Those shades were only $1 each. One has a hole in the center, another has 3 holes in the top area and the other has no holes. The blue one looks so nice on the glass head in the background of the picture but it's so heavy I worry about gluing it on the head and I really don't know what I want to so with the head with the broken nose:-) I have had her for years and now and then I decorate her for the seasons.

Being a complete loon about old things that remind me of people or times past, my house is filled with what appear to be random things but which are precious to me. One of them is a loose leaf cookbook that my brother and I gave to my mother when we were just children. It is very meaningful to me, partly for the recipes she saved there - the cherry pie she always made instead of cake for my Daddy's birthday, the carrot cake she was "required" to bring to every family celebration, her "official" recipes for brown sugar fudge, strawberry pie, bourbon balls, Gramma's egg custard pie and many others, all of them keepers. There is our family jello salad recipe (ours is orange) and the recipe for a family oddity called "Mom's Gom" - you wouldn't believe the ingredients if I told you and you would never believe how good it tastes! Mama's book also contains various recipes for something called "porcupines" and more than one recipe for German potato salad. That would be strange except that I well remember her quest for those two dishes. She kept more than one recipe so I don't know if all were acceptable or if none hit the mark. What's important to me is the reminder than she tried so hard to make the things she cooked the BEST for her family. There are also old letters she received with recipes from my grandma and aunts - one on military stationery from WWII and all so aged that they are fragile and falling apart at the creases. There are even a few from me that show how Mama carefully treasured the signs that I was beginning to have my own successes in the kitchen. Last year I copied out many of the recipes from Mama's book along with others I've collected from friends through the years and put them in a recipe book for my daughter. I know Mama's recipes won't mean as much to her because she didn't have the opportunity to know my mother but I like to think that this little bit of family history has a chance to live on.

I never knew there was a suggestion forum before, but on this thread - linked from suggestion forum, someone gave a tip to get rid of the symbols. Worked for me. Link to thread for odd symbols Here's what I did with the room. I moved the loveseat parallel and centered with the fireplace. But the room is really too narrow and there was just a narrow gap on each side. So I angled it and squared up the chair to it, and I think I like it. Both chair & loveseat face the kitchen, and I have room to add another chair later. And I moved the little table behind the loveseat. I put a couple of ducks on it for now. Don't look too closely please; they're dusty. I've never had a sofa table before and have no idea what to put there. There wasn't enough room to put one of the wall unit pieces beside the loveseat, so I moved one where the little table was, and moved the other two to the other side. There wasn't enough room for the two to be side by side. I tried and it didn't look good, plus it covered the light switch. So I put them together in the corner. It looks ok, but it has the dreaded empty hole in the corner. I put the plant stand beside it for now, but that is the spot where another chair could be placed I think. For now, I put the bench and table against the wall that will be cut out. Now I need to hang these two pictures on the wall before something happens to them. I also have a bunch of extra pictures hung on the wall in the garage too. I'll photograph them in a few minutes. I am really horrible at accessorizing. Any suggestions anyone wants to make about pictures or any other accessories is most appreciated. I go years without being able to decide where to hang a picture, much less what to place on a shelf or table. And any idea for curtain color or fabric is also welcome.

It might sounds odd, but we have a tiny Ikea fold-out table that's solid wood and is *wonderful* for that--we used it first in a studio, where it weathered a lot, and for the past 9 months it's actually been our main dining room table (with leaves extended) while we look for the right permanent one. Great because it's easy to fold out one leaf when you're eating and then back down again when you're done, and both leaves for having company. Also surprisingly good quality--most people are amazed that it came from Ikea! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20104718