I received a Birthday Card today from Erica and it was filled with these fantastic seeds. French Lavender Liberty Classic Snapdragons Violet dusk Penstamon Carthusian Dianthus Can't wait to grow these beauties. Thank you so much Erica. Well we have almost made it to game time: 8:00 a.m. the fun begins. See you ladies in the morning. Shirley

Helene, you sound like my twin.. I too have gained a lot of weight and am now on blood pressure pills. In fact, the dr. is having a hard time getting my bp down. Working on our house this past year has been a diversion, something else to think about. I look in the mirror and I don't resemble the person that was there two years ago. Connie, my Mother lives maybe 6 miles from me and for awhile I visited her every day. Every day was not enough. I've tried questioning her when she starts talking about dying, she says as soon as I leave she will find some pills, will go out into a street and get hit by a car, etc. I can't do it, it's beyond my capabilities to talk with her about this. Her home is small, there are just four residents there now. The manager and workers come and go each day. They have told me that the residents with physical problems are so much easier to deal with than those with the mental problems. I'm just trying to keep my head above water at this point. My brothers came to visit last month and we went to a holiday block party, taking Mom. She started in with the dying bit, but she will look around the room to make sure that I'm looking and listening before talking about it. There was a men's barber shop quartet singing Christmas carols, beautiful food everywhere, and I was dealing with Mom and dying. To be honest, it makes me not want to take her anywhere. I know that sounds terrible. She has been a wonderful mother, this is not her, in my wildest dream I would never have thought she would be like this.. She was such a happy person, loved everyone, loved life. This dementia is horrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.. Mom's house has just sold, we need the money for her care. I will take her to her house to decide on some of her belongings and the thought of that scares me. I know it's going to be a hard day. If it were up to me, I would go in and make all decisions myself. But, I have my brothers to deal with and they will insist that Mom should make the decisions. I also know that she really won't make any decisions, will just walk around and cry. I will be the one left driving her the 80 miles back to her new home and getting her back into the house. Sorry if I've rambled on here... As I said previously, sometimes I just need to vent.

Y'all make me REALLY LOL here. NT - wish I could claim the idea of designs on the frame, but I took inspiration from Laurie Mika on that one. The girl's "apron" is an old piece of tin - it's her skirt. I put darts in the top so it w/stand out 3-D. Was interrupted while working on Lally three times yesterday - a visitor and two phone calls, so gave up. Maybe later today for an update. HAZIE - that makes me feel pretty humble. Come see me and I'll whip one out for YOU. SHADES - that's a great idea for a tray. SHRTY - on the other gift, the boobs are pieces off a stretchy belt. Thanks y'all.

It's so moving to read everyone's reminiscences, especially from those who have mentioned the loss of a life partner. My husband shares my house passion, and he too poured heart & soul into them, plus the bulk of the hard labor (and suffered the most wasp stings). I look back on the 3 houses we've owned and feel enormous gratification for our dual effort. But I'm amazed at the bond we have for each other that's somehow expressed in fixing up those homes. Is that strange? Does anybody else think this way too? I can't think of our houses without thinking of my love for my husband. It speaks volumes that we've never, ever argued over fixing up a house, not even a small conflict. We are very different people in many ways, but we're totally on the same page when it comes to the house. It's a shared creative outlet, I guess. So the stories from those of you who moved on after the loss of your loved ones hit me a little hard. Too difficult to think about. We know people who have a passion for travel. They save every penny so they can spend it on an exotic trip, even to the point of living in a simple, plain house & buying used items. Their lives sound glamorous and exciting, in a way, since they've traveled the world & have tales to tell. I like to travel too, but if I have a choice, if I have extra money, I'd rather spend it on house improvement/beautification. Travel memories fade, & you get tired of seeing the same old pictures. But house improvements reward every day for years. Fun2BHere's comment that she's moved too frequently to be attached to any house is fascinating and made me laugh a little too. The irony! Here is our 2nd home, a 1956 gem in NOLA that had gone into disrepair. We bought it in 1988 after it had sat empty for 3 years. It was built by a family that owned a stone & tile store. The house had fabulous slate floors (under thick layers of old wax) and wonderful tile & tilework in the kitchen & baths. A strong MCM design style inside, it had built-ins galore for amazing storage, & a well-designed kitchen (but dog scratches on the cabinets). The aluminum windows were shot; they flapped in a strong breeze had to be replaced. We were lucky that MCM design was way out of style back then; nobody else wanted this dated, dirty fixer-upper. I loved the style as a child, though, and was thrilled to get the house. We had yet to replace the big front windows, and my dream was to put a green tile roof on it (flat tiles, not barrel -- more contemporary). But a sudden job change yanked us to CT, and perhaps it's just as well, because Katrina flooded the home 9 years later. The owner abandoned the house. This is 2 years post-Katrina: A young Russian couple bought it a few years ago & fixed it up. They stripped the MCM elements out, but I'm not sure they were salvageable anyway. They were kind enough to let my son tour the house & take pictures when he was back visiting friends. It looks a little Home Depot on the inside now, but I'm happy the house is once again loved and that they have a comfortable house in a great neighborhood to raise their growing family.