[Hail Mary....] [Our Father....] Well, 15 years of fallen leaves on the ground really is impossible to completely remove -- So!-leaves do remain. Now that I'm down to soil, well.... it's marvelous! Appearing (admittedly to my uneducated eye) to be very "rich" - it's dark, loose, loamy, and no weeds of any sort. A pleasure to look at, to rake, to touch, to smell, etc. I confess I haven't had a soil test done, but I am assuming that I need to add lime to the soil for the new lawn. The garden landscaping will be done in stages.... first I'll dig out most of the border edges just to separate and define the garden from the lawn area. I'll plant in stages and over time. Now that I've had more time to think about it, I've decided I just can't throw away the rest of the leaves.... I'll mow over them and spread them over the garden soil. All this new interaction with leaves has made me think that maybe we should build some kind of compost container and start keeping the leaves that fall every year. I also have a ready resource of "extras", as our lot is right next to undeveloped woods, and there are leaves laying around out there, too. I guess because of it not being a fenced area, they aren't piled way up high like the leaves in our yard were. And I've always got extra coffee grounds, banana peels, and other "gunky" stuff I can throw into the heap, too. (I had thought of offering all the bags of leaves I bagged on craigslist to anyone who wanted to come get them... wouldn't that have been crazy?? Most anything that I don't want but don't want to waste, I post on caigslist --- "you want this? you come get it"! Thanks for all your comments! I'll post pictures of the "Before", "In Progess" and "After". Mary

Neil, good luck with your sale, but you are correct - it is inappropriate to post on this forum specifically for sale purposes. To state this is your first and last post proves your disinterest in our favourite plants. I'm just writing this response so your post will go away from the top line. See ya (not!).

I've never had a hard plastic that I couldn't clean with a little soap and water. You might try some damp soda, try it on the back to see if it is safe. shoes and sock should be available at dolls shops. I don't know about the styles. I would think Alice in Wonderland would just have ordinary synthetic doll socks unless she is very old.

Aunt Jen, I proudly display my collection of dolls....always have. I'm almost 65, so that tells you the age of my dolls. AND, many of my dolls belonged to my mother, who is 87 years old. I have a Madame Alexander baby doll in her christening gown...She's just lovely. I was given her when I was about 7 or 8 years old...so early - mid 1950s. And some "character" or "story book" dolls from the late 1940s/early 1950s. What's really unique about my collection is that most of my dolls are from foreign countries. Uncles serving overseas in WWII or the Korean War, brought me dolls when they came home. So these are very old dolls, made in their native countries. I have dolls from all over the world that arrived in my home from the late 1940s - mid 1970s. When I was growing up in Denver, I occasionally lent my dolls collection to the local library for them to put on display and it always received rave reviews because people loved seeing the native clothes of people from around the world. When I remodeled this home in 2005, I had the carpenter build a custom case to show my dolls...with proper over head lighting and everything. They're still crammed in the case, but are much more easily viewed than in any other cabinet. I'll take some photos and attach them here soon. I love my dolls, and I proudly display them....even though the rest of my house tends toward formal/traditional/Oriental decor. Free your dolls from their boxes and proudly display them! :)