I dealt with the returnables this morning. I loathe the thought of doing it, but the actual DOING isn't nearly as bad I think it will be. ;) I think my lower threshold for the accumulation of them relative to the helpmeet's factors largely into the equation... . I was gratified to note the number of shoppers entering the store with reusable grocery bags. Sadly (at least for my age group), they were either young enough to be the kids I never "squoze out" or my parents; but it's a much needed start. I returned to the car to find an older gentleman scratching Rex under his chin and behind his ears. He told me he couldn't resist the "pat me, please" demeanor of that fool dog. Sunday morning (early) excursions are usually relaxed and unhurried. Will today be the day I FINALLY take down the pediments, etc.? I hope 'bug. is nearing the end of her 24 hrs.. And wonder if the feline nurses have been providing warm ministrations? And I'm wondering how many Cadbury Creme eggs were required? As for the Salon, Deanne (you may regret asking, lol)... I have not made a final decision on the exact stencil(s), but they will likely be selected from classical Greek/Neo-Grec motifs. I have a particular fondness for the Federal (USA), Regency (Great Britain), Empire (France) period. I like the strong use of color, the detail in the woodwork, the furniture, and the use of draperies. I have been drawn to the "Gustavian", distinctly Scandinavian, twist on the era for some time now. I plan to "pickle" the woodwork and then clear coat it and have deliberately selected clear pastels for the palette. I will probably end up painting the floor, too. I particularly like the use of stencils to highlight the strong horizontals in any room; esp. the mopboards, the dado, the ceiling/"crown" areas. There will be no dado in the space, no crown moulding and I would like to visually "weight" the room toward the floor. I want to direct attention down, away from the surgical aspect of the overall lighting. Another reason for painting the floor. I have toyed with the notion of spot stencilling the walls, using an invisible "harlequin" grid (diamonds that are longer than they are fat) and very subtle color scheme or "tone on tone" (using varying gloss factors to define the stencilled motif) to give the room a bit of zip, but in a quiet way. Clearly, I need to focus on the woodwork and the chimney/hearth/stove installation before I make a final decision. I want to play with a "creamier" color and also see if I can locate a metallic that can be applied more sheerly than the one I played with yesterday.

I appreciate your post, because I've always had that 'dream' in my head, of living in the country, which I've never done and this is a reminder of the reality of how challenging it is. I don't know how you do it. I just wanted to share that we have a dog and it has not been a problem in the garden at all. This dog is not a digger at all, She enjoys the garden. I have a shrub border edged by grass on 2 sides of the back that she can wander through and look out the back post and rail fence at the next yard. And we have a 30ft mixed border with perennials that has a rock edge, that she was very easy to train to stay out of. She will chase squirrels when she sees them, and that has cut down on their mischief. So the right dog can be a workable solution and a joy as well. Maybe you have friends or family that might consider taking the dog when you go away? You might have to drive to them before your trip, but on the plus side, you might see them more often. :-) Maybe you have a friend with a dog that you could borrow for a weekend to test out how it would work out? We have never had outdoor cats, we have allergies in the family. But if I had rodent problems like you do, I would definitely get some cats right away. There are so many cats in shelters. But you might want to speak to someone about how you judge whether a cat is a good mouser. You said you have raised beds, I wonder if you added hardware cloth to the bottom of them? I would look into that. We just finished building new beds and added 1/4 inch hardware cloth to the bottom. I've been told that makes a big difference. I haven't had a lot of problems. I definitely have a mole in the yard, but not sure about the voles. So I did it as a precaution. It was expensive. I've also had it suggested to me to plant my bulbs in little baskets made of hardware cloth. On the Hosta forum, there was a suggestion to plant Hostas in wire wastebaskets that you can get at the dollar store. I've also seen people build chicken wire tops for their raised beds to keep animals out, although I haven't heard how successful that is. Good luck!

Your garden looks great, keep us posted on how everything does. I am especially interested in how the S. palmetto seedlings do unprotected in your location. Speaking of the growing season, It looks like it came to a decisive close last night over most of north Florida. The low this morning in Tallahassee was 23F, ouch, thought it was a tad early for lower 20s, even in the interior panhandle. This obviously nuked the annuals and seasonal tropicals. Does this also fry the leaves off the deciduous trees which are not yet bare? Saw this happen to some of the trees in Atlanta years back after an early November night into the upper teens. The low this morning at the Orlando Executive Arpt., on the other hand, was 51F.

they are amazingly tough trees where hardy this looks very similar to the damage a stupid local kid did cutting my grass the tree is absolutely fine now, 6 years or so later you really have to look to see the spot where the trunk healed over so, yes, no need to graft a fix to it they are probably one of the top moved trees by northeastern landscapers, I've heard of a couple cases of people moving them when they move house...so they are probably fairly transplant tolerant if done correctly. Expensive though, I think the couple I know on Long Island said it was over $3000 to move one from their old house to their new house. It was bigger and fuller than this.