vv, there is so much i don't know about gardening in diff regions of No America. I wondered if you might tell us a little bit about what kind of gardening area the ohio river valley is. i've never been. is it a gardener's paradise, like the PNW? where are you in KY and is it part of that area? i appreciate the education!

I can help! Try typing this in: http://www.tomato and then type this part right after it ville.com/showthread.php?t=21 (It's just that GW doesn't like putting the word "ville" right after the word "tomato", so it flags it and won't let me post it.) Does that help a little? I hope you find out what might be bothering your tomatoes! Sharon

I mostly like it. I am not sure the cornices with the modillions on them are at all original. Somethings obviously going on with the dropped area of the back parlor ceiling. Plumbing or ductwork from upstairs? So that is definitely not original on the soffit faces. That's easily reproduced (although expensive). But I don't think it's the right period for the house. The front is Federal, and modillion moulding is Georgian. To me it almost looks like polyurethane, there's something too fresh about it, too. I could be totally wrong, but compared to the other cornices the paired parlors look "off." I think that is a misstep and if I moved in I would probably spend $40K putting in run plaster mouldings like should be there, and it's a detail that no one would notice. This house probably had a commercial use on the first floor at least, which is one reason why whatever might have been in the parlors is gone. It's nice for what appears to be a mostly 1970s 80s restoration.

My daughter graduated from The Fels Institute of Gov't at Penn in May, and while she was a student there, she interned at Mt. Airy USA, an organization started by one of her professors. She still works there. The organization is very involved in revitalizing the business district along Germantown Ave. among other things. Working with the local schools, they recently received a $500,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation to build a charter school. They also applied and were accepted to a state program where business owners in the state who apply can allocate a certain percentage of their state income taxes to a participating school. You don't have to live or work in Mt. Airy to contribute to their school. They're well aware how important good schools are to their revitalization campaign. I don't know about the secondary schools, but I assume it's like the rest of the city, and you're looking at private schools if your kids don't into the select few within the public school system. Anyway, they're making an effort in that community.