What a great find! They are similar to some I bought to mosaic with. It was difficult breaking them but like so many china pieces, they were only a few pieces. Just a note ... if you do mosaics and like to nip your pieces ahead of time to use on the future projects, be careful with the old china. For some reason, when air hits the inside of the pieces, it discolors it very badly. If you are using older china, make sure you break it/nip it when you need it to avoid the discoloration!

Hi everyone, what a dreary and wet Spring (at least where I am!). I've been busy with real-life issues for the past couple months and haven't been on here much at all, but I'm finally back at home and starting to go through the garden ... the weeding and clean-up is tremendous having been away for a while. Overwhelming. I have some plants that will be needing dividing, and I'll be posting here as I get to them, to see if anyone is interested in trading. Right now, I've been working on the Irises. I have Mini Irises in a very dark purple: I also have Mini Irises in a plain white, just a little bit taller than the dark purple ones above. I don't have a good photo of these though. In addition, I have Tall Bearded Iris in a pale yellow, as well as a pale purple to share. I am also thinning out the Hens and Chicks area, these spread nicely but are also pulled out easily if they get beyond where you want them. I also have a beautiful fragrant light pink peony that will probably need dividing, if you're interested. I can't find the photo of that one, but might be able to in a day or so. In exchange, I'm mainly looking for named plants. I inherited a lot of plants with our house and wish I knew what they were, so now I'm trying to only add named varieties. Mainly looking to trade for Irises, Hostas, Daylilies, other bulbs ... the specific varieties I am most interested in are listed on my trade page so please have a look! I receive mail through my trade page, so if you're interested in a trade, just shoot me an email! Thanks a bunch! :)

HA! Wella, wella, one anda, two anda, . . . . .. You can come, ONLY if you promise to play the Beer Barrel Polka. The truth of it is, (and I know all the gals that visit this site know it), there's not much to putting together a decent arrangement (or a table for 20), if you have the will to try. You just need to have the guts, (Oh, my mother hated the word "guts.") My husband is always kidding me about having a ton of self-confidence that's "founded on absolutely nothing at all." Actually, he's quite proud of me, but he's a terrible kidder, too. What's so neat about this forum, is the encouragement we all get when we first find this place. Suggestions on improving a setting are just that - suggestions. You just can't get your feelings hurt around here. Believe me, that's not the case everywhere you go. I know my place settings and vignettes have shown improvement over time, and I've seen it in others. Of course, you are welcome at my house anytime. Come in the summer and you can see movies on the lawn.

It's pretty normal for forums like this to have some turnover in participation. People's situations change - new job, new spouse, new kid, whatever - and they don't have time any more. Get a firewall on your computer and program it to reject the popup ads. That'll save your sanity. The text ads will still be there, but they're a lot easier to take. I refuse to click on a popup anyway, even if I'm interested, just on principle.