WE are going through mice issues as well. NEVER had to deal with it here....but, stupid me---when I decided to start just throwing my produce scraps directly into the garden--well that just exascerbates the problem. Was out watering the planters around my (empty) pond and two pop out from under the rocks that edge the planter border---and scurry up the side and back of the pond. Also saw one scurry from my patio over to the pond and then last night watered my backyard flowerbed and one jumped out to scurry over to the patio! SOO, hubby got some mouse traps and loaded them with pnut butter. He checked them this morning. One the pnut butter was licked clean but not tripped! and another is missing! I don't think my dog got to it because we locked her in her yard last night....sooo, just waiting and hoping. I'm not a cat person but we MAY have to get a cat...and OUTDOOR cat! ugh....pray for us...and as far as I can tell, none in the house..... Love, Jules

Oo! Laura, I hope you're right. So far the new leaves are coming out really stunted and gnarled, so I've been blaming that on the aphids. You're right that the cats don't seem too bothered by them, so I'm probably the only one that is worried about their having a good supply of fresh leaves. I'll let them duke it out with each other-- better that than the Malathion, I think! Thanks!

myself I love your mantle the way it is..just my opinion..as for the decor, it depends on the style, my guess is that you are going somewhat rustic with a tad contemporary..am i right? I think i would find 2 long narrow matching pictures or mirrors or pieces of art and center one on each side wall of the fireplace above the mantle, one thing that really looks great is to layer..so if you use mirors or if you use an outdoor scene ..say with a lot of grasses..you could layer your grasses in front of and below the art on the wall..to tie in the art to the mantle, and then add a few other outdoorsy things to the mantle..the photographs are too small for there, put them somewhere else..although lovely they are just not the right scale.. do you happen to have a rock collection? it would be pretty on the mantle with an outdoor picture of a stream going over rocks along a meadow? with the grasses.. or a few beautiful unusual rocks on the mantle with the grasses..or a hurricane lamp with washed river stones filling it..clear glass..to tie in the rocks of the fireplace with your art. tell a story about what you like, if you love horses a horse running through a meadow, if you love old mills, an old mill with a creek and some old wooden architechtural pieces.. a tall grouping might work in the center going down to a shorter one on each side..or a tall one on each side of each wall with shorter in the center.. maybe two long art or mirror pieces, a much taller grass in the corner center and the smaller grasses just over the edges of the art on each side.. there are number of ways to do this..but you love it..leave it white unless you hate the white..i don't..i think white and stones is very updated rustic

Regarding moving the cats, i too have been involved in trap and release for 10 years. I have a great group of friends and we all do it. I've probably trapped and spayed/neutered over 100 cats on my own and then add in what my friends did and that's several hundred cats we've had fixed. The two particular cats in my card were fixed 2 1/2 years ago and I love them very much. They love and trust my husband and me as well, but just don't want to be touched. Sometimes i think it's best when outdoor cats don't let you touch them because there are mean people out there who want to cause them harm. A single man purchased our house and my best friend actually knows him. While he's a nice guy, my friend says he's not an animal person. One of our neighbors recently moved so the house is empty and the other closest go out of town all the time so leaving them behind wasn't an option. Also, I love these cats and would worry they wouldn't be cared for like I would care for them. I literally shovel them out in winter and don't think many others would. The thought of trapping and bringing these two cats with me was tearing me apart because inknownthey love their yard etc but I had to bring them. I had a custom shed made that is half fenced in and half enclosed. I trapped one yesterday and one today. There are no words how hard it was. My heart was breaking as the one just cried and cried. They are both as secure as I can make them, have warm beds and food but I know they are stressed and unhappy. The shed was quite costly and was the best i could think of. I did not want to stress my indoor cats out as they hate and will not accept the one outdoor cat. I have been praying hard that they adjust soon and forgive me and learn to trust me again. I will wait awhile before I let them out to roam free as I don't want them to run away. That will take awhile so they realize this is where they get fed. Any other suggestions on how to make them happy are welcome. I am actually feeling a little better as far as the home sickness. I think the anticipation of trapping those two kitties was getting the better of my nerves.