For an easy overview of the unfamiliar garden plants you're seeing, you might go to the local public library and look for books about garden plants for your region. And if you're looking for a particular book your library doesn't own, their Interlibrary Loan service can obtain it for you (sometimes charging a small fee). === "Plants for a Livable Delaware" talks about invasive plants which should be avoided, and those which might be substituted for particular invasives. http://www.dnlaonline.org/information/plants_for_delaware.php === The University of Delaware Botanic Garden has -- besides the garden itself -- plant info, events, plant sales, etc.: http://ag.udel.edu/udbg/ === NCSU has wonderful lists of garden plants in various categories (bulbs to trees, and everything in between). I've seen this information in the same format for other states, so I assume there's a USDA database which the states adapted for their particular climates. Unfortunately I could not locate such a database for Delaware (though that doesn't mean there isn't one). Anyway, NC's zones include DE's zones, so the NC database would be useful for you: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/index.html First, click on the category you're interested in. Then choose whichever arrangement of data presentation is most useful. Don't ignore the "By Scientific Name" and "By Common Name" at the top of each category.

I was just wondering what model you guys had decided to buy 7 years ago. I had a used echo handheld blower for 20 years until it was stolen from me. I was forced to buy a replacement and chose a refurbished Husqvarna 125 BX that lasted maybe two years until it vibrated itself apart, and I currently have the Stihl SH86 that an employee ran straight gas through and destroyed the rings and piston wall. I'm truly leaning toward going back with a good echo blower, but was curious what others who had evaluated the same model decided to do.

Been a while, but i thought i'd update the Chilemilios 2001 approach. Basically, i'm 2 months behind the season, but all the chiles seem happy. The 2nd sprouting attempts with 1/2 peat pods, and half potting soil was half succesful. i think the problem with the first sprouting attempt was that it was too moist along with pests. The peat pods on #2, not making contact with the water, had the most successful sprouts. The chile chamber itself has worked well, but i'm thinking it could use another hanging bulb, so that they don't have to be crowded around the middle of the chamber. started with 12, down to 4 due to space required. The rest of the chiles were split with the strongest 7 in the box window in the kitchen. Last year, the chiles in that window were not so strong, always drying out during the day with temps in the upper 90s. This year, i put two of those half sheets of paper towels cut half way up, around the base of the plants. Chiles are loving it, no drying out, they keep growing. I think the paper towels keep the moisture in and reflect the uv, keeping the soil cooler.. Anyways, here's the main pics showing the progress. I'll be uppotting to 4gal pots everywhere and keeping them trimmed in the next couple weeks. Peat Pods above water most effective. (left) Up-pot #1 into Solo Cups Up-Pot#2 - 12 pots (Spicy Thai, trinidad scorpion, nepalese Hot, J3, purple pequin, marouga long, trinidad 7-pot, yellow bhut, bhut Jolokia) Up-pot #2 - 4 pots (Yellow Bhut, Bhut Jolokia, Marouga, Trinidad 7-pot [with the curly leave syndrome]) Up-pot #2 - Kitchen Window w/ papertowels (top: Spicy Thai, Yellow Bhut, Trinidad Scorpion, Brazilian Starfish) (bottom: Purple Pequin, Trinidad 7-pot, purple pequin)

In order to use different fonts, you have to buy the font module. The main program has only one font in courier and italics so I see your point of wanting to use different fonts. The other go-around is purchasing Embird and the font plug in...pricewise, less expensive to purchase the Singer font engine. If you read the online instruction manuals and print them out as a study guide and reference, you shouldn't have any problems. Loading a design into the Singer program is just the same as opening a word or excel document and edit, edit edit. To resume where you last stopped, you send the design to sew out and skip to the point where you last stopped and then keep hitting the advance button to the point you want, and then do a sew out...also wise to slow the machine down, fastest is not always bestest. There is a zipper foot that comes with the machine if you had read your manual several times (the section on using the zipper foot??)...it's one of the new ones that I hate so I used the low bar old-fashioned one I have from the Greist set I have. You can use just about any low-bar foot on that machine...I interchange those with my Kenmore 19365 all the time without a problem. I use the Greist low bar set with both machines. I just got a Kenmore ruffler but haven't tried it on the Singer yet. Like you, I dislike the limited area to do any maintenance (bought a pair of long nose pliers to change needles and other things) and the constant beeps when you change stitch width or length without a stitch width or length indictor as pre-sets aren't always correct for the fabric you are using. Did someone say test samplesRus? I'm thinking of naming my machine Roadrunner. You will have to get a new bobbin case soon or will damage your machine. I was lucky and haven't had a problem with the bobbin case yet...I had problems with the embroidery arm that Allbrands promptly replaced with reimbursed shipping charges. Singer wanted me to send the whole machine back, dumb since the machine and bobbin case worked well, only the embroidery arm malfunctioned and wasn't about to risk the chance of getting another machine with a bad bobbin case). It is recommended to use bobbin thread when doing machine embroidery because of the density underneath. Like you, I used regular thread on top and bottom when I first got my Brother PE-150 and quickly learned to use bobbin thread. If you bought one of the newer machines, you will notice that in order to wind the bobbin correctly, you have to wind the thread around the bobbin post twice and then thread the bobbin to wind it (I didn't do that the first time, had real problems, went looking, and immediately found the problem). The other interesting tidbit I discovered when doing machine embroidery is to do a zigzag test sew on the sewing side with bobbin and embroidery thread on the fabric to be embroidered. You have good zigzag, you have good machine embroidery tension with no tension headaches and time saved in the long run. Right now I have a upper thread shreading problem and I think it's the thread (Madeira) because on the sewing side there is no thread shreading with regular sewing thread. Right now I'm mad at the futura for messing up on buttonholes. I have a romance going with the Kenmore for that. The futura is in it's tote cooling it's heels.