Let me begin by saying I would never defend this company if I hadn't experienced the same thing with positive results... NOW - We could start a club!! I ordered during their spring sale - one of the first days of the 2009 sale. I had never ordered from them before. I received an email on a Friday, stating that my order had shipped. It was HOT HOT HOT then... I was so mad, I went to the UPS website and calculated shipping time if Bluestone Perennials had waited until Monday to ship. I think I did receive a tracking number, or maybe I called and was told that it did ship...My memory fades...Waiting until Monday would've had them arrive on Thursday, vs Wednesday, and plants would not have sat in a UPS warehouse or truck over the weekend. My plants arrived, on Wednesday, and some looked like lettuce does when you store it in a plastic bag and it goes bad - mushy green stuff. I called, still all mad, and a lady was super nice. She said they would replace all dead plants. I cut the mushy stuff away and planted - in the HEAT!! Stupid me. I have to say, it's been months and I am still irritated about the shipping timing, but the plants ALL look great!! Perhaps their experience shows that the quantity of plants that truly die, after crazy shipping practices, are minimal. Someday I'll get over the shipping, which I think is ridiculous but maybe necessary with the numbers of orders they receive, and I definitely will order from them again. If I order again during less then plant friendly weather, and of course I will since that's when they are on sale, maybe I will opt for expedited shipping; maybe not. Customer service is great there. Unhealthy plants would never have survived what mine order was subjected to - the shipping and then immediate planting in 90 degree heat. STOP WORRYING:)) I fretted for no reason...

DH has had talks with her but on the day to day stuff... most of it he doesn't see, but when he's right there... I don't think he is paying attention at all, kinda like with the bread. He's oblivious to when she is being rude & later when I mention it to him, he'll agree that she shouldn't do this or that but he didn't really notice. Very rarely, he'll say it's not that big a deal. DH & I had a long, drawn out conversation/almost argument last week because a few weeks ago... before Thanksgiving time, I noticed my netbook that I keep in my car for work had a damaged screen. It looked as if something smashed it & the screen had a splotch on it. It wasn't cracked, just a portion of the screen was discolored. Well, sometimes SD rides in the front seat next to where I keep it (between the seats, under the console) I couldn't imagine how else it was damaged, except SD stepped on it, sat on it or pressed really hard on it... but she would have to take it out of the console because it's not where she could accidentally touch it. I was angry but I figured if she did it on purpose, telling her I was angry would only satisfy her so I gave it to my DD & bought a new one. In December I put a DVD system in the backseat. There are two screens on the headrests for each side. Last weekend, I was cleaning my car & right in the center of the screen that is on the side where SD sits is a huge thumb/palm? print. It looks like someone pressed into the middle of the screen. Nobody rides in the car except me, SD & DGS2 in his car seat. He can't reach either of the screens. Also, the last time I detailed my car, there was ink scribbled on the leather door panel where SD sits. Again, I said nothing because it is obvious to me that SD is doing stuff on purpose to my car & whenever I have confronted her, she denies doing anything. She gets this I'm so innocent look & how dare I accuse her of anything. Crap! I'd rather her tell me she hates me & is glad she did it but no matter what, she denies it, then tells everyone how awful I am for accusing her of something she didn't do. I have no proof it's her but common sense & I don't want her to see me get upset because I feel like that's what she wants. So, finally this last time I went to DH & told him I don't want her in my car anymore... he wanted me to have a talk with her but like I said, how do you talk to someone that says she didn't do it, doesn't have a clue how it happened, etc. So, he got upset with me & started trying to make excuses for her. Finally he admitted he doesn't know what to do about her but he works in another town & rides the bus to my office so she has to ride home with me. So, I know DH needs to address the problem & yes, he is a mild mannered good guy that just wants to do the right thing & live in peace. He wants to go to work, pay the bills, come home to his family & enjoy the evening. I don't think he thinks about, nor is he worried about what she will be like when she's a teen, maybe because he's a guy & has no clue about girls/daughters... or he hopes things will just fall into place. I don't think he realizes how serious her problems are or he just has no clue about how to fix them. As the on site female, I tried to give my input but as we can see, that has been rejected & backfired. At the moment, I'm looking forward to summer when she'll be with her mom & only here for weekends. I plan to be gone and/or busy with DGS or work. I feel guilty for feeling that way but I can't stand how it is. Just this morning, I get up & go to the baby's room which is next to hers. She was in the livingroom & heard me coming, ran back to her room. I get the baby up & bring him to my room so I can finish getting ready while he watches his favorite show. DH goes into the kitchen, SD comes out & is talking to him. I get done getting ready & come down the hall, her bedroom door closes because she hurried back to her room. Last night, I was cooking dinner & playing Wii with DH. SD is watching us. I leave the room to check on dinner & she starts talking to him. I come back & she doesn't talk. I leave again, same thing. It's just very annoying!

I'm third in the boat. SD's BM can't afford to pay for the personal loan she took out for SD's braces (and a car audio system we later found out) so she calls DH. Rather than let SD's braces and teeth go unattended and bad he pays for the loan. SD goes to BM's for the weekend and comes home with 4 HUGE bags full of clothes (that she can't wear to school because they wear uniforms of jeans and polo shirts with no logos), hair stuff, perfume, makeup, and shoes (some of which were heels that she's not allowed to wear). And she couldn't afford a $100 personal loan payment for her daughter's teeth? Are you kidding me???!!?? I was pissed! We have full custody and pay for everything, BM does not pay CS and never will, but she can afford to buy SD new clothes (that DH won't buy) and perfume and makeup (that DH has told her she's not supposed to wear), but not pay for her braces? And that wasn't the first time that had happened. I don't think I'd have been nearly as mad about the whole thing if BM hadn't come into my house carrying the bags for SD and announced that they'd done a little shopping. But she did and then she had the nerve to ask DH if he'd made the payment on the loan yet! So ladies.... do we have paddles or just a stick to push us up this creek?

I agree with MornieF. There are literally over a million illegal guns floating around. Go to any city with some $ and ask around and you'll get one. I do believe assault weapons should be limited. Owning a gun is assurance that you'll have an option if you hear someone on your premises. I have two homes that are really remote and have to spend time in them alone occasionally. Would you say I don't deserve to defend myself? Ma. has the strongest gun law in the nation, you have to take a week's course in firearms, have a complete FBI background check with fingerprints, your gun is photographed and the pertinent numbers are recorded and so on. It's a grueling process as it should be and yet there are so many shootings here too by people who bought street guns. I suggest that if they can link the gun to the person who sold it to them, that person should be prosecuted along with the perp. Just my opinion. Remember a great country like the USSR couldn't fight back because the government has "disarmed" the people. It's one of the first tenets of communism. It's all so complicated and we all passionately want to avert another massacre but we have to realize that murder comes in many forms i.e. poison, bombing, fire, plowing down with a vehicle, stabbing, axes, where does it stop. It's the people our ages and older who have profited by putting out such violent viewing on t.v. and the cinemas. Today people watch violence while eating their supper, it's just not right. How do we really become a more gentle nation, I don't know but I do know that it will only get worse if we keep getting more and more desensitized. I pray every night that there will be an awakening in our culture that will let our leaders speak out and take some action.