Chelone, the cat's name is Lily, sister (in spirit) to Tiger, an orange male and the coolest cat who ever walked the face of the earth. Lily is more normal cat, Tiger thinks he is a person. He knows more people in the neighborhood than I do, and frequents most of their homes. There is also a third orange long-hair named Molly. Orange cats have the best temperaments IME. Thanks for the compliments - - it's nice to hear after all that sweat I invested! All of the materials used were found on my property except for the stone dust, which I got at a discount through a friend. I have to say right now I actually love the look of the walkway, while I think the patio is just "ok". I do prefer the irregular stones, impractical as they may be. The patio stones are a bit out of line since I was just eyeballing them and then I had friends come in to help finish who weren't as picky as me! As for Poor Martha (as she has come to be known in the neighborhood), my next step if the town historian doesn't call back and take over is to go to the Bureau of Vital Statistics (I think that's what it's called) in Hartford and search for that date of death. If there is a Martha, well, Bingo. If not, and there are one or two other people with that DOD, I can check which cemetery they were buried in and see if they have stones (and whether they are replacement stones). If there is no match that way, I might be out of luck because that means the stone was not local. In that case I would just beg the historical society or a cemetery to take it. The woman from the Connecticut Gravestone Network also said she can search ancestors.com because she has a membership. So we'll see if she comes up with anything. For now Poor Martha has been moved to the patio, where I'm sure she's doing a great job of freaking out the mailman when he walks up to my house everyday. Hopefully he has figured out that she was unearthed during the walkway reno!

Hi greenhaven, yes I have to protect it by bending and burying it over winter. You being in zone 4b-5a maybe able to get away without protection. However if you get it as a band it maybe wise to consider covering it in the first year using whatever technique works best in your climate - my winters are dry and cold with little snow cover. As to fragrance unfortunately I do not study that except for some specific really strong ones such as the bourbons. But HMF states a "Strong, centifolia fragrance" and that description I do not know what it means ... but most Old Garden roses are extremely fragrant. After my favorite OGR types, the bourbons and portlands, I really like mosses as they seem to be the more hardy type up here. Grow about 7 or 8 varieties.

Jim,never too late to add in inspiration photos. Love them all, it is cool that even if I may not be doing a decorating style that may be pictured I always find something that I learn from in the photo to be able to apply to my needs. Love the first photo with all the shell accents. The second shot was wonderfully cozy, of course there is red in it so its a given that I will be attracted to those kinds of rooms. I also love... well like I said, they are all great, you have a wonderful eye for having inspiration photos that are great to look and learn from. Thanks as always for sharing!

Yes, I was sure, someone would recognize her. Now, anyone know the lady at the top of the table? I don't remember her at all. Left to right: Rita/OKwriter, Stacy/grinchgut, Flamey, mystery person, Dottie, me, Patti, Jillzey This was in 2003. Moni