wow, thanks so much for the feedback everyone, i really appreciate that, and this forum (as evidenced my all my requests for 'help!', lol!). well, as far as the good wishes for my health - i thank you so very much. i've had a little set back and head back to chemo starting monday (yay - NOT!) so i am a bit anxious to get as much info as i can to seem like i know a little something to my poor dear hubby so he'll have enough courage to get out there and take care of my garden while i'm wrapped around the toilet, lol! yes, i'm a lucky gal indeed. since i've started gardening, i've taken a gander at the seed packets and yes, they're a little hard for me to decipher, i sheepishly admit. i gave up after my first disaster at thinning. i thinned the poor things to nothing! so i didn't even bother to thin the basil and it's doing just fine. i've noticed the occasional mean spiritedness on this forum and well, i just guess they've had or are having a bad day. honestly, i've found that there's more wonderfully generous folks here than not, and i'm thankful for that. i don't mind the occasional 'dry wit' comments too, but some are a bit, well, mean. and that's sad, because life's just too short, and truly sweet for that. i hope you all have a wonderfully sweet day! be well :) angela (ladybugs momm!)

lydia -- the 100+ food Elisa test sounds very interesting. I may give that a try, eventually. I'm convinced that I have quite a few food allergies. I used to throw up when I was given white milk as a child. Never drank any once my mother figured out the cause. Except in elementary school when I was forced by a teacher and I threw up. Funny how I was able to drink chocolate milk, though. I read later (as an adult) that in fact the chocolate in chocolate milk reduces the allergic reaction. Anyway, regarding food allergies, I know I'm sensitive to wheat though I'm not a celiac. I am also sensitive to dairy. (Ask me why I can't give up my goatsmilk yoghurt, this is the last frontier for me, hope to give it up eventually.) I subscribed to the test at http://www.enterolab.com/ which is where I got the results about wheat and dairly. The test was expensive. I think over $300.00. Glad I did it though. Sounds like the Elisa test may give you the same results plus some. This food allergy thing is tricky, I think. One of our dogs now it seems has food allergies. I asked the vet to test and she said that testing for food allergies is not very reliable (for dogs). I wonder if this is true for humans? A food elimination diet was the only thing she could recommend plus eating only a particular type of dog food that was "engineered to have a small enough molecule size so it doesn't trigger the allergic reactions" (her words). I was amazed and am wondering if raw food has "smaller molecules" than cooked food, HA, HA. Perhaps moite's methods that she got from her doctor about measuring her pulse rate may be the best way. I'm going the simple route with this raw food diet (for now) because it meets many other needs also. I had a great day yesterday. I went the whole day without the "wave of tiredness" that comes over me every day after lunch. I hope it wasn't an anomaly. Bad news is that with the raw food diet, there is a "detox phase" initially where some claim that you are ridding your system of toxins. The detox phase can produce acne which is what I just got yesterday. I haven't had a pimple on my face for many years but I have two now. Oh well. If my energy level stays good, I'll have to add that as one more reason why I'm glad I found this diet. I was craving cooked food day before yesterday but managed to get by without it. Hopefully those days will get less in number. This was kind of like craving a cigarette after quitting, as I remember it many years ago. Keep us posted about your food allergies. I'm becoming more and more convinced that for some of us, they are literally killing us or are reducing our quality of life (for some of us) to a very very large extent producing chronic problems and diseases that mainstream medicine doesn't have a clue. In my case, I definitely feel like I've become a guinea pig for trying out different "cures". I'm hoping that raw food will by my answer. I realize that because there is no definite proof, I could be wrong on this but as my DH says, it's gotta be better than being so overweight and hungry all the time. We were killing ourselves eating cooked food so how could this be any worse.

Congrats! Doesn't it feel good and comfortable when thoughts and imagined images finally fall into place? That range corner looks primed for some real drama. We await the ideas for it. It's not too late to insert either side of the range in your plan... a carved wooden oversized salad spoon and fork set, ...or a macrame plant hanger, ...or a gingham check teddy bear and white goose wallpaper border. But then, I suppose you will be impertinent enough to come up with your own idea.

Navy blue! Bah! I'm with you there, Rita. I wore a navy blue uniform for eight years in grade school, and I still dislike the color. Maybe take a little break from your quilting, or else, just power on through. You're so close now. Think of a gift to give yourself when you finish. Wine? Chocolate? More fabric in your favorite color? You can do it!! Go, Girl!!