when I was a kid my father put in a no mow lawn. it was very soft and thick. really nice. what he did was put down a very heavy layer of lime and killed off everything. let it sit for a year or so. no weeds no grass nothing. then he put in some plugs of grass. I think he called it creeping bent grass. eventually the entire lawn became this beautiful soft creeping bent with no weeds. then we had a circle in the center with rocks around the edges for the rock garden. and we had other flowers etc around the sides. but the grass was the most beautiful and everyone loved it. he was the envy of all who saw the grass. but it tood a couple of years to do the project and it did not look so super during the project. a lot of the land look white from the lime. once it filled in there was no weeds because the grass tightly covered the land. I loved walking on it in my bare feet. it was so soft and great. I think he started with some grass free from a friend. he did not start with that much. it grows pretty well each year. but does not fill in super fast. he had a big space between the little plugs of grass. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0amp;ct=result&cd=1&q=creeping+bent+grass&spell=1 we never mowed the grass. it was several inches thick but looked like a thick rug. it stayed low to the ground. maybe 4 inches thick. no taller. no need to mow this lawn.

The journal and calligraphy pen sound like a wonderful idea. It can only get better. I believe that fine, small motor control improves with age and also that most boys are not interested in pretty writing. Perhaps relate architecture to nicer writing. My 48 yr. old son grabs a pen and looks like he is going to print an "X" instead of his name. It's almost, and may be, a grip where the pen is held by four fingers surrounding it. He also prints/ writes and presses down hard on the paper, enough to make indentations. An observer, a caring observer, could guess that he has a hard time with writing/printing. He hunts and pecks on the computer and claims that he is proficient and fast (probably in defense of an anticipated suggestion from mom that typing lessons are in order). In kindergarten he was tested and we learned that his small motor skills were at a 2 year old's level. He played tennis beginning at 5, became a ranked player, #1 singles at a competetive high school, mvp on the college tennis team, and taught tennis during college and law school. He is now out of state, arguing at the Supreme Court of a southwestern state. Last Feb he did his mommy proud when he argued before the U.S.Supremes, a parental payback. He is a really nice person and has to work extra hard. He talks to himself. Daughter2 holds a writing implement in an unusual way. Not efficient. Experts told us that after age 9 it is difficult to change one's writing and/or grip. I don't believe that for one moment. Eye surgeons write illegibly sometimes. It is a baby wart. The Pittman Honor Roll is as dead as cursive. We want our kids to be perfect in every way, and they really are.

Ok, thanks everyone. I'm going to mess with version #1, try to find some wider ribbon/trim. The rod I am not sure what to do about - first off, I really can't raise it much because it's already only about 3" from the ceiling as it is. Secondly, I am having pinched pleat panels in the same fabric in the MBR and need a rod to put those on. I thought it would work to have the rods match. The cabinets in the room are a dark cherry and my furniture in the bedroom is dark cherry, so that's why I chose the dark rod. Chrome in the bedroom doesn't do it for me. Maybe the off white or a distressed light color? I always liked the look of dark rods with light draperies. Is it just the valance you all don't like beccause all you see is the dark ends? One rod in the bath and another color in the bedroom? You can see them both sortof when you walk into the room. The bath is to the right and this window is right in front of the bathroom door and the window on the other side of the bedroom to the left. Also, it's not quite as garring in real life - photos have a way of distorting things a bit. Off to find some trim....

I remember reading that...but it's still just as funny.... I am completely surprised that I didn't find a post from me on there...My DH has done a few things during our 42 years that I tell on him every now and then. patti