I just love this thread!! I set down and read the whole thing which is unusal for me lately. I'm still on a mission to get all 800 pots repotted before Christmas. I've done nearly 400 now. Those 400 have netted me over 700 new pots. So, no, I haven't spent that much on seeds but I have stock in Miracle Grow garden soil and fertilize!!!! Lots of stock!!! I love Nats "so next year I'll just enjoy what I have. Maybe" Yeah right!!! I've said that one before. Then I start looking at the Hybridizers sites and I'm lost in that wonderful world of wishing I had all the new ones. Since I can't afford the new ones, I hop on over to the Lily Auction and promptly spend way too much on some that I just think will fulfill my itch to have something that even looks like all the $200 to $300 new intros. And then came my adventure of finding out about Maryott's wonderful end of season sales and WHOA!!!! I may have to take out a loan to get all the ones I WANT!!!! Yes, I WANT and WANT and WANT. How much would I spend on seeds? I thought $1 apiece was huge 5 years ago. Now, the opening bid is usually more than that. So, I've thought about $5 a seed but so far have resisted. I may not make it through the year, though. I've seen alot of beauties on the Auction. If I didn't have to worry about money, I'd be a force to be reconned with on bidding for my WANTS. I wish God's blessing on all from Texas. May you get a slow and long rain to replenish your parched land. Blessing to all, Mona

When I make new gardens I do not plow or turn the soil. I lay down about six layers of newspaper right on top of the grass where I want the new bed. On top of the newspaper, if I have grass clippings, leaves, straw, etc. then I put those on. I top it off with a 4" to 6" layer of mulch. So, when I made a garden last spring for my "prize heirloom tomatoes" I used this method. At the same time we were making the tomato bed we were in the process of uncovering the pool. A light bulb immediately lit up in my brain! The leaves from the previous fall were on the pool cover and had already started to break down. Absolutely PERFECT for my new tomato garden so we piled them on! About a week later, I went out to check on my tomato plants and there were at least FIFTY maple trees coming up in my newly planted garden. Then another little light bulb lit up.......along with those maple leaves were hundreds of maple seeds......DUH!!!! I pulled maple tree seedlings out of the tomatoes all summer and they are STILL popping up this year. No wonder the deer did not bother my tomatoes. They undoubtedly thought the stupid woman who planted all those trees certainly did not have tomatoes worth eating!! :-)

Have you ever tried Cece Caldwell paints? I've heard it's as good as AS, but not as pricey. If you've used it, what do you find to be the biggest difference? I've never used a latex paint on furniture, I find it doesn't have the 'sticking power.' I use an acrylic since it seems to give better coverage and never peels off. I paint all my furniture as well as frames and other wood items, and the last thing I want is a customer coming back to complaint about the paint peeling off. Here is a link that might be useful: Chalk paint

re: a futon I think they can be iffy in terms of quality, or design. I've run into ones that aren't comfortable as a sofa (too low; too deep of a seat; something), and ones that are too hard for sleeping on. However, my dad has one that opens to a double bed, and it's actually OK for sleeping, and it's OK for sitting. So I would say don't get one unless you're going to be able to look around and find one that's well designed and comfortable, and spring for it. I know my mom looked long and hard for this one. It has drawers underneath, which is nice for storing the pillows, etc., when it's in bed form (which nowadays is never; we just leave it made up anymore, bcs the socializing is done in the living room, and the futon is in the den). But if he expects to have people sleep over, a futon is useful.