Hiii, Jamie!!! *waving happily* So good to see you posting! I'll bet anything your vine is skunk vine (named for the very obvious reason you described so...ummm...elegantly! Hehe!) Balsam apple gets bright orange fruit which pop open and spread big seeds around. And it has little flowers like eileen mentions. It is very easy to pull out, and very tender, too. Easily crushed. If your vine resists pulling out, has no flowers or bright orange fruits, and really, REALLY smells bad, I'm guessing skunk vine. (Balsam apple smells unpleasant, but not quite as noxious as skunk vine.) Both are very invasive and hard to get rid of. I suggest you pull and cut all you can, and then carefully apply Round Up to the rest using a paintbrush to be sure you don't spray any on your hedge. Good luck with it. There are some folks who tie sprigs of lavender and other things to float in their birdbaths to keep them clean longer, but I really believe in just rinsing and refilling daily, myself. I do it when I water the plants in the morning, and it's pretty quick. I use the jetspray setting to splash all the dirty water out, and then I refill with one of the regular, softer settings, et voila! Done in 60 seconds. Okay maybe a tiny bit longer, but not much. If I have a lot of birds, I do it twice a day, but more because they splash all the water out than because of dirty water. Don't worry about algae in the bottom of the birdbath. It doesn't cause any real problems, and frankly, I think it looks more natural than sparkling white stone, but that's an aesthetic thing. As for the real scrub it up and leave it shining cleaning, a stiff brush is usually all you need, but you don't have to worry if you want to bleach anything. Just rinse it carefully before refilling. Bleach evaporates very quickly, and doesn't leave any residue that is harmful to birds. Soap, no. Bleach, not a problem if you really need it and you rinse well. But usually a scrubbing with a brush will take care of it. (BTW, when I say I don't mind how algae looks, I just mean the darker, mossy looking type. Not that nasty, slimy string algae that you get once in a great while. THAT has to go!) Good luck with it all, and don't be such a stanger. We miss you. (And the doggies, too. My little Maks is a year old now, and so darn cute! He and Potter are real buds.) Marcia

Don't give up.I wish you could see my brother.He is65 years old and has the skin of a lady.Sometimes what works for one might take longer for another.Over the years they some times take out the main ingredients that works.Midol use to work but they have changed that too.Do you remember Wilkinson razor blades?they worked forever and they took them off the market.Finish the jar and say a prayer.I still think it will work.

Don't have excema, but do have the driest hair I've ever seen (borderline thyroid-related) Will have to try the almond oil. My older sister had the worst excema when she was a kid. Her nightie was stuck to her neck every morning and mom had to painfully soak it off. She had it on her head and arms and legs too. She seemed to grow out of it or something as an adult, although she can't use any scented products of any kind. Makeups are tricky for her too. Lucky for her, she doesn't need a lot of make-up yet even at 54 years old.

Here's an update - from my sister, the aesthetician: "First of all, make sure she is not using soap on her skin. She needs a good moisturizing cleanser for the face.Scrubbing will also make it worse. If she is on meds, that can cause a change in the skin. Not enough "good" fats in the body. Hot water. Wrong type of moisturizer for her skin type. Change in diet meaning eating something that she might not have been eating before. And as always with us female folk, hormonal changes can play a big part in changes in the skin. It might not be Lubriderm, it might be her body that is changing. I would suggest having a facial treatment with a licensed aesthetician. Ask friends, family, who they have gone to and enjoyed, the same as you would about a doctor or dentist. If she is flaking, it may be the beginning signs of psoriasis or exzema. In that case, she needs to see a physician. I would say a holistic physician since I have been told by some of my clients that the drugs given out by the regular physicians don't do well. There are many more reasons but that is a start." Her answer is much as I suspected - she's been doing this for a VERY LONG time, so I'm used to her responses. If you don't understand something, or have more questions, let me know.