-Sararock, Lol! I'm always calling myself a slacker when it comes to weeding and doing things I don't like in the garden! But moving plants is kind of fun so I don't mind doing that ;-) Technically, fall and spring are the best times to move things around. The cooler and usually wetter conditions make it easier for the plant to recover and re-establish itself than if it were moved in the full heat of summer. But I've never been one to follow rules ;-) It was last summer that I became fully annoyed with how the garden was looking, so decided to get things moved around right then and there! Of course, it was hot out and after I moved everything they started to wilt terribly and look as if they were on the brink of croaking. I was left scrambling to keep everything hydrated and even got out a big beach umbrella to shade a few plants, lol. But it felt good to get it all accomplished and everything came back nicely this spring. CMK

Ohh, same boat as you, only last year. What a tough time being a parent, no? Finally resigned myself (with a little support from DH), that if I/we didn't hear from DD, it was a probably a good thing. DD was busy, had work to do, making new friends, adjusting to living with 2 roommates (DD is an only child), and everything else that comes with going away to college. Also, the college DD attends, requires all incoming freshmen to do a First Year Seminar which pairs the freshman with mentors in groups. The upperclassmen (mentors) do things like meet informally on a weekly basis to answer questions about adjustment to college life, have bi-weekly dinners with the peer group, make a point of checking in on a student who seems may be having trouble, etc. Also, a mandatory first semester class was FYS, which was all about adjusting to college life. That class is held by the professor assigned for each major. DD went in undeclared and stayed with her FYS advisor through her entire freshman year. DD's professor/advisor had his entire group of freshman and peer mentors come to dinner at his home ~ a farm he shares with his wife. Nice BBQ, bonfire, music, get to know you, casual social thing. So nice of him to do so. DD declared a major at the end of her Spring semester. Now has a different advisor. DH & I were very glad the school mandated this FYS, as we feel it was sooo important that there was some support provided to every freshman as they moved to a new chapter in life. A safety net, if you will Had we heard from DD everyday, it would have been an indicator that she wasn't acclimating, or at least not trying to do so, if DD was still so "wired" to me/us. Would say I got a few texts, not many. Calls, less than texts. First time home was only 2 weeks into the Fall semester. DD had a "mini-meltdown/pity party" about the dorm room, how hard her classes were, how much work, yada yada. Well, as I wasn't the most sympathetic audience, I had a sit down with DD and let her vent, but then I asked DD if she would like to trade places with me, or with any of her high school classmates who weren't fortunate enough to have gone away to college. I think the light bulb went off for DD. After our discussion, it seemed as tho she had gotten it, and truly appreciated having the opportunity to be away at school. By the end of the Fall semester, DD couldn't wait to go back from Christmas Break. Thankfully, it all fell into place and worked out well. If you feel your DS is not isolated, and otherwise seems to be doing well, then I would just try to wait for him to communicate. I tried to sit on my hands, so as to let DD get into her groove at school, only texted if necessary, and responded to the texts DD initiated. I knew she was adjusting okay after the first few months, and I am confident in my relationship with DD being very strong at its core. I figured if she needed me, she would call or text. I also did some baking, sent her favorite cookies along with a mid-semester care package. While recently on vacation visiting family (DD is now a sophmore), I asked about a another family member whose DD is the same age as my DD, and who is now attending her sophmore year at college away from home. I was curious how much communication went on between that student and her mom/dad/family? Well, the person to whom I was talking had taken said student to her college orientation, as her parents were both working that day. The speaker at orientation told the parents (mine wasn't the parent), that if you aren't hearing from your child, send them a text or email, or even leave a VM on their cell, that you are sending them $$, or do they need anything? See how fast they respond. LOL. So, we just tried a little experiment after this vacation conversation to see if the advice was good advice. Heard back immediately from DD. We laughed so hard about how true that orientation speaker was. So, there is something to that particular strategy. Fall break isn't too far off. My DD attends a private college, so they have a fall break next weekend, but most big universities don't have the mini break, first time home will be Thanksgiving. Just wait till you see the difference in your DS. It was amazing watching from afar, my DD change into an independent young woman. HTH.

Jane, why would people throw up over using coasters? I have several nice sets (mostly from ebay), including some stone ones with fossils in them, hand-carved wood, tooled leather, miniature Oriental rugs. It gets so humid here in the summer that a beverage glass will sweat a big puddle all over a table, and the hot mugs we slurp from all winter long make nasty marks on wood, and the rough bottoms of handthrown pottery can scratch something fierce. DH pretty much wrecked the top of his ~150yo Victorian nightstand leaving a cup of hot coffee on the unprotected surface, I could have killed him because now I'm going to have to fix it. (I had glass tops cut for them when I first bought them, but I hate the "clank" sound of something like a glass or mug being put down on a glass surface, and that glass is a dust magnet.) Most of our tables are antique in the sense of "old stuff" rather than "valuable" but it doesn't mean I still think it's okay to trash them. I'm not one of those people who scurries around sticking coasters under people's drinks when we have people over though, that's just rude IMO.

In November my only, all rose bed, 8'x18', gets the entire year's, from November the previous year, composted dropping output of 9 pet pigmy pouter pigeons I keep in a small loft. There is clay kitty litter mixed in with the pigeon droppings because I keep a 2' layer of kitty litter on the loft's floor that gets raked out every day. The kitty litter particles attach to the droppings, so I estimate the pigeon manure is about 10% kitty litter. My clay kitty litter breaks down into fine, powdery particles when it gets moist, so it is well incorporated into the manure. I estimate 10-12 lbs. of kitty litter is in my 140 lbs, of pigeon droppings. It does change the pH slightly but still maintains an acidic, 6.5-6.7 pH, manure. I estimate I get about 16 gallons of manure, about 130-140 lbs. This is spread evenly throughout the bed and worked into the mulch down to only the top inch of soil. This feeds the roses until after the first flush. Then I do liquid feedings from the end of June, and stop in September. The feeds are every two weeks with a 12-30-25, that I mix myself from minerals I get. The dilution rate is 1 tbl. per gallon. A mature hybrid tea gets one gallon; a climber, 2 gallons; and a mini, one quart. I watch for vegetative centers, and adjust my feeding amounts accordingly. If I see vegetative centers I cut back up to one half volume per two week feeding. A mature hybrid tea will then get 1/2 gallon or so. My Quietnesses are my barometers for vegetative centers. Their fertilizer needs seem to be very fine tuned, and will show vegetative centers fast like a bunny if they are getting too rich a diet. I am mindful of my pH. My native soil is clay based, and acidic, perfect for roses as is, but my pigeon manure/kitty litter can raise pH some. Ironite to the rescue in that case. That's all I do fertilizer wise. My roses grow nicely, I think. Moses