Oh, Annececilia, you have precisely nailed the specialness (terrible grammar, I know) as it truly has become something of a family endeavour. Although the wood means different things to all of us, it has bonded us together better than any single thing I could have imagined. The youngest, Tas, has bought a second-hand cargo net to string between trees and is already planning ziplines, ropeladders and platforms. Naomi, my middle daughter, lives nearest the wood and is deeply involved, along with her daughter Phoebe Rosa, (our grand-daughter), making themselves a tipi to stay in (and scavenging timber for a tree-house) while my eldest. Rowan, already a committed gardener, has invested in many green woodworking tools and he, and my sweetheart, Reuben, have made a sawhorse (Champion, the lumber horse) and a pole-lathe with plans afoot to make charcoal, coppicing and other woodsy things. When we have children, I guess we start to think in a longer term than the next week or so and even the idea of 'legacy' has been sneaking into my thinking. Obviously, we have nothing to leave them with apart from their wits and even if we had money and property, I have seen families torn apart by the very things that had been meant to protect them......but a bit of woodland, too small for much and not saleable in parts (by covenant) really is something quite remarkable to sustain our family. Neither Reuben nor I have much of a family ourselves - I was adopted and Reuben's family are no longer alive......so our little dynasty starts with us, really. To to have this project, glueing us all together, is infinitely precious to me. I loved your story of remembrance daffoldils - such a special act of thoughtfulness which resonates every new season - what better celebration of life could we hope for?

Thanks so much, guys. Do remember that this is very selective photography, only showing the beds that are starting to come back again. And only in about 1/3 of my yard. The rest is a MESS. Honestly! But it will get there, too, eventually, if I just keep plugging away at it. I'm glad you like the blue. I wanted an accent color to repeat throughout, thinking it would help my somewhat messy cottage style of gardening look a bit more cohesive. I saw an article in a mag with a blue bench and I took it in to HD and had them match the color. The shed was on the property when we bought it, and it had a bright red door, which I hated. So that was the first thing I painted, followed by the bench, then the roofs of each birdhouse, etc. Now I look for blue gazing balls and other stuff for out there. It gives the yard color, even when things aren't blooming, and I like that. I should post pictures of what the backyard looked like when we moved in. It would help ME remember that I HAVE gotten a lot done, in comparison. Here's one of the shed. Notice there is NO bed of any kind nearby, and that the chain link fence is completely open to the neighbor's house. It is now a stockade fence with bamboo inside. Very private. If you compare that with this next picture, you can see that we have done quite a bit in some areas. Marcia

theplayer... it is confusing. Here is what I have learned: The old style looking RCS with the slotted vents on the front were configured with the simmer, 2x15k and an 18k burner. The new style RCS without the slotted vents in the front (like I bought) have a simmer and 3x15k burners as a way to cut costs. When we were in the process of purchasing this new style RCS the on-site BlueStar rep was hawking the new style range as having the simmer, 2x15k and an 18k burner... the rep was apparently not educated on the new style burner layout and telling us the burner layout was the same and did not change from the old style RCS. Since the 18k burner was the selling point for us to buy this new style range, along with the new look, we held the appliance store to the rep's word. In short, the new style RCS does not come with an 18k burner unless it is ordered as an upgrade.

Since Chalk Paint is at the top of the threads today, just wanted to thank you for the nice comments and add more details. I wish I had the time to take some better photos. Fireplace: In California's Central Valley, we don't have much cold weather. Our fireplace is gas and when we did use it, the gas bill went sky high even for the half dozen days we had a fire. If we sold the house, the fireplace is still there so not gonna worry about 'repurposing' this area for t.v. viewing. Chalk Paint Color: I bought a qt. of Paris Gray and painted the piece. Husband thought it was a little blah. I put some Louis Blue from a little sample jar I had on the middle door and he thought it was too bright. So I mixed Paris Gray and Duck Egg Blue about 50/50, then poured in a little of the Louis Blue all in a foam coffee cup. I painted that on and it seemed the right mix of blue and gray so it stands out but not too much. Distressing: I then coated the whole piece with Minwax clear furniture wax. Then, I took a little sanding sponge and hit the edges as well as a little on that middle door to distress it a bit. Then, I took a tee shirt and rubbed on some Annie Sloan dark wax on the distressed places, just a little at a time. I immediately followed by rubbing off the dark wax with the Minwax on another tee shirt as per instructions. When it looked distressed enough I just let it dry. The wood top: The top was a little scratched up on this old dresser but I used some RAF (Restore A Finish) on the top and cleaned it up good. No chalk paint on top. Left the original, just cleaned up a bit. When I get my living room restored from moving out my old t.v. and black armoire, and pictures re-hung, will post a finished photo. Why the Fireplace? My sofa has been angled for many years to provide a nice seating area and t.v. viewing. The last few months I've developed neck pain from turning my head a little to watch t.v. We needed some way to move the t.v. The ONLY viable option was the fireplace wall. This photo shows the former black armoire for the tv and sofa placement. It's an old picture, so furniture is a bit different now. Red