I did not drive to Santa Barbara so I was partially successful in my quest to avoid the beast. I wrapped my car keys in bacon and fed them to the dogs last night to remove temptation. I just finished watering this morning and life was good, I was on track. At 9AM this morning I became the victim of a home invasion. 2 men, bigger and younger than me, barged in my front door. I recognized them from my orchid society. Against my will, they forced me into their car and headed for SB. What was I to do, there were 2 of them, only one of me. Once in SB I would have stood out as someone odd and bizarre if I didn't buy orchids which is what everyone else was doing like crazy. So in order to preserve my good standing in this group of 'The Usual Suspects', I got 10 from the $7.50 table at SBOE and 8 of Cal Orchid's Epidendrums. I'll post pictures on the Gallery. My kidnappers were kind enough to drive me home. No real problem except now I have to follow my dogs around for a couple of days to get my car keys back. I'll definitely NOT go to the next function in Santa Barbara, I'm not addicted and I'm in full control of my life. Nick

Was gonna post this last night,...-sigh-...but,...once again I fell asleep at the keyboard. Sometimes this dang chair really is just way too comfortable. LOL! - Anywayyyyy,...sorry. Ahem,...now, to continue. Okay, so two days ago I received two more fantastic seed laden Christmas cards,... From tbbgardens (Trudy): A really nice, snowy card with a pair of Cardinal birds (my MIL's feathery fave), and YEAH,...Back Pearl Pepper seeds (another Wishlist BIGGIE!!), also Scarlet Creeper Vine (We have lots of chainlink fence here at our new place just begging for vines of all kinds, plus we also have an arbor out back), Hoya (Pretty! Flower stars!) and Anise Hyssop (From what I've read, this is one heckuva perennial herb! Great looks, great scent, and leaves for tea)! Never tried any of these, but now I'm sure gonna!! Thank you so very much Trudy, for the beautiful card and seeds, and for all the helpful information! :) From ruthz (Ruth, of course): A cool "Let it snow" card with a plastic window featuring simulated snow and a view of a jolly snowman, and no less than three more selections from my Wishlist!! Lemon Drop Pepper (Yessss!), more Black Pearl Pepper (Lovin' it!) and Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’ (Tallish, with purple-bronze leaves and white flower clusters - Niiice!! Thank you soooooo much, Ruth!! :) Cards and seeds received yesterday... From wishdesign (Jean): A cute "Share the joy of the season" card with a plush-toyish-looking reindeer offering symbols of the season as gifts. Now,...for the seeds (O Boy, O Boy, O Boy!!), first off, more Lemon Drop Pepper (Genetic diversity rocks,...who wants inbred peppers?! The more the merrier!!), Goji Berry (Majorly doing the Happy Dance!! Yeah baby!! Definitely a SUPER BIG TIME want from my Wishlist!!) and Indian Ginseng (Aswagandha - A medicinal herb for folks with insomnia, and the berries can be used as a substitute for Rennet in cheese making...totally rippin' cool!!). Thanks bunches, Jean!! Oh,...and the little red zippies, uber nice touch!! :) From missmojo (Lisa): A cool, handmade Christmas card, stamped with an image of holly and "Happy Holidays!", with purple Balloon Flower seeds (Yip-yip YES! My SIL only has blue,...guess who's gonna be wanting whose seeds now!! He-he!) Thanks a bunch, Lisa! :) Today's card... From dirtdaddy (David): How totally cool! An Elvis card! Could easily be the cover-art for The King's Blue Christmas single (if there ever was such)! - Ahhhh, now for the seeds! Man-O-man! More Black Pearl Pepper (Enough is never enough!!), more Lemon Drop Pepper (Like I said for Black Pearl), Thai Red Hot Pepper (Yeah! It's cold outside, stoke the fire!), Dr. Wyche's Yellow tomato (From the late Dr. John Wyche - Oooo, a real good one, to be sure!!), Jimmy Nardello Pepper (Sweet and light when eaten raw, classic Italian frying pepper, a favorite non-hot. - Hmmm, methinks a bit o' culinary experimentation is definitely in order), Bush Moon Flower (White Datura? We have Moon Flower vine, Morning Glory type.) Thanks loads, David!! :)

I used to get the magazine "Cottage Living" and loved to see what people did with smaller spaces. I loved the look of the charming and carefully done houses. Our house is not small as in cottage-like, but it is also not a mansion. I think seeing what can be done in a smaller space helps when designing for not so small. Your house is not small, but the look is more of a charming one that an exotic style. If you embrace how nice it is and what it can be, you will have a lovely place to live. When I was younger, I always wanted to be glamorous, but could never pull it off. I looked like the girl next door and wished I could be more grown up looking. Now, many enough years later, I am grateful that I look young(-ish) for my age and had never been at a loss for suitors before getting married, so I wish I could tell the young version of me to be grateful because if one is wishing for something else, they miss what they do have. I still can't wear red lipstick, but am ok with that now that I am wiser, lol. I subscribed to Cottage Living for the decor and appreciated the smaller scale once I started to read it. I also love the aesthetic of what were mostly charming homes and the variety of what could be done while also keeping their appeal. The nicer ones were not mini versions of big houses, but were their own proud more modest size. It was my one foray into house porn, so I can't recommend many others, lol. It is out of print now, but you may be able to see back issues at the library or if someone is getting rid of them such as on freecycle or CL. I finally parted with mine last year or I'd send them along happily. I tried their old website that was up past the magazine going under, but it directed me to another site, which looked cute too. Apartment Therapy may give you some ideas. You will have a larger amount of space to work with, but the feel may not be far off from what would work for you. My kitchen is fairly large now and yet it was done in a modest way for the decor. Its look fits with the overall scale of the house. If we had done fancy, there would have been a disconnect with the rest of the house no matter how much we updated it all. If you have seen a woman who is wafer thin where all the bones in her neck and ribs are protruding, and she is sporting double Es or more, you know what I mean. More is not always better.

Athleta (a division of Gap) has a good selection of skorts in varying lengths. They are a little spendy but the fabrics are good quality, wash and air dry well, so are great for traveling. Some/most they carry aren't really running shorts, and they give the lengths in the ads. I remember well the no-pants rules. I don't recall having but maybe 1 pair of pettipants. They just seemed like too much to wear to me. I hated slips too. Give me freedom! I wore Villager skirts with matching sweaters in winter, and in the summer I maybe had a sun dress but it was mostly shorts or for school a short-sleeved or sleeveless cotton shirt and skirt. Madras plaid was big down here, and we wore loafers or keds without socks. I had a madras plaid shift too. This was right about the time the mini-skirts came in. My mother made me a dress from the designer Mary Quant, when I fell in love with a dress I saw by her. She made it longer so I could wear it to school, but oh boy did I love that dress. It was pretty much the same when I went off to college. We could wear jeans (rolled up a little on bottom) on weekends. But we always, always dressed up for football games. And that was when my hair was the longest I ever wore it, and yes, parted down the middle and totally straight (which it is anyway). Fun times.