I don't blame you for wanting it - "Purple Leaf Honeysuckle" is beautiful, but unfortunately, it's a Japanese Honeysuckle! I have very fond memories of Honeysuckle. My grandmother taught me how to suck the nectar from them, and I've always loved their fragrance. But, now that I'm doing my own gardening, I've learned that the way those grow that it's more work than I care for to keep it under control and they are invasive, not only in our own gardens, but in the natural areas as well. I'm doing a garden restoration of a property with Japanese Honeysuckle growing on the fence line on all three sides of the back yard. If you had been with me the past two times, first for 5 hours and the second for 3 hours pulling honeysuckle out of shrubs, trying to dig up the roots and runners (it roots at each node and sends up sprouts) you'd never plant one ever! By the way, I'm only half-way down one side and will have to go back over what I've already done again once the leaves have fallen to be sure I haven't missed any. It's a nightmare. Surely I haven't gotten it all, so I'll have to use an herbicide carefully in the spring when it starts putting on new growth and try not to kill the good plants. Oh, another thing, the Honeysuckle was covered with berries and as I was working, birds were feeding and flying off to plant the seeds for someone else to deal with.

That's so awful. Not just is it horrible to drag a kid around Disney watching you buy stuff that they can't have, it is not fair because you are keeping them from the rides! The worst one I've heard re Disney is my entry in the Worst Mother Ever contest. I had a neighbor a few years ago who had had a rough deal; he had gotten hit by a drunk driver and suffered some brain damage. He could never get back into his old profession (due to the damage), had outrageous medical bills, etc. So his wife decided that that was not what she had signed up for, apparently, and left him and the kids. She seemed to have this incredible and bizarre anger towards him, like it was somehow his fault that her life plans had not worked out, and seemed determined to "make him pay", even at the expense of her children. (According to other neighbors at that time, when he was in the hospital after the accident, they didn't think he'd make it. Some attorney got a hold of her or vice versa and she was telling the neighbors how much money she'd get in the lawsuit for having lost her husband. Well, he did make it - but the accident money all went towards the medical bills. Maybe she was angry that he didn't decently die so she could be a wealthy widow.) For example, their custody agreement said that he was responsible for dropping off the kids for the beginning of their visitation (backwards from most people's.) He didn't have a car and I remember driving back from the grocery one scorching hot summer Sunday and seeing he and the young kids waiting at the bus stop. I stopped because I knew the bus didn't run very frequently on Sundays; in order to drop off the kids he had to take a bus into town, wait almost two hours for a transferring bus back out of town to her place, and then do it all in reverse. In total this trip was going to take almost seven hours, nearly half of it with the kids in 90 plus heat. All this was to get to a woman's house who lived five miles away, (on the other side of a shopping district/highway so unwalkable), and who had a car. Needless to say I drove them there, and on the way back asked him why his X couldn't pick the kids up. She had told him that it was his responsibility per the court order and refused to do it, even though her own kids had to go on this several hour bus trip! Anyway, the guy struggled financially the whole time I knew him due to these circumstances. But every year, without fail, the X would go on a two week trip to Disney with her BF and her BF's niece. (Her own kids, of course, had never been.) And every year, without fail, she'd come over to see her kids upon her return and show them all of her pictures! And these were young kids - I just couldn't believe it! What on earth would be going through someone's mind to think that it would be so nice to show your kids how much fun you had, again, in Disney, with someone else's child?!

Oakley - I get what you're saying. I guess my house doesn't scream tons of color. I do have some candles and other accessories that aren't in these pics but overall my house is more muted I suppose. Funky - Good point about Reno's being more grounded. Those were the words I couldn't find. You're probably right but the thought of dark doors still hasn't left me . . going to wait, going to wait! Natal - Yeah, I've been searching and debating about a rug. Rectangular ones the correct size for under the table seem almost too large for the floor space (ends up too close to the wall with no pic). I may have to go with a round rug. Leah - *Smacking self on forhead* I know what cleats are. :) I'm a little sleep deprived as of late and it's showing. Thanks for mentioning to go to her blog. It was nice looking at all the window treatment pics. Nanny - I'll try some fruit or something on the table. I do have a glass pedestal on the island that we use for real fruit so the fruit may be too much for the table also?

Jon, love your posts and this entire thread has been so much fun to read. I am one of those who loves, loves, loves hosta, but can identify very few (Liberty and June are two). I started putting in labels, beautiful metal ones with labels printed on a label-maker. I had dreams of becoming like many here-brilliant, kind, funny, and wise in knowledge of all things hosta. Sigh. Dogs ran over and bent all the ones in the back and a cut paw told me it was time to get rid of those. No idea what became of those in the front yard. My memory of which is which might be summed up by the statement "the past is a foreign country and I don't have a passport." Now, I just drink in their beauty, add more, forget the names of those, and pop in here for inspiration...and often a laugh. Thanks for that today! Cynthia