Roses4ever, I remember you!!! :) wow wow wow.. i saw your other post too and I had soo many questions I didnt want to take the time right then to ask. i wish you were closer to me in NJ but i think you are down south and i'm far north in Morris County. we're a zone away! Roses4ever- i am so glad to hear your dont spray for the JB's.. but man oh man do they give me the heebeegeebees Can you tell me your fertilizing routine? do you use any and what kind? and how often? Your place is like a dream come true. it really is..! i saw that foxglove poking striaght up in your last post and i was sooo wow'd! mine never come back? well it did one year and then not the next? I am anxiously awaiting my first rose blooms tomorrow.. I have a yellow bed for my passed Doggy "Friend". Iplanted roses for him and yellow roses are for friendship.. SOOO- i planted carefree sunshine, easy going and a david austin i think- and i think you inspird me to get it.. Golden Celebration..? it's finally getting bigger this year.. it was very tiny when i got it. well these got me hooked on roses and i have a few more now.. but Roses4ever, I defaintely have some bug problems.. I try not to use any pesticides and this year i did ok with those darn sawflies.. or so i thought.. but ONE BUSH is beaing eaten alive.. it's a rather hardy thing so it'll be fine but it looks liek crap now. why is it that only this one bush is being attacked and i am noticing little white moths fly out of it when i spray it in the evening..)( i just try to knock off any aphids or saw fly larvae so the buds look liek they are gettin holes and the leaves are all holey too.. UGH.. i am so tempted somedays to jsut spray the crap out of everything.. but then yuo see a praying mantid or a lady bug on your rose and you say thank heaven i didnt spray right? siiighh.. anyway- your are jsut THE #1 rose expert in NJ!! please tell me what to do....!!! i think my irises got to cray this year and started crowded out a rose too- possible? ahh- i need help. You need a hotline! haha everyone is soo right- dont be sorry for posting such inspiration. sorry i'm so chatty.. jsut frustrated.

Hostaholic, your winter picture could make a beautiful Christmas card. I know it is not what you want to see about now, but there is beauty in it. I will have to take more pictures of things here, they are all bursting forth. One big and older pot of jasmine and clematis and black eyed susan vine is in bloom. The deep purple clematis and the bright orange b-e-susan-vine were looking back at me as I noticed them from the dining room window. The jasmine is ready to burst forth too....white spidery blooms. And I refreshed a bowl of mini hosta to sit on the umbrella-covered deck table. Little Tiny Tears has a scape. I showed it to DH, and he laughed. He never imagined hosta could be so tiny. The little Dixie Queen, from Savory's, is a nod to our first dachshund girl, Dixie. It is looking fine, and is the largest of the 4 tiny hosta in that very healthy bowl of minis. It has two Tiny Tears (from different sources), a Pandora's Box, and Dixie Queen. And takes up about a square foot of space on the table! No pictures of the minis yet. I was packing away winter clothing today. :/ Dancing Queen on 4/18/13 with her disco ball Alex Summers same day And here, if you have the patience to find them, are a medley of fragrant hosta including: Emerald Charger, Tortilla Chip, Mama plantaginea (in the black dress to left), Liverpool White, Hadspen White, Fragrant King (only one dormant), Sweet Marjorie, Guacamole, Holy Mole, Sugarbabe (smallest fragrant supposedly), Aphrodite, AND Iron Gate Glamour. And sweet Princetta, another fragrant. Like I said, I'm fond of fragrant hosta...

I just finally finished all your posts with your old house photos...including the doorbell! What a great old place! Another kindred spirit here...mine is a 1916 Craftsman Bungalow. Only been here about 8.5 years & doing all the work myself (with the exception of electrical & plumbing). Truly a labor of love. It's so much easier to post pics of ripped up, unfinished rooms in this section. Old house people get it when some of your sash are out of the frames for reglazing & some rooms have chipped plaster (for 2 years until you can actually get around to it). Real restoration is so much more time consuming than a "renovation". Your home is gorgeous! Your furnishings are perfect too! I love the folks who understand the phrase "They just don't build em like they used to", and choose that old house to call home! Totally following you!! :0)

Thank you all! You are making me so happy. :) I am not really a cook and have to say that the new space is inspiring me. I love being in the kitchen. Roserx - the faucet is Grohe's Bridgeford. It is awesome. Megaul - the window is an Andersen 400 series. The sides are casements and the center is a fixed picture. The dimensions are 6 feet wide by 3 feet tall. We originally discussed a taller window but it didn't work out and now I am so glad - with the taller backsplash behind the sink we get to see more granite and we don't have all the water splash on the window! :) I love my new window! :)