INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Carefully tip the pot of the plant you’re using in the planter to loosen the soil from the inside of its original pot. Doing this when your plant’s soil is wet works best because the soil will stay together better. Remove the entire plant with its roots and soil all together. You want to try to keep the roots of your plant the way they are as much as possible to avoid damaging them. Once they’re settled into your planter, they will start to take up more space, but for now, don’t spread them out. Simply set the whole plant with roots and soil into your new planter. On the other hand, if the plant appears to be root-bound in its current container, loosen the roots gently outwards with your fingers. A root-bound plant will have visible roots that coil around the inside of the pot. Unless your plant with its original soil is wide enough to fill your tall planter to its edges, you’ll need to fill in the remaining space with topsoil. Make a nice smooth top  layer of soil at the base of the plant, and give your plant some extra soil around its base if it lost any in the transplant. Many potted plants do well when their soil is changed each year, so they get new nutrients. You can discard the old soil from your planter into other parts of your garden, and use a new bag of topsoil to replace it. When you’re replacing the soil, peek down into your bottom filler to see if it needs to be replaced.  Change your bottom filler if you used wood and it’s starting to rot, or become squishy and smelly; and change out aluminum cans if they are starting to rust. Plastic items and Styrofoam generally last a long time, but it doesn’t hurt to check on them and see if they are breaking down and could be replaced. Rocks, broken pottery, and clay pebbles will be the materials that last the longest out of your bottom fillers. As an alternative to replacing the top soil completely, you can also just mix compost, leaf mold, manure, peat moss, gypsum, or other soil amendments into the soil. This works best if you originally started with healthy or living soil instead of premixed potting soil. If you used a mix like Miracle-Gro, it is likelier that you will need to replace the soil every year. Consider replacing it with living or organic soil.

SUMMARY: Remove your plant or flower from its original pot. Set the whole plant with its original soil into the center of your planter. Fill the surrounding space with topsoil. Change the topsoil and check on your filler each year. Mix in compost or soil amendments instead of replacing your topsoil.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You can open a blank message to test this. If your phone starts predicting the word you’re typing as you hit buttons, T9 is already on and you’re all set! If not, your phone is set to the multi-tap method, and you’ll need to turn on T9. Check your “Settings” or “Options”– you may have to explore your phone a bit to figure out how to do this. As you can see, each number on the keypad has three or four letters on it. For example, the number 2 has “ABC,” the number 3 has “DEF,” and so on. Familiarize yourself with the keyboard, especially if you’ve never used it before or you’re used to typing with a full keyboard. At first, you’ll probably do the “hunt and peck” method to find the letters you need, but it will become second nature once you use T9 enough! It’s time to practice! Use the word “HELLO” to practice. In multi-tap texting, you would need to press the 4 button twice to get to the “H,” then the 3 button twice to get to the “E,” and so on. With T9, you only have to press the number that the letter is on, and you do not need to double or triple press it to get to the letter you want. For “HELLO,” you would only need to press 4-3-5-5-6. These are the numbers containing the letters that spell “HELLO.”

SUMMARY: Make sure your phone is set to T9 mode. Examine your keyboard. Open a blank text message or note.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If your kitten doesn’t trust you, you should not overwhelm it with interaction.  Let your kitten do its own thing most of the time, and interact with it in several short 15-20 minutes sessions over the course of the day.  These sessions might include play time with toys, talking to it, petting, feeding treats, or any other interaction. By the end of the day, the kitten should have spent at least two hours in total interacting with you.  This shared time will help you build a rapport with the kitten. Your parents may have told you that it was impolite to stare.  Kittens agree.  In the wild, staring is what predators do to their prey, so staring at your kitten will trigger its fear instincts.  Instead, blink your eyes often as you interact you’re your kitten.  Turn your head from side to side as you speak to it. If you persistently startle your cat by yelling at it or around it, you will have a hard time earning its trust.  Instead, always speak to your pet in a soft, loving manner.  Your cat will be able to detect when it’s being spoken to with kindness and love, and will begin to trust you.

SUMMARY: Interact with your kitten in brief sessions. Don’t stare at the kitten. Speak kindly to your cat.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Baby oil works using the same principles as cooking oils, either by dissolving the adhesive or releasing its grip upon skin. An added benefit is that most baby oils are made to be especially gentle, making this a great choice for delicate skin.  Most baby oils are simply mineral oil with a small amount of scent added. You can use pure mineral oil as an alternative to baby oil — often, it is slightly cheaper. If you're removing adhesive from a child's skin, try adding a drop of food coloring to the baby oil and using it to "paint" the affected area.  The oil will remove the adhesive and the coloring will provide a fun distraction. Since most lotions have an oil or lipid (fat) base, they can work for removing adhesive just like baby oil or cooking oils. Rub in a small amount of lotion, let it sit for several minutes, and rub with a gentle towel or cotton ball. Unscented lotions are best. The chemicals used for added fragrances can sometimes cause pain and rashes on irritated skin. Since warmth loosens many of the adhesives used in bandages, you can use it to make these materials more effective. Warm water will wash off the oil or lotion, so use a warm compress instead. Our article on warm compresses details several easy ways to do this.  Try filling a tube sock most of the way with dry, uncooked rice. Tie a knot in the open end to keep the rice in. Microwave the compress in 30-second increments until it is warm, but not too hot to handle. Hold the compress over the adhesive as you let the oil or lotion soak in. Place a rag between the compress and the skin if you are worried about getting the sock greasy.

SUMMARY:
Soak residue with baby oil. Apply a gentle lotion. Use a warm compress in combination with baby oil, lotion, or some form of cooking oil.