My neighbor has a beautiful plant that blooms profusely each year. I harvested seeds back in late October and WS a number of milk jugs. Germination was slow and unreliable unlike my Stokesia 'Klaus Jelitto' that I harvested seeds from. Those germinated really well and I've several healthy WS plants waiting to be planted. The cream colored 'Mary Gregory' didn't have many flowers last year so the seed supply was limited. This year there are quite a lot of buds so I expect to expand my stokesia display next year and in years to come. I'd give a lot for anything like yours Christie. The photos are spectacular and an inspiration to me to keep trying until I can post a similar view. If all the seeds I WS had germinated, I'd have dozens of plants. At least the few I did get are sturdy and growing stronger every day. Healthy plants = healthy flowers = plenty of seeds. Thanks so much for showing off your pictures!

Sue, Sorry I am late to this celebration but I happened on this thread as I was searching for an update on your dining room to library transformation. I was so thrilled to hear that your son graduated, got such high praise for his film shorts and is heading off to Hampshire in the fall. I have followed your posts over the years and I was really hoping Hampshire would be a good fit for him. From the start, I had a strong gut feeling about your son and I think he's on a path to an exciting future. Your family is beautiful-- and I can't believe the girls aren't noticing your sons! All I can say is that I sure didnt know what I was looking for when I was in my teens. Those girls will wake up one day! A son who wants to take his mother out to lunch is going to be a great mate! Congratulations!

I know I posted to this but don't see it !! java : I sure hope you can get down there. Thank you ! I love the image of Mom Buttons !! SG,,,,yes following ones own path is so hard to do at times and yet can be so rewarding. We have told all of our children to do this and at present they are all following very individualized paths that are so rewarding. We are indeed proud . Thank you for such an insightful note. tina: he and DIL were there for exactly one year before going to The Red Hen. He loves the intimacy of the Red Hen so he is glad he moved on. I sure hope you can visit some day. Thank you !! nancy NO !! He only made mac and cheese from a box until he left for the USMC. That is where he became interested. Although I do believe all the latent talent came from his Mom and Dad and all the meals he had with us. That is all he talks about now is what we used to fix at home and he asks me all the time for my recipes and old family recipes from his grandparents. We are so happy for them. Thank you !! lynn: thank you !! I sure wish you were closer too. It is such fun to see our kids do well. I hope it continues and he can bring the experience of fine dining to more and more folks. c marlene...thank you !! He is such a sweet sweet baby. He has the best chuckle. We love him to pieces. !! tea...thank you !! Wish you were closer...you would get all the loaves you could stand. !! c

Wow! I love it! What brand, and color of stain did you use? I am working on an antique table and have the grime and old finish off of it. I went to Lowe's and HD yesterday for GF gel stain and finish coat just to find out that neither store carries it. I am so frustrated. I really wanted to at least stain it this weekend. I was looking at using the GF candlelite finish but that may be too light. I really like the java stain also but IMO it will be darker than I want. Your table looks to be about the shade I was hoping for.