Thanks wander.... I can only say i winged it. I had to take it apart and resew it back together, but I definately need something else other than a hoop if I'm going to do this...LOL. It has a bump around the middle where I sewed it back together. Oh well, lesson learned, I wonder where I can get that dohigging for sewing socks?? :) And if it will even fit somewhere on my Brother? :) Oh well, I guess if he doesn't like it he can throw it away, or hang it on his rearview mirror. ;) rita

Well, I know who it is but what to do about it?? As I said nothing since last Sat. morning when I started my experiment. Yesterday I let the remaining two up and as I was typing the last post with Annie, fat daughter, sitting on the windowsill, I went to the kitchen after and saw a pile at the cupboard. So I took Maddie out to the carriage house and everything is fine now. No messes anywhere , everything in the litter box and that includes out in the carriage house. She has one box along with food and water and there were two piles of poop and three things of pee all in the litter box.... Nothing on the floor or anywhere else. So now what? She will be 15. My two oldest, the boy is 18, are the only cats I didn't rescue. Louie came from a friend whose kitten became pregnant before she was neutered and he is the only one of the four kittens remaining. My daughter had his brother who died awhile ago. I got Maddie from an ad..don't even ask why. She came from a house and was one of 6 of the cutest tiger kittens I have ever seen. For some reason her mother who was a total house cat was not neutered and ran out when the door was a jar and got nailed by the cat next foor..Maddie has anxiety issues and I would like to know why. She attacks her wet food altho I stand there and don't let anyone take hers and there is always dry food available as well as water and treats. She lays with the other cats and I see them head butt her so I can't think of an enemy. They basically ignore her so I don't know why she's suddenly having issues. It's very clear she cannot go somewhere else at her age. I even feel bad about her exile out there but I isolated the problem,. Do you think kitty Xanax would work? I hate to pill a good cat..she'd be hell to try.

Sorry about not replying sooner! I had some trouble yesterday with certain children letting me on the computer long enough to answer emails and peek at the KT but that's it. Inconsiderate babies who don't nap properly! LOL ;) Anyway, thanks for all of the congratulations and good wishes. It is so exciting to know that we only have one more week here! Yippee! Now for the advice...motor home rental-too pricey...tenting it-this is early spring in Saskatchewan. We would freeze. There is no land because every lot is sold. Every lot. In the whole town. The "weekend" homes are an hour away and more expensive than a house in town would be. There is nothing to rent right at this moment and when stuff comes up it's snatched up in no time. I think there are people who troll the streets waiting for a rental to come up, LOL. I want Annie to go to the school in town so we have to live there. Also, Claire's preschool is there. All three Realtors know us personally and have all of our numbers and strict instructions to call if anything becomes available. And I so appreciate them for doing that. Gosh Patti, I wish you were close too! I would love for someone to play with the kids while I just laid on the couch and read a book for an hour. That would be SWEET! LOL Having time to house-hunt isn't a problem, it's the lack of options out there. :( I'm so sorry for your crummy experience Donna! We found out today that renting at the hotel is out of the question because it would be $2200/month at one and $1700/month at the other. *sigh* I don't even know if the campground is running at this time of year. We don't own a trailer and our car is too small to sleep in. :D I'm trying to see this as an adventure, and I was starting to think that staying at a hotel would be fun because I wouldn't have to clean, but darn. :) There is no one who can take our cats as our friends are either saddled with cats of their own or they are highly allergic. The hotels in town are not part of a chain, they are privately owned and thus why they can charge a goofy rate. Anyway, I appreciate every single person who responded to my thread. You are all wonderful and you are truly welcome at our house (once we have one) if any of you find yourselves in Saskatchewan. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! Danielle

I wonder what is rough sand? Unless it is grainy enough that grains do not fall thru the kitchen sieve, do not use it. Most of us avoid any sand, grit is much better. Grit that is easy to find is chicken grit - small granite that is fed to chickens. It is quite inexpensive. What you see on top of soil in the photos is topdressing of chicken grit but bigger size - for mix, the smaller is used. It is sold as #2 here in Canada, and I believe similar in US? - someone should confirm that. You need to remove old soil from the root ball. It could be difficult if it is so hard. Try using some chopsticks or bamboo skewers. Get a bowl of tepid water and let root ball soak in it for a while and hopefully the soil will loosen up. I am sure you'll loose some roots, but getting the 'brick' of the roots is important. Next time you get new plants, try to repot ASAP after bringing them home to avoid same situation.