KS, I love my duplex; it is in its first year. My shots of it are blooms down low; I can tell yours is "up high" - how large is it, if you don't mind my asking? I was so amazed at the sweet fragrance of the buds. I am really enjoying seeing everyone's shots. Windeaux, frankly, I am staying out of the brouhaha because I don't really care what the rose is. I wish they'd get some of those free-use pics of Redoute's drawings and use those. I hate this to turn into some kind of a competition; I just like to see the fruit of everyone's gardens. But that's just me, I'm sure and others think differently. And, Windeaux, I've only heard Tamara say kind things about you. Gean This post was edited by harborrose on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 21:28

Marla, Thanks for the reply. I'm already 'working' all the short cuts I know for canning since I do a lot for my own family. I have a very large stash of jars, mostly picked up in my travels when I find them on sale, flea markets, yard sales, thrift stores. I keep adding and stashing :) We've had a few successful small business ventures, so I understand gross sales vs. the bottom line. It's unfortunate, but I've come to understand that when I do something I love to do, I can't expect to be paid as much for my time. That's the price you pay for not being a slave to somebody else's rules, and I think it's mostly worthwhile. The other thing is that we don't expect to make much profit for the first few years while we are learning what our new market customers want, and personally while we are building infrastructure on our property as our budget permits. That said, a lot of what we consider "value added" are the small steps our family has taken to make our microfarm more productive--deer fence, planting rows of berries and other fruits, expanding the range of things we're trying to grow and being creative about maximum use of the space we have, etc. In addition to selling products grown specifically for market plus our excess produce, we're expanding our own food base to keep from dependence on the grocery store. (Adding mushrooms, garlic this fall, chickens next spring...then hopefully bees). These are value added benefits that can't be measured as easily in dollars, but are precious nonetheless (as I'm sure most farmers would agree). We're also enjoying becoming more involved in our community, which is another "value added" benefit. I'm sure there are others, but this is moving too far off the original value added topic, so I'll stop blabbing now. Carrie

You could continue the leaf theme and add a selection of nuts piled like a squirels cache with the name written on a large nut. small apples, written on, or with the name carved, or spelled out with cloves purchase the turkey shaped chocolates and lean the place card against it or attach with a touch of glue to the back of the tail feathers if they are foil wrapped, use frosting if they are not, (also if they are not wrapped, you might want to lay down a paper doiley, covered with toasted coconut straw to prevent chocolate transfering to your table or tablecloth. Marzipan fruit cornucopias at each place setting I can't think of any other right now. Susan

I hadn't seen the DWR kitchens. Remodelista and Apartment therapy have the same press release. The cabinets shown look heavy to me, probably because of the edges that stick out. The Viola Park and Henrybuilt above are much cleaner looking. Both of those photos look really dated to me, in a way that other Modern cabinets, especially the Euro ones, don't. Perhaps it's just a matter of what I've seen. The above look like kitchens that I've seen in houses they were original and new styles in. ... Come to think of it, though, for all that Modern is enduring, Poggenpohl and Pedini are showing different looks within that now than the ones I was seeing fifteen years ago. Maybe Henrybuilt just needs to update their advert photos? I absolutely agree that their forms could work in just about any house if detailed right. Modern endures unless it's '80's red or blue lacquer. :) In a neutral material/color, inc. the Henrybuilt woods and the Viola white, it is very little black dress. I think the most "insistent" thing about the Henrybuilt, however, is the hardware. That absolutely plugs it as Modern, whereas the flat slabs of the Viola could be any flat slab Euro, across many decades. It's all pull doors, but otherwise doesn't look much different from my own bamboo, which is much quainter looking. Of course, the other thing that makes the Viola Park is the lack of clutter with the flush cooktop, hidden hood, and, presumably, integrated everything else. I've always agreed, in general, about the age of house/period of kitchen thing, though sometimes the locale and/or style of the house have more to say about it. Even when I was thinking white kitchen, it was never going to be Peacock Scullery-ish, and certainly not inset with cup pulls. That would look really off in my 25 year old house. So would a lot of Art Nouveau. The house is rectilinear, and too new. OTOH, the little A.N. details, work, and help make my kitchen look grown in place rather than slapped on top. I think it's a case of what a colleague called "instant ancestors". That was about using clipart photos in a collage. The portraits give a sense, in the collage, of a community, with history. It doesn't matter that they're not the actual people from an actual community. They convey the message just by their presence. Using some details from days gone by in a kitchen (whether salvage or repro), like using old family pieces and/or antiques in another room, will give some temporal depth to the room and make the date much less obvious.