Nicole, you are very pretty! That was very interesting. Not sure how I would describe myself...oval face, lots of lines (okay, wrinkles), short gray hair but not really short, green eyes, and I smile easily. (Since I had a lot of dental work done anyway.) I had a friend named Ken, and I took care of him in the last 8 years of his life, but he was a good friend that shared many insights with me that made me look at things in a lot of different ways. One of the things that he told me....that is really pretty basic, but I just had never thought about it...a person wears their life experiences on their face. I think about it more and more, especially looking at older people. Like Nicole, I would describe myself as happy....I hope it shows on my face.

Nice purple seedling Debra. Pistil length looks short, so it should be nice and fertile. My yellow is in a pot here, so scape height was not as good as it was in Texas. There it was around 28". Expect they will be higher here when I get it in the ground. Colors were much brighter up here with the cooler temps, which was nice. Bloom is over 6". Thanks Signet, glad you like it.

Hey! This is my first time posting in the bird section. Anyway, I thought I would share a couple pictures I took a couple months ago when the weather was colder here in the Midwest. I see at least 16 cardinals but I think there are closer to 20 (the ones that aren’t bright red are harder to see). I’m a beginner when it comes to this stuff. Probably a little over a year ago (or longer) I found myself in Walmart, stopped, and looking at bird seed. Not only did I find it odd that I was looking at bird seed, but it was confirmation I was getting old HAHAHA… Furthermore, I bought the seed. I placed seeds on my back deck rail and would watch the birds in the morning as I drank my coffee. After about a week I found myself getting more and more birds. Then I started feeding them at lunch time. Before long, I told my husband it was time to buy a bird feeder. I bought the cheap ones but they have held up. Long story short, I started with a bag of seed, which lead to one bird feeder, which eventually lead to several feeders. I don’t use them all during the summer months. I’m also starting to look for higher quality feeders. I bought my first droll yankee feeder the other day at Walmart (finch feeder). I was so excited too. I was at Lowes first but didn’t see any finch feeders I liked. Plus, they were all made in China. So I checked out Walmart and was happy to find an American made feeder. I started seeing the yellow finches within about 3 days of putting the feeder out there. Far away view from my back porch... close up (sorry it's blurry)

You won't like waht I say but oh well here goes . IMO take all the shelves out jang the TTV on one sdie above the bottom section put the TV on an articulating arm and on the other side of the FP hnag a great piece of art same height as the TV which BTW the center should be at eye level when you are seated.That will gt rid of the eye clutter on that wall and it will make the space feel biigger too. Anice light fixture no fan would be good too.I kind of like your brick in that space please do not do stacked stone for sure. I think if you painted the lower cabinets that would be left the same as the mantel that could be nice and if you want paint the brick the same as the walls , see how you like it and then decide if you want the mess of changing the brick.If you do what I suggest you will need a new mantel .