Looking at RR's bottle tree, loving it and thinking that perhaps it's all in the artistic talent and eye of the maker.....and of course placement and lack of resin gnomes and frogs that make is pretty. When he retired, my uncle started "making things" He had seen a wind chime made from various cut off bottles, with a hole drilled and carefully arranged so they all didn't clang together at once. So he took to glomming on to every empty bottle he could find, cutting it and stringing it up and giving it away. His next project was wind chimes made from forks and spoons strung on a bent coat hanger. They clanked in a breeze. Then there was another man who took up rug hooking when he retired. He bought kits and tied knots like mad. Their house was covered with furry rugs, hanging on benches, on the back of the sofa, on floors and piled in a corner. Another person took up needle point and in 5 or 6 years all available space was covered with needle point renditions of someone else's art. We had Pinky, Blue Boy, The Mona Lisa and even Van Gogh's sunflowers. A beautiful home was turned into a display of kitsch....but it kept them off the streets! LOL! I have seen some very lovely "art" made from broken pottery....but I have also seen some stuff that is pretty much broken dishes glued to something. The line between art and craft is fine.....and the line between craft and junk perhaps even finer....and some don't seem to see it. As an example, I made a trip to New York several years ago to see Christo's Gates. I found it moving, exilerating and endlessly fascinating. I posted on another forum what I had done and how wonderful I thought it was.....and was booed and hooted at ridiculed for bothering to view something quite as silly as that. Art doesn't need the approval of others to be "art". Van Gogh died penniless with a stash of things like whirling suns and swirling clouds and flowers beneath his bed. Pollock also died broke. Frieda Kahlo's work never sold until after her death when Madonna started collecting. I have seen several gardens that were full of "repurposed" items, the toilet planter, the shoe planter, the frog under the hosta and the elf sitting on a rock. Some were lovely and charming, while a few others were a collection of junk. What makes the difference? I guess it's the skill of the person putting it all together. Scuse the ramble, I guess it always boils down to "To each his own" or "chacon a son gout", but I never understand why someone feels the need to defend their own taste, or feel insulted if someone else doesn't like what you like. Why would anyone feel threatened because I don't like plastic gnomes in my yard, nor Robert Kincade (however he spells his name) on my walls nor canned soup in my casseroles? It's your house, do what you like. Linda C

I'm surprised that the thread(s) on the "There's an old woman living in my house...." is not listed. It's an old thread but a very funny one. Below is part 1 of the thread, I hope it'll be added to the list: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchentable/gal1213250424883.html I remembered that there was part 2 of this thread but I didn't save the link.

I as the one who mentioned it. It was actually on the home disasters (or improvements) forum of GardenWeb. It was about a cat and Tickle Me Elmo if I remember correctly. One of the funniest lines was someone asking why a thread about a cat "loving" Elmo was considered a home disaster and someone else replied that if you had a cat treating you like THAT you would think it was a disaster (kind of loses something after umpteen years of losing the printout, I guess). Every year or so, I mention it hoping someone will remember and have it stashed someplace.

Never in a million years would I have thought that looking for a broom would engender 98 (and counting) posts. But I underestimate the TKO! Keeping up with it as it goes is fascinating and interesting and fun. But reading the whole thing AFTER reading the Widgets thread...priceless. And BTW, I am going to buy a new broom...or three...now after reading that thread. And will join the posts that said "this thread is costing me money" :) But no widgets; they're so out of fashion now and would affect my resale. Here is a link that might be useful: Really fantastic widget I mean broom