LOL Here it is. My dinky sunflower.... Fran do think there maybe is too much nitrogen in the garden... I talked to a farmer this weekend and he said maybe I need calcium and phophourous added to the soil. We used 10 10 10 and lime. I think I might send a soil sample in just to see.. Well here is my little guy...... Barb

I realize this would mean moving the connections, but we did it in our house, and the cable company charge was minimal, and because they were able to go through the crawl space, it was not a big deal. I agree that the armoire and the mirror on the other side are both fighting with the fireplace for attention. I would be inclined to move the armoire to the wall where the console table and round mirror are now. That area isn't really great for much else, because you have the doorway to the outside right there, so your traffic pattern has to stay open. That wall is large enough to handle the armoire flat against it, without overwhelming the wall space. It is hard to play with layouts, because depth and size can be hard to judge in a flat picture. I have a couple of options once the tv is moved. The first would be to place the couch on a diagonal from the fireplace to the window wall. I am not crazy about the couch against that half wall - it feels kind of like looking a someone who has on an overcoat and shorts - you don't really know what behind the couch because it is completely hidden, and takes away from the interest that the half-wall creates. Coffee table in front of the couch, and a great floor lamp behind it. The demilune cabinet might be nice on the wall to the right of the fireplace, with an art grouping over it and a small lamp. I would then put the two matching chairs on the half wall with a table between them and a lamp. The beige chair and ottoman could then be angled with the back of the chair to the corner where the small demilune cabinet is now. Move the console table and the arched mirror to the wall to the left of the doorway at the end of the room opposite the fireplace, which will balance the armoire on the other side. I did think about the option of filling in the half wall, and honestly I think that would be a great place for the tv. But that becomes a much more expensive alternative. What you could do there, rather than filling it in with a wall, is to put in a grid that creates a feeling of a window matching the opposite wall of windows. Putting the armoire up against that would work, as it would break up the view of the back of the armoire. One other alternative, tho I don't know how viable it is, would be to buy a flatscreen tv and have a lift installed in that half-wall, so that you could bring the tv up to watch when desired, and then lower it the rest of the time. Then the armoire could still go on that end wall, but the placement of the furniture in the room wouldn't have to be in relation to the piece. Once you rearrange the room, you may want to turn the rug 90 degrees to match the furniture layout. It is a lovely home - enjoy it, and don't let it drive you too crazy.

Marty (missouri), I've put a link here to the pattern for the signature quilt. Since I'm going to be working with my mom and sister on this project, and we want to get it pieced in a day (yikes!) I'm cutting out all the foundation blocks out of 6 1/2" muslin squares, and am using 5 1/2" squares, sewn on the diagonal, for the side pieces. It will give us 1 1/2" for the siganture. I know there will be waste, but this is the easiest way for my mom (84) and my sister (who has never quilted before). I am using patriotic fabrics, in blues and reds and the pattern will form x's and o's (I'm gonna call it Hugs and Kisses). The quilt will be made prior to the reunion, and everyone at least 18 will sign it on the front at the reunion as a family record. The quilting on the front around the blocks, will form a grid on the back of the quilt. Each year, I will write the year on one grid block on the back, and everyone in attendance will sign it within the grid. That will give us over 20 years worth of "who was there". I will take the quilt to the reunions every year. Don't know what I'll do with it then. I haven't told anyone but my mom and sister about this quilt...it's gonna be a surprize for everyone. The reunion is in August. Caroyn- Your new sewing room to be is just awesome!! It's great that there are shelves in there already! Hope this year goes by quickly for you! Here is a link that might be useful: signature quilt block pattern

There's nothing sibling rivalry about her bahavior. The resentment, embarrassment, and other feelings described here concerning a much, much younger sibling is nonsense, justified as normal or legitimate because they had no one to tell them their feelings were wrong. People think and feel all kinds of things, but just because it's the way one feels doesn't make it right, hence there is murder and much other wrongful doing in the world. If they had someone to set them straight, the subjects would never have entered into your thread as anything of concern or consideration. Given any opportunity, I think your SD will abuse the baby - smack him, pinch him, or anything she can do to make him cry, if not *accidentally* drop him - because she lives in a very dark place mentally and emotionally, and she wants the whole world to be as angry, sad, and unhappy as she is. For him to think it nothing more than sibling rivalry is turning a blind eye. He needs an intervention to make him realize and understand the damage he's doing his daughter, and therefore his marriage and his son. You might talk to a health care professional and tell them the same as you've told us (and everything you haven't told us). Then, ask them to help you talk to your husband. I know you don't want to leave, but I'm truly impressed you are seriously considering it as more than just threatening in order to get your way. I don't know how the women who threaten end up feeling when they don't get their way and don't leave either. You can't keep being walked on like this, but he isn't going to listen to you. He isn't going to do any more than he has been doing no matter how much you threaten. It might take you leaving to get his attention, and then you can demand he go with you to talk to the professional. You might demand it before leaving but if he refuses, then you have to walk out the door, realizing it is likely forever and no amount of tears and begging you to come back can change your mind unless he changes his. If you don't leave, then please don't leave the baby with him when you go back to work. He has a cautious mother to protect him right now. Who will protect him when you're gone? His father never will believe there is any danger or concern.