OK I've been slapped and bopped and now I've actually SEEN THE RUG so I'm afraid there's no turning back. Oh woe is me. I really do love this rug. I had a blast at the arts and crafts conference at Grove Park Inn today...saw lots of things I wanted and can't afford! ha ha. But the rug actually is a little cheaper than the suggested retail so we probably can swing it. Interestingly though I think I'm going to go with the lighter "summer" colors. The Guildcraft folks seemed real nice to work with and they will send me a couple of the 2 x 3 sample size rugs so that I can see which color works best. I'm afraid I'm hooked or should I say hand knotted?

Art is such a personal thing. The kincaid in the original post strikes my heart with fear (I hate them...they're creepy IMO) and yet my best friend loves the horrible things. I don't look for art and would never go shopping to fill a space, from a galary or mall, because it never works. Instead when I'm out and about, sometimes art just happens along my path. Sometimes I find it in the attic LOL You just never know. I have a gorgeous bronze nude in our front parlor. If you would have asked me if I'd have a gorgeous bronze nude in my parlor prior to us seeing it at an auction I'd have probably laughed in your face, but when I saw her I just had to have her. DH and I both love her and she fits perfectly in the room. In the same room there is a tin lithograph of a steam ship. Huge thing from the turn of the century. I tripped over it at an antique show and it wouldn't take no for an answer. As to the pet picture...I'd encourage you to have a good artist paint your puppy. A dear friend of ours just lost their kitty. They do not have children and their kitty was their baby. We had a local artist paint him from photo's for them as a suprise gift in his memory when he died. It did bring tears, but it also evoked positive memories for them as well. He was a wonderful friend to them and memorializing the dear boy in a quality art piece was worth every penny to us and to them :) Art should be that personal IMO Stay away from the Thomas Kincaids please :P

Two more historic sites that (I think) haven't been mentioned: Greenfield Village in central Massachusetts, somewhat north of Sturbridge Village, is an "original" setting -- all the old homes are original to the site, not brought in. The earliest date back to the original European settlement of the area. I've only been there in the dead of winter and on a short time budget, but had a wonderful time and plan to go back. Canterbury Shaker Village, north of Concord, NH -- if you haven't (and even if you have) visited a Shaker village before, it is well worth the trip. The buildings are fascinating, the guides give you insight into the Shaker way of life, and you can even try out some of the crafts -- rugmaking, Shaker box making, etc.

Many years ago, we grew a rose called 'Etoile de Lyon'. I don't remember for sure where we got it, but I would have thought Joyce and Virginia. It was a pure, true yellow, definitely not the same as 'Bermuda's Anna Olivier'; but of course it may not have been a "real" EdL. Bermuda's Anna does seem to be the same as what is now generally known as EdL. I wish I knew what our old one was, and I wish I still had it -- it was an unusually nice, very large-flowered pure yellow Tea. As I recall, it did ball badly in some weather.