>> the Chinese are building dams both for electric generation and flood control. >> Water is a highly political issue and will only become more so as global weather patterns naturally shift, whether you believe/agree with global warming or not. It is now generally accepted that CA's rainfall averages over the last 100 yrs were unusually higher than the true long-term (read: thousand year weather patterns) average rainfall. CA is mostly desert and without imported water - whether from other parts of the state or other Western states - nothing would survive in summer except for a few trees and scrub plants. It's cheap irrigated water that gave rise to the eventual huge agribusiness corporations that have made agriculture CA's #1 industry. As for the Chinese, their dam building may very well cause huge ecological problems in the coming years. Many experts (both Chinese and Western) have postulated the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008 that killed 69,000 people was caused by the massive Three Gorges Dam, whose geological engineering was questionable and untested at the time. The villagers that were originally displaced have recently had to be moved yet again, for the new farms they were given have developed huge irreversible cracks in the ground (not-so-affectionately called 'pig killers'). The government is now in the process of building another two dozen dams exactly like Three Gorges, almost all of them in earthquake-prone areas. Areas, in fact, very (geologically) similar to CA. The Chinese have even more serious water problems than we do; Beijing's ever-increasing water demands are destroying local agriculture around it. The North China Plain will be completely depleted of water by 2030, by US Dept. of Agriculture estimates (they conducted the study at the request of the Chinese government). In a reverse of what we see in CA, where water from the North goes down to the South, China is working on a $70 billion project to move water from their South provinces up to the North. Their ecological problems are beginning to mount ever higher as more and more of their critical river systems begin to collapse. Dams prevent flooding, but without sufficient fresh water releases there are more than just fish kills. Fresh water is the flushing system that prevents sea water from creeping ever further inland, reducing public water supplies and creating cesspools where pollution runoff collects and never gets dissipated.

They don't have to be "old" to bloom - just mature enough and growing in suitable conditions. I even have them blooming in 4" containers at the nusery and mine bloom at home consistantly. Sempervivum tanslates loosely to "live forever" and these are some of the hardiest of the commonly grown sedums and succulents, most species adaptable to conditions from zone 4 to 9 and from full sun to dense shade. They are not fussy about soil conditions as long as drainage is good. They propagate themselves most commonly from offsets - the "chicks" - and can spread densely and rapidly in areas where they are happy. Many plants produce unusual inflorescenses - I'm not sure I'd label them as strongly as alien life forms.....LOL! Yours are only still in bud and I'd recommend allowing the flowers to develop fully before you remove them. They are really very attractive and bloom in shades of pink and yellow.

Hubby and I came together late in life (in our early/mid 40's). Due to that and a huge host of other reasons, we will never have children of our own. We talked seriously about adopting an older child or two, to the point where I was looking at the sites and contacting some of the local adoption groups. Unfortunately, our life has taken on other responsibilities that make this an impossibility. Hubby's Mom has (probably terminal) metastatic thyroid cancer. Hubby's Dad is incapable of managing things on his own. Hubby's brother (who currently lives with Mom and Dad) is seriously mentally ill and has physical disabilities as well. He requires pretty much round the clock supervision. As their culture is to take care of everything at home and only with family, our lives will be spent "parenting" them. It breaks my heart to know that Hubby and I will never get to be parents, that we will never get to see a child grow and thrive under our care. But this is the hand we've been dealt so we just have to do the best we can. On a practical note, at least out here in CA there are special programs for adopting older/special needs children. You get a lot more support and there is actually a mandatory "trial period".

Wow...I forgot about this post...glad someone brought it back to the front! I want to do this for cards and scrapbooking too, so I amn glad to hear it'll hopd up on the pages. It looks like fun. I need a new hobby.....my tole painting is kind of on hold for awhile, I have no time for it anymore. Jenni that is so nice of you! I saw a demonstration on TV a few weeks ago and years ago at Joann's and it looks simple enough. Not a lot of supplies either! I'd love to get into it. Guess I'll get some stuff to start this week end. Sounds like a favorite around the KT!