Bobbi, I take it you were painting the lower parts of your walls which I have trouble getting down to as I just can't kneel anymore. I use a low stool to sit on, which still hurts my knees getting up, but is the easiest option. When I have finished painting I have taken to lying flat out on my back on the bed for a good half hour and really stretch everything. That seems to help a lot and as it is around the 5pm slump time, it revitalises two ways. What sort of paint are you using? Normally any acrylic or water based paint washes out easily. Everyone knows when I have been painting, I went up the shop one time not knowing I had a huge blob of green paint right down the underside of my arm, clearly visible to anyone behind me. If shampoo isn't removing it, try rubbing straight conditioner into it and leave 10-15 mins. I find hand cream quickly removes it from my skin but I do have very streaky fingernails that nothing seems to be working on. Looks like the paint will have to grow out on them. If I know I am likely to get paint in my hair I also keep a supply of cheap shower caps for protection. Astraea - we are fine thanks, all the fires are in country areas, although some kids deliberately lit one in western Sydney this afternoon. The Metropolitan Firies have thermal imaging and they can spot a fire almost as soon as it starts which makes their response time much shorter. We also had a truck catch fire and set bush off beside a major freeway but the firies hit it all with foam and made short work of it. Still just over 34 here at 11pm - roll on 2am and the southerly!!!!!

Organic fruits never used to look as good because of the fact that pesticides weren't used and they got knocked around a bit more. I have noticed lated here though that a lot of organic looks every bit as good as non organic. Maybe they are using more controlled environments, before they were more hippy grown. Sometimes they have to be picked before fully grown and the bugs descend on them. I've been thinking of using a big tub on my back balcony to grow a selection of salad things, a couple of lettuce, some mini cucumbers and even some cherry tomatoes - just one or two plants to give me enough to get me through the summer, but then I wonder really if the effort is worth it.

That's what I got also. I didn't make it all the way through but got confused while reading what the original topic was because it went in so many directions. It's hard on Houzz to discuss serious issues like that through text. So much gets lost in translation and can get completely misinterpreted. Without someone sitting right in front of you, it's nearly impossible to get it 100%. Couldn't figure out why politics kept getting brought up regarding government allowance, etc from posters. I'm sure she was just throwing her heart out there but not wording it in the best manner. Does sound like she has some serious hardships. I just thought Houzz might not be the best place to unload all of it. Unless you recognize her name and have followers her, it was really hard to understand everything. I'm really glad you caught it all Roo and could help her.

mforr - It's funny you should mention that, because I just looked at the map of queens, trying to remember the name of the highway that went thru a friend's neighborhood like that .. and I think they renamed it! There used to be an "Interboro Parkway", and now it's called the "Jackie Robinson Parkway"! Wikipedia says it was renamed in 1997 .. who knew?! "The Jackie Robinson Parkway is a 4.95-mile (7.97 km) parkway in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The western terminus of the parkway is at Jamaica Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. It runs through Highland Park, along the north side of Ridgewood Reservoir, and through Forest Park. The eastern terminus is at the Kew Gardens Interchange in Kew Gardens, Queens, where the Jackie Robinson Parkway meets the Grand Central Parkway and Interstate 678."