Thanks for the welcome, all! Sometimes, forums do not move fast. I am patient! I should have realized it was a joke...immediately after I posted the thread, I re-read it and considered that it could possibly maybe be a joke, then changed my mind. whoops! Now, it does make me laugh :) Well, I've only not bunched a neckline once, so I'm not the one to ask, but... I first pressed the facing while it was right side to right side, then fileted (tidied?) the seam allowances little bit by little bit. BUT, I did not open both of the seam allowances, I just pressed one open. Not sure how to explain that. And, I finally decided to follow directions and NOT iron over the pins. I pinned it back (50 linen, 50 cotton, close to neck neckline with facing, no interfacing), let it rest, took most of the pins out, gave a light spritz with my water mister, let it rest, took all the pins out and then pressed with the tip of the iron very carefully. I had the heat lower than usual on the iron. This was my fifth neckline!!! Took a lot of attempts and practice and whining... Thanks again for the welcome! Jennifer

I think that this kind of situation is why retirement villages have become so popular. I hadn't thought of living in one but was offered a place when I returned to Australia, widowed but wanting to live near but not with my children and their families. I can interact socially or not bother if I want some quiet time! The residents here say that it is the best thing that they could have done, downsizing is a bit painful but the benefits of having no maintenance or gardening to do, unless you want to, locking up to go on trips etc. make up for it. It sounds like the couple in the poem cut themselves off and needed to socialise when they moved away.

My initial reaction is to have a freak out when I'm faced with change. Then I open my mind and take a look around, and before long, I realize things are better than they were before. I'm still in the freak out stage. But that didn't stop me from uploading pics to my profile page!

Since the area where you want to put the shelf is just inches above the mantel, you'd have to have a very narrow shelf, so it wouldn't interfere with any items you may want to put on the mantel. Personally, I'd go with your first idea of filling it in with the stone. The first two pics look like the Autumn stone, but the last one looks gray (Spring Creek). I wouldn't paint any of the stone, but I agree the Autumn Mountain might have gone better with your tile around the firebox, with looks more tan/beige than gray. You're doing such a great job with the stone, maybe you can put in a a different tile around the firebox, and on the hearth. What color will the walls be? I see a gold color above the windows on either side.