good lord the general plant trade forum is getting soooo frustrating!! i've made a few posts in which i'm very specific about what i want, but do people read them or check my pages? absolutely not!! it's the same gripe i've had for a while, but it's driving me crazy again!! there really isn't anywhere else for me to go for plant trading and i HATE ordering out of catalogues, it's always such a dissappointment. ok...i was going to continue with my rant, but i appear to have run out of steam!! paul do you have any named epi cuttings you want to trade? well since no ones actually said anything about a june swap and i can't find anything, i'll take point on this one too. july will be the food swap. sign up needs to be by 10 pm est, sunday, june 11. it'll be called the make your partner smile box. there are no rules, except that it must contain at least five plants. one of these must be a plant that you love, but they don't have listed as either a have or a want. tell them why you love it. the deadline for mailing will be june 28. i was just saying daylilly, hosta, iris, sedum, heuchera trade since we all seem to collect those. partners will be posted sunday night, after 10 pm. thanks yall cody

Actually, I would say that most humans try to do whatever they think is best for themselves and immediate family, without seeming to impinge too outrageously upon others. Just short of official censure, IOW. Obviously a significant minority are utterly selfish and do not stop even at directly harming others and/or their prospects. I agree that every bit of extractable fossil fuel will be extracted and used, presuming our capacity to do so persists long enough. I don't think it will, for a large number of factors: climate change, environmental degradation, costly conflicts over land and resources to name a few. These will likely reduce human civilizations to subsisting on annual sun-fall before we get to all coal and shale deposits. The richest societies will likely manage a partial shift to renewables via best technology but that savings will be engulfed and then some by the ravening horde. It's gonna be a wild ride.

Sounds like she wasn't prepared at all. I hope that she learns from it instead of deciding to opt out of holding huge gatherings. My comments below probably will sound really ignorant, but, believe me, I don't mean to be... it's just that I'm very bold and say things straight out. After months of offering help when I had the time they called me three days before in a panic. I was out of town on vacation due to arrive home the day of their party. So what did you do to help? At one point during the party I looked up to see the host who was still in jeans and a ratty t-shirt (it was a cocktail attire party) peppering dishes of food and adding olive oil. Clearly she wanted the food to taste good. But, at some point it's time to mingle and enjoy your guests. It doesn't make for a fun party when guests watch the host running around. She ran out of time getting so much ready herself she never got to change. It was sad because they have her in jeans and her husband in shorts in family photos where everyone is in shirts, ties, and dresses. Being a friend who was asked for help 2 days prior, why didnt you say something like "Here, let me take care of this while you go up and change. It might help to make you feel more relaxed." If she protests, I would say something like "Hey! What are friends for? This is my way of helping you out." But, to make it clear as a guest I as well as my husband were the perfect guests. We mingled. We raved over the food. We never once gave a clue that we were dying inside for our friends wishing that we could do something. But, after an initial "Is there anything we can do to help" (after doing what I could for two days from vacation and arriving home to help that day) we were told to go and enjoy ourselves. We were guests we were told. So we did so. You were the perfect guests. If you're a friend and were "dying inside for our friends wishing that we could do something", why didnÂt you anyways, especially since she called you two days prior. I should add I do this for a business. So I guess when I am sitting back and see what went wrong it is hard for me. Especially when they didn't want help then call me two days before begging for it. If they were a client I would have fired them along the way! :) Again! "call me two days before begging for it"Â what did you do? How did you help? Obviously, from what youÂve stated that was all wrong with the party, you must not have helped much. You do this for a business and youÂre a friend? Again, I apologize if I've offended you. It is not my intent. It's just that you have failed to mention your part in this, if any... seeing that she had asked for your help. Your post was very informative. A person also needs to learn what "type" of help to ask for. Whether it be a caterer, bartender, decorator, etc.

We have made several long trips with our son - at six months, 10 months, one year, 18 months and 22 months. (If I remember all the trips right...) All kids are probably so different on what gets and holds their attention, but for our son books were the ticket. I would look for books with lots of flaps to lift or the musical books - anything different and 'busy.' I would buy about 5 or so books and give him a new one whenever he seemed bored. One time we went through four books in an hour - I was worried about that trip - but the 4th book held his attention the rest of the trip there and back! Your son is at an odd age for toys, I think. Or at least, I have found that to be an odd age for our son. He is too old for 'baby' toys but too young for other ones. If he likes trucks - our son has a Fisher Price set of four stacking trucks - each one has a different noise or function. They cup inside each other so they wouldn't take up much room in your vehicle. If you live in an area with a teacher supply store, you might want to check out toys there. I have gotten my son some great educational toys that are so different than you find at the department stores. I always have people ask where I found one item or another. They would probably have some primary puzzles that he could do with some help. Also - we try to schedule our stops either at Cracker Barrel or a shopping center with a Barnes and Noble bookstore in it. I am not a big fan of CB's food, but it is a great kid-friendly place and you can sit and rock while your son stretches his legs. Our son is a big Thomas the Train fan and most B&N have train tables set up in their kid's book section - another great place for them to get our and walk around for awhile. Best wishes. ~ Suzie