Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

I remember those! I may do these with the grands on Thursday - I entertain a 5 and a 8 year old - we do crafts!

I love doing jigsaw puzzles and never thought of taking a picture of the finished project. LOL My friends and I do puzzles all the time. I like the Springbok puzzles from Hallmark the best but have done others. My favourite puzzles are "mystery" puzzles, the ones you don't have a picture of. LOL I never look at the box when I am doing a puzzle either - takes the fun away. I just got a 1000 piece puzzle on sale at Hallmark for half price and it is sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me to start. When I have lost a puzzle piece and I know I am going to do the puzzle in the future or lend it out I take the the small section of the puzzle where the piece is missing and lay it in the lid of the box and then I outline the missing piece so I know what to look for when doing it again and know that a piece is missing. I do the edge pieces first and then I start from the bottom and try to work from left to right half way up the puzzle then I do the upper half when the bottom half is finished. Anne

My children always had attractive rooms but they were most definitely not "decorated". And they actually did live in and play in those rooms. Two of my grandchildren have had a similar room (they share a huge room), and "decorated" would not describe it, although it has nice custom roman blinds (that are now 18 yrs old!), dust ruffles, nice quilts and nice sheets. But my daughter and I did this together. The rug has been replaced once - always a remnant that we had bound. They boys love their room and at one time, shared it with millions of pieces of Lego (yes, I said millions - they were given the large collection of their babysitter's brother and had their own as well - they filled two huge rolling drawer units). When the cleaning woman came weekly, the Lego had to be picked up so she could vacuum in there. My other two grandchildren have VERY decorated bedrooms - their nursery had Stark carpet on the floors (you don't even want to know how awful it looked very quickly). They have never done anything but sleep in those rooms. Their toys were in a playroom, but they rarely played with them. They had a nanny for the first few years, and part of her job was to "entertain" them; at nearly 13 and 14, they still need to be "entertained" - they truly do not know how to entertain themselves other than with electronic devices. My DS has tried, but he has been divorced long enough that only seeing them weekly for dinner and every other weekend (typical child visitation in CT), he can only do so much. I find that today very few children know how to entertain themselves. They have either had a caregiver who did this, or their mother quickly turned them over to the "electronic nanny" to keep them out of her hair. It's very, very sad. I'm very proud that DD and her husband allowed their children opportunities for "free range playing". At nearly 16 and 18, it has served them very, very well.