I've forgotten the name of one I left out the last 3 winters after taking it into a root cellar for 12 years. never got a fruit from it. It died this winter also- it may have been Jiro. It was a good sized tree so I expect some suckers I can graft onto. I had a Sheng from Nick England that gave me fruit the second year, but I think I over taxed it and it died the winter before last even though I sheltered it. I have another he raves about that I will protect as long as it eventually gives me fruit but after one season it is still tiny.

You know, mine doesn't look like all that much. People would never, ever guess the variety I have out there, though, well over 70 different kinds of plants! Everything I did was on a much smaller scale than the average winter sower would do. I have a couple of lasagna pans with 13 different kinds of flowers in each, and then some kitty litter pans with 12 types in each. I guess normally that would be about 50 jugs? I also have quite a few water bottles and a dozen or so jugs. The gallon size jugs have at least four varieties in each. Most of it fits in my 3x5 cold frame.

[ooooh, can I enable Red once again?] Red, you know I had to be a bit skeptical about all this! [Mr Vix remains skeptical blah blah blah nothing wrong with old one. Has he showered at home vs gym since I installed? No!] Neatitems does have a return/exchange policy that seemed fair, so that helped me get off ye olde caboose and just choose. Let me tell you, the Danze soaks my also-thick, nearly shoulder-length hair VERY quickly -- and thus gets out the shampoo/conditioner much faster. Honestly if I weren't in there lingering my showers would be speedier. If you want rainshower, you might want to take a look at the Aussie showerhead too (I've seen it on other sites, but NI does sell). It's the same spray intensity, and it comes in 3.5" and 6" and has a lot of testimonials there. I just liked the vintage vibe of the Danze a smidge better! If you want mega-powerful, the Giessdorf 6 or 8 Jet may be your best bet. [I think you need a strong shower arm for them, though -- I got the 6 for use on half the strong dual arm and that sucker is HEAVY!] IME Christina's great re: emails so if you're wavering, I'd say contact her. Feel free to tell her a now-happy Oregonian sent ya. Let me know if you enter the Blissful Shower Zone, ha! Here is a link that might be useful: Neatitem's shower spray comparison chart

ilovepink - how was the party? I hope you had fun and that no one showed up with uninvited kids. I have only 1 child (18 yrs old now), but DH and have always attended adult events/parties when she was younger. It was never been a problem to get a sitter with some notice. That said, we also had a group of friends with kids similar in age to DD so we did host and attend to "kid friendly" parties as well. The kid friendly parties were usually spontaneous dinner parties on short notice or nights when our town celebrated fall festival or some similar occasion. Formal parties never included the little ones. I really enjoyed an adults only night out. Being a stay at home mom for many years, it was a real treat to get out for an evening with DH alone. I didn't feel guilty in the least. Each year I contacted our district high school childcare program director. Our high school childcare program provides daycare for working moms, and has an entire curriculum teaching students how to care for small children. They are certified in CPR, etc. The director would give me 3 or 4 names (prescreened by the school). I would interview them and then have them interact with DD for awhile while I was making dinner. I would keep an ear for what was going on and it was a great way to find a sitter for the year. I usually chose a senior that drove, so I paid a bit more. I would always pick a girl who actually played with my daughter. I liked the idea that in the event of an emergency in my absence, there was a licensed driver caring for my child. I will also tell you that when we would vacation with friends with the kids, we took the babysitter as well. It was money very well spent. Everyone would contribute toward the week/weekend fee, and even though we really didn't need a "sitter" every night, it was great having an extra set of hands with an early dinner and bath time for several kids. It also would free up a couple of moms who were starting to prep our late dinner as well. Being at the beach was also nicer if the adults wanted to stay a bit longer, the sitter would take the little ones back to the house and start the process of getting the kids going in the outside shower. The kids loved it, the parents loved it, win win for everyone. We even took the sitter on weekend trips to the beach. The friends who hosted at their beach house had high school age kids and the sitter always got a night out to hit the boards or whatever our hosts' kids were doing she was included. In our part of the country, people usually have 1 or 2 "regular" sitters whom they pay well and count on to entertain their kids until it is time for bed. They don't just put the kids in front of the tv and talk on the phone. My DD never really did much babysitting, but the friends of hers that did, made at least $50-75 for a Saturday nite. IMHO money well spent for parents in need of a reliable sitter. I always overpaid our sitters, but in return I never had a worry when I went out for an evening. The next morning my DD would be going on and on about how much fun she had the night before:).