Thanks true-blue! I've been refraining from watering them lately. Unfortunately much of my patio gets watered each night by the sprinkler system. I think they're over-potted for the soil mix they're in, besides the limited sun. I think if i wanted to plant them directly into pots that large, it might have been wiser to start with a soil-less mix (at least that's what I've been picking up in the container gardening forums). But who knows? I can't undo what I've done so far, so for now I'm doing exactly as you suggested: I'm only watering them when they've completely dried out, and I'm giving them as much time as they want to get going. The only thing I might try beyond this is getting some sort of wick (even just a thin length of rolled-up paper towel) in through the drainage holes to help pull out more moisture. In the mean time I'm also hedging my bets. I've started germinating a couple new seeds at a time, and getting them going under artificial light indoors. If they get a really healthy start indoors, I hope to be able to acclimate them to the outdoor conditions later down the line. Originally my goal was a moderately lush border for my patio, but even if my morning glories become healthy, I don't have huge confidence they'll grow to be that lush. I've been thinking about what I might do further down the line, and I think I might try to focus on growing them in smaller pots the way you see in Japanese flower shows, and bordering my patio with another plant. In any case, thank you kindly for your encouragement, I definitely appreciate it! For me it seems like waiting is going to be the hardest part of gardening. Cheers, Nik

My hubby and I have been working this program for a little over 6 weeks and have lost 25 and 20 pounds respectively. It takes some adjustment - I am a bread/butter/sauce person, which is precisely why I needed this program. The biggest change is in how my clothes fit and how much more energy I have. We sometimes get tired of chicken and I don't eat fish, so that is limiting. Lack of salt was a problem at first, but after a while you start really tasting food again. Carrots are SOOOO sweet! We bake chicken using a little salt-free broth, water or white wine and then cut them into portions and refrigerate. I bake medium-sized red potatoes, sweet potatoes and steam fresh veggies. I boil eggs and then we use the whites in the morning, replacing the yolk (which our dogs find a great treat!) with fresh homemade salsa. I make our meals daily (lunches and snacks for workdays) picking from what I prepare over the weekend. It IS work, but like we tell people who ask, this is not a diet... it is a new way of eating. We will work the plan for a loss of another 20 pounds and then go on maintenance. I don't think we could ever go back to eating the way we did before!

Like Martin, I regard this forum as an informal book club to which I belong. I also belong to one based in my home town. This is a very education-oriented area. Our public library is the most active for its size in all of California. My own book club has no male members, and I don't think men would enjoy it. We discuss our books, often with surprising rigor, then spend some time laughing, drinking wine, and discussing what is going on in our lives. BTW, we read some nonfiction as well as fiction, though there is a bias in the fiction direction. We also travel together. Once a year we travel to meet an author and discuss his or her book, then spend several days exploring that author's home city. I don't always go, but have a very good time when I do. I suspect there would be very natural grumblings from spouses if we had men in the group traveling with us. Having said that, my husband likes to read. Some of his friends do, others do not. He does discuss books now and then with reading friends. One person from his bicycle-riding groups once proposed that several of them read a certain book, then discuss it. They did, but there was no follow up. I think that book clubs could exist that men would enjoy, but they would be quite different in character from those most women like. Rosefolly

TVQ, Ahhh, thats wonderful, im glad you like the STPP, and your quite welcome. When it comes to additives/boosters STPP, is my #1 choice. Anyway glad you are liking it.