Hi! Thanks for having me on your forum I'm a newbie here (first post). But I''ve been referring to this thread as I want to make a grave maker for a deceased pet. I wondered if anyone with some concreting knowledge could help me to choose the right material to use? I'm in Australia too, so some of the materials are named differently. I've tried regular concrete (the pre-mixed kind with gravel in it) I found the gravel made it lumpy and difficult to get a nice impression with the letters. BTW I'm using the Milestones plastic letters. My next try was with mortar (i'm sure it's called the same thing over there - here is Aus it's cement and sand) the result was better, but the block itself is pretty crumbly and I'd love to achieve a perfect smooth top and crisp letters. Can anyone help? I have heard on another forum that people have used 'vinyl' cement, but I've never heard of it - maybe it's called something else over here - and can't find it in my hardware store. Thanks very much :D

thanks for the votes, Irawon! I am going to have to move them around a little... Popo will certainly get mention in the final list... hard to put it in a color category... definitely blue green early in the season, so I believe we'll put it in blue... but it does usually green up pretty early. I have the same problem with Cutting Edge... Teaspoon, because it is so cute when its small, has gotten a reputation as a mini - but if you just plant it and grow it for a few years like any other hosta clump, it will actually become a medium sized clump of small leaves... Zilis puts it in small... I put it in medium... we'll have to work that out later, but it clearly is a favorite for lots of folks... Candy Dish will be in the Medium category, Lakeside Looking Glass is too. Lakeside Black Satin - it's right on the margin of being large, but I believe it is typically medium in most garden situations... so we'll keep that one there...

I'd go for the midday rather than the evening. The 7:30 end time might put you a little too close to bedtimes for some kids that age. I know that for me, that's a time when I'd want a 6- or 7-year old to be winding down, rather than being all excited from a fun party. Also, about the free babysitting aspect of it-- that would be a bonus for parents with one child, but what about the ones with more? Were you thinking of inviting siblings to the party, as well as the kids in the class?

Debbie, I do live very near (less than 2 miles) from the most violent city in the country. It's ghetto from one end to the other, there are no good sections of this city left where decent people can live. It IS very scary. The info I posted was absolutely FIRST HAND, and only the tip of the iceberg. You see, I used to teach in that city and my husband is a utility company bill collector who visits these people in their homes. If you think what I posted is scary, you'd be absolutely terrified if you ever actually saw the city. Back on topic--sadly, the people who live there are 4-5-6th generation welfare families. Most don't have or remember any relatives who worked for a living. Collecting welfare, food stamps, and other forms of assistance IS the family business. They have no education, and honestly--many don't know that it's NOT good for their children to be fed bbq potato chips and soda for breakfast. My state is spending an unbelievable amount to keep these people going, keeping them housed, fed, cool, stocked with phones, etc. I think in this discussion, we have to remember that there are 2 very distinct groups of people who get food stamps and other assistance. I don't think anyone here has a problem with offering short-term help to those who have hit a temporary bump in the road. That's what the system is for and I think we're all glad the aid is there for those folks. But it's abominable that those of us who work hard, scrimp at home, save coupons, wear old clothes, don't use air-conditioning, who limit the size of our families to numbers we can support---then have to turn around and pay huge amounts in taxes to subsidize those who are content to scam the system unnecessarily. That's the thing that those of us who are upset are complaining about.