed, "Yay, Aunt S___ will make us pancakes!"

Here are some pics of mine. Reddest one I have that was mislabeled as Temple Fire. California Gold. I find this one to be the most cold sensitive of any I have Barbara Karst..the toughest of all I have. I accidentally left this one out in a pot during the winter. It froze all the way at 19 F. Just dead sticks left. Resprouted from the roots late spring. I have seen this planted on the freeway dividers in Phx AZ with basically no water and super hot pavement temps. blooming its fool head off. Alabama Sunset..This goes through amazing color changes. It starts out hot pink then goes to corals then oranges then fades to a light pink. Love it. Royal Purple..makes a good standard. I have one trained as a standard which I keep the branches shorter. One summer I let it go wild and it grew 20ft but still had a tree trunk lol. One could probably espalier it into any shape you wanted. 2 new variegated babies I got this spring. Rainbow Gold- similar to Alabama Sunset but lighter coloring. I have several more varieties but will have to either take pics when they bloom or look for the ones on my old computer lol.