Its snowing right now, just a light one. Just started and the kitties and cur will be thrilled to experience it when Daddy gets up. Wow, Eden! Id forgotten you had a chandelier in your boudoir. It looks great, especially decorated for the Yuletide season. Did you use one of those plastic medallions to add the detail to your ceiling? Ive looked at them repeatedly over the years and have never used one before. Seeing yours got me thinking about the possibility of using one over the stairwell in the Salon (whenever I get around to replacing the cord and the bare bulb, lol). I have to agree with you on the annoying aspect of Spike and the necessity of him remaining in Bellas home! You could always give her a lump of coal and tell her its what ultimately became of all the dinosaurs, you know. ;) Books were always a huge part of gift giving in our home. And like Bella, my brother and I were never disappointed to receive them. I love that you and Bella read together; so, SO important, and not only for good reading skills, but also for relaxing and cementing the bond of affection and trust that will make the "tough" years easier. Michelle, I love the idea of making puzzles for Kenzie. I can only imagine the squeals of joy when theyre completed and pictures of her favorite haunts at your home are revealed by her hard work. There are so many inventive ways to use technology to keep those distant close. Weve had none of your bone-chilling temperatures here but they will arrive as they always do! Still, though, we rarely see zero degrees F here in the "banana belt" of the Pine Tree State. Ive yet to get working on the decorations for the outside of the house, PM. That wreath picture is so pretty. I havent decided whether or not to fool around with the wet saw today or apply myself to the task of stapling greens to frames. The helpmeet brought home a bundle of "brush" (trimmings from Christmas trees) the other day. Which reminds me that I ought to move them inside the bahn before they are covered with snow . As usual, Ive gotten several chuckles from Cynthias post. Will today be the day the window candles are displayed at your house? Do you make winter jammies for your peach-skinned canids for the winter season? The image of the girls peeling around the yard pretending they were pursuing the "Yankee" cracked me up. Mary, the generosity of musicians never ceases to amaze me. There is a definite kinship there, a shared experience of learning something, practicing, and mastering it. Hard work and joy in the subject elicits the generosity of such a thoughtful loan. Several years ago the cellist, YoYo Ma left his Stradivarius in a taxi. The instrument is valued in the millions of dollars and it was returned as soon as the oversight was reported. There was a similar story about another musician who left her instrument in some sort of public transport not too long ago . Hard to believe anyone could forget something so obvious, but Im sure it happens more than we know. I love the sound of the Lute, when I hear it now I always think of Mary I of England, who was the most accomplished musician of all Henry VIIIs children (all of whom were quite talented). I think my favorite composer is Handel, though I am a fan of Georg Telemann, too. I am particularly fond of the bright, cheerful sound of brass. I purchased a pair of speakers for the Salon yesterday, having stewed on it for some time. We have rather a lot of stereo components kicking around the Compound, certainly enough to cobble together some sort of "system" for music delivery, but speakers are in short supply. I am not particularly skilled in programming remote controls but Im shooting for the Holy Grail, you guys. ONE remote to control volume and program/control a receiver and disc changer from anywhere in the room. Mind you, no such feat has ever been accomplished in this household before, so Im clearly shootin for the moon on this one. Speaking of the moon, I DID enjoy the convergence in the heavens, Martie. It was very cool and both the helpmeet and I commented that we always think of the generations before us that looked up at the same thing, and considered the possibility of what a knowledge of the stars could provide them. I wish Rich lived near me. The helpmeet attempted to install the staircase railings last spring. He was irritated and when hes like that he tends to hurry. Anyway, it looks like doggie poo-poo and Ive quietly decided Im going to look into hiring someone to do it with less "attitude". Ill bet itd be childs play for Rich and Ill bet he wouldnt mind if I wanted to "prefinish" some of the pieces before they were completely installed. You are so right about the importance of thoughtfulness in gift giving. The point of the season isnt the "booty", at all. My list includes several rather small items that will flesh out my tool collection and thats about it. Helpmeet has yet to present his wish list, so Im not certain whats on it. Hopefully no Spike! I lol when Eden worried that your "out of work" friend doesnt appear at your door, Cindy, looking for another winter of protection. Repeat after me (while giving a nod to Nancy Reagan), "just say no". And I dont "get" keeping the dead plants around, either. Thats probably why there are no houseplants in this house! All the suggestions on how to address them made me laugh. Im always interested in your reports on the news from the heart of our nation. Marian, Rex would make your yard a regular stop if you set out a turkey buffet for him. He might even bestow a certain "gift" on the edge of your lawn area, too. Speaking of which, he is giving me "the eyes". Hes had breakfast and now hes jonesin to go out for his morning constitutional. Id best get suited up to chaperone him. Keep warm!

It's time once again for an "Updated list" I reallllllyyyy need to close the swap! Updated 'received' list.... Cedarnest- sends to- Klickitat /received Klickitat- sends to- Debbya Debbya- sends to- paya10sh /received Paya10sh- sends to- Dirtundermynails /received Dirtundermynails- sends to- Sguanzon /received Sguanzon- sends to- Pixiesluvplants /received Pixiesluvplants- sends to- Laurelin /received Laurelin- sends to- Rockyridge /received Rockyridge- sends to- ilovefarac /received ilovefarac- sends to- Lil_green_thumb (in transit dc# is 0306 3030 0002 2501 4663) Lil_green_thumb sends to- Cedarnest Has anyone heard from Kim lately? Nancy didn't receive her box yet. Kim, Please email me! Or post here and let me know when Nancy's box will go out. Thanks! Klick, Thanks for keeping in touch. I hope you feel better soon! Don't worry about my box. Deb

Granted I got a late start, but not a good harvest. The carrots are still pencil sized, tomato production was lame and flavorless (probably too much water). So do you pull the determinant tomatoes and start over in Aug? The two season thing is new to me. The infestations seem to be non-stop too. Army cutworms, then tomato hornworms, then spider mites, then leaf miners, then gulf fruitilary cats. Did I mention the coons that ate what few tomatoes I had? The one thing that seems to be fairly immune is the asparagus and peppers (even the peppers were attacked). Luckily the coons gave up on vegetables after a stalk or two.

I agree with the points that both of you made. None of the factors which made marriages with such age differences a practical choice existed in this particular relationship. However, in a society where such relationships were common and accepted, no one was likely to blink when someone who didn't have a practical reason for it also made that choice. It looked normal to them. About Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, I don't like such editing. Books reflect their times, and readers should understand this. Besides, I don't think of them as racist. Yes, they do use language which we no longer tolerate, but it was standard practice at the time. Omitting it is a distortion. I do understand that I might have a different emotional reaction to that language if I had different life experiences. Anyway I have long thought that the runaway slave Jim is the real hero of Huck Finn. For all his humility, he is far smarter, wiser, and far more moral than Huck. In his parochial ignorance Huck looks down on Jim, but that says more about Huck than it does about Jim. And in the end, even he comes to value Jim's qualities.