u/happyjazzycook

We are having a terrible time, in our new home, with deer. I've never, in over 40 years of gardening, had this issue. They are nibbling at everything that never was disturbed in any of our previous homes and it's so frustrating. Spirea, weigela, barberry, ninebark, (all of which thrived at previous homes in this region) plus most of the "deer-resistant" perennials that I've planted as well.

I see netting bags on Amazon, but not certain that they would help (would holes be eaten through the bags?). Burlap wraps (which would be difficult with the 30+ shrubs that we have but I've done difficult before...)? Anything at all, give me recommendations and advice please!

I've gone thru several searches and can't find a recipe for this sauce that was sold, in a jar, for years at TJ's and discontinued a couple of years back. It was such an easy dinner to have that sauce on hand, and I am craving it. Would appeciate if anyone out there has a similar recipe that uses green curry paste.

In June we signed an agreement with a small family-owned company to add preemergent and 3" of hardwood mulch to the extensive planting beds at our new home. These had not been mulched since 2023 o4 2024 so we are pretty much down to bare dirt in most areas.

I've been able to keep up with the weeding, and we did mulch around our new plantings ourselves, but now I wonder if I should just call him and cancel and request that he come next spring instead. Zone 6a. When should we request this? April? May?

We are familiar with the family, they have had some really tough times this year and we are very sympathetic to their situation, so are willing to deal with it this time. Hopefully, next year, things will improve for them.

I will never get the taste of Zaya or Appleton rum, Basil Hayden bourbon, etc. in a nonalcoholic rum or bourbon, so I want to explore using teas and just "train" myself to enjoy them as much as I enjoy boozy drinks (and thereby cut down on my consumption). Suggestions, and recipes, would be very appreciated!

I thawed some chicken thighs this morning and about an hour ago put them into a marinade of olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic, and herbs. Just found out that our dinner has been postponed until next Saturday. Should I grill the chicken then freeze until next weekend, or wipe the marinade off and re-freeze then grill as planned next Saturday. We were going to use it as a flatbread topping.

Her husband was diagnosed with early-onset dementia 7 years ago. He lived at home until last fall when he moved into a memory care facility. There were so many mistakes in his meds, and turnover of staff was high, so she pulled him out this past spring and has been taking care of him at home. Things were fine until recently. He has started to become increasingly agitated and is often violent, he breaks things and sometimes he punches and kicks her; their cats (who he dearly loves) are now cowering in other rooms.She does have help that comes in during the days, but the nights are long.

Her daughter and grandchildren come over to help, but the nights are long. She now sleeps in the guest room with the cats.

She is afraid that he is too violent to place anywhere and is at the end of her rope. She lives in Columbia, MO, a 10-hour drive from me.

Any ideas about what she can do or try? She loves him so much, and wants to take care of him, but I'm afraid for her.

Sorry, I'm just so upset... I thought that things were going well but just busy which was why I wasn't hearing much more from her than an occasional text.

Edited to add that her husband is now almost blind. And I just found out that the hospice doctor is going to try another med on him. It is so sad. And frightening.

My onco told me to pause the ai because I was having some severe joint pain. I started having a light headache on the morning of the second day without (and I rarely have headaches). Could this be an effect of stopping the med?

We bought an 18yo home last fall and the agent offered us a FREE home warranty as a bonus. What a joke it was.

My experience with American Home Shield (out of TN):
I made a claim on plumbing repairs in my new home. ALL of the repairs were a result of failure of a whole house pressure reducing valve. Since this was a failure of a COVERED plumbing component, I expected AHS to cover the cost of repairing the cost of the valve replacement and resulting damage. AHS refused, claiming that the plumbing damage was due to high pressure (which is WHAT HAPPENS when the plumbing reducing valve fails). Under my contract I was allowed to request a second opinion from another plumber. Although I live in the Pittsburgh PA area with hundreds of plumbing contractors available, AHS claimed that they were unable to locate another contractor to take another look at it. They then refused to look at the problem any further. And, for this, I was charged a $125 "diagnostic fee" on top of the service contract.

I strongly recommend that anyone considering buying a home warranty steer clear of American Shield. Their warranty is not worth the paper it was printed on.

Funny how I keep getting letters from them, warning me that my coverage year is about to expire and to renew NOW. 🙄
Which, of course, we will NOT be doing.

UPDATE: My husband contacted the PA office of the attorney general, filled out forms, talked with two agents, and we just received final notification that they cannot do anything to help us. Apparently they contacted AHS, informed them of our claim, requested resolution or a return of our $125, and AHS refused. Done. Waste of time.

They are a print outdoor fabric. If I had the space I would bring them indoors every night but we keep them outside, under furniture covers, during the summer months.

Also, is there any way to prevent this from happening? They have only been outside for two weeks and have just started to show a couple of black mold streaks already.

68yo, IDC, ++-, Stage 1, diagnosed 2 years ago, lumpectomy and 5 radiation treatments.

I am almost halfway through the 5 years of anastrozole and really hate the way I feel, both physically and mentally. It took almost a year for the side effects to appear (if they are, indeed, side effects) and they are intense. But... are they really the side effects? How on earth do I determine if my lower back/ hip pain is a result of the combination of scoliosis and physical work that I've done almost all of my adult life or is it the drug? Is my inability to concentrate/ remember details to be expected at this time of my life, or is it the drug? The extra 5 pounds that is squarely in the middle of my torso that I can't seem to get rid of, that is requiring me to buy new stretchy bottoms, is that post-meno or the drug?

And I'm tired. Dear god, I'm tired. I push myself to get through days but then I wake up often during the night with either back pain or the nasty thoughts about my current condition that don't allow me to return to sleep. My husband is a dear, he is so supportive, but he doesn't quite understand what I feel like so he tells me to take a nap. Or take it easy for a day. I've tried, nothing really helps though.

Sure, I'd love to be even 5 years younger. I'd prefer 20 (haha). I don't sit around all day, we have a large home and I enjoy being outdoors planting and working in my garden, but every single day wipes me out. I literally drag myself to do a short yoga practice in the morning, and miss the joy that I had with that plus running and other exercising.

Should I ask my doctor if I can stop the anastrozole for a couple of months just to see if the drug is the problem, or if how I feel is simply age-related? I already take Lexapro for anxiety, I would hope that would take care of some of these issues but it's not. What are the ramifications of suspending, or even stopping, the anastrozole? I seem to remember that she mentioned that it would take the percentage of the cancer returning down a few percent, but cannot remember exact numbers. Is this even worth it, my quality of life now sucks and I am sick and tired of it all.

I would appreciate any thoughts to help me navigate through this.