This is little off subject I think but Joan talking about making things with toilet paper rolls & oatmeal boxes made me think of all the fun I had making forts, school houses, or a fine house- all out of the refrigerator or appliance cartons. The ones we got were around a new appliance & had wood frame & heavy cardboard or maybe even lightweight paneling with reinforced corners. They did well in summer rains(I added some kind of roof) & in winter dad had gotten 1 for me to retreat to in the basement. I put 3-4 of them together on a vacant lot & "taught" school, played house with other neighborhood kids or fought off cowboys or Indians as we often changed which ones we wanted to to be. There was a tree on the lot, so we could escape the fort & go up in the tree & be lookouts, of course the lake was right below so we had to watch"on land & sea" it was quite a job & we were very serious about it. Too bad I didn't have my camera yet! I was shy but always road after the appliance truck & asked if I could have the crate, I think we ended up with 4 on the lot, they were very heavy but delivered right to spot I wanted.So disappointed when torn down & new house went up in there. Dad really started something fun by bringing that 1st 1 home tho. Jan

I should have the following, mostly in small quantities: Agastache 'Blue Delight' seedlings in 4-packs. Resembles 'Blue Fortune' Aquilegia (columbine), 2d year plants, blue flowers, 3.5" pots Amsonia hubrictii (Arkansas bluestar), 2d year seedlings (only 2 of these) Aster tataricus (Tatarian aster), divisions, 4" or quart pots. Belamcanda chinensis (Blackberry Lily), 3.5" pots Galanthus nivalis (snowdrops), at least 50 mixed-sized bulbs per trade, more than half of blooming size Geranium, seedlings of 'Claridge Druce' probably, 3.5" pots Geranium 'Biokovo,' small divisions Helleborus x hybridus (lenten rose), several dozen 1st year seedlings in 4- and 6-packs and a few 2d year seedlings in 3.5" pots. Parent plants are white, rose, & purple. Nandina domestica, 2d year seedlings, about 6" tall. Unnamed parent plants have reached about 4 feet. Nepeta (catmint). Unknown variety, compact & low-growing, purple flowers. 4" pots. Pulmonaria (lungwort), 3.5" pots. Seedlings of 'Mrs. Moon' (I think) Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan), divisions, quart pots, unnamed, orange flowers, reach about 2 ft. for me. Salvia guaranitica (the species, not 'Black and Blue'), small divisions Salvia reptans (upright form), small 2d-year plant (only 1) I can dig these if anyone wants them, but won't pot up: Helianthus 'Flore Pleno' Tradescantia (spiderwort), mostly cobalt blue and purple-blue shades Ditchlilies Email sfmiller AT umd DOT edu in case the GW mail system is wonky. Steven

Yes, rain or shine! (We'll figure out how to accommodate anything Mother Nature throws at us.) I'll bring an umbrella, plastic sheeting/tarp and maybe old blankets to keep things from making the car floor too wet, and maybe an extra pair of shoes if it's really heavy rain... And rag towels to help keep the house from getting wet tracked inside...

I'm in rural western Canada, and without subscribing, I can't get too many shelter mags in the nearest small town. I should also mention that I'm definitely not a minimalist or a modernist : ). I used to subscribe to Style at Home and Canadian House and Home; now I get them at the library, along with Country Living (which seems awfully cutesy lately and I certainly wouldn't subscribe but am happy to bring it home for free). I can find sometimes find Elle Decor at the supermarket. Whenever we go to a big city, I pick up Country Homes & Interiors (UK) and Homes & Gardens (UK), which are my two all-time favorites. From time to time I've been able to find Hus & Hem from Sweden, which I like but can't read lol. One of the few things I miss about living in a big city is having a Barnes & Noble nearby to buy foreign mags, though my husband is probably happy. There are some great Swedish and Scandinavian design blogs written in English, and they're free : ) http://emmas.blogg.se http://hegegreenall-scholtz.blogspot.com (a Norwegian in the UK) http://ellmania.elleinterior.se I used to like House Beautiful, but something has happened recently and it's not the same, possibly new editor. Haven't been able to see it enough to put my finger on it. I miss House & Garden (HG), especially when Dominique Browning was in charge, and Cottage Living. I know there has been so much change with the shelter mags for some years now, sigh... Becky