Leafwatcher, are you trying to tell us something with the title of your thread? Are you about to "slow down" visiting the forum? What about your plants? Are they showing huge flushes of leaves? Want to share pictures? I looked at Georgia Sweetheart tonight on my walkabout, and honestly, the old leaves are hidden below a flush of really huge leaves that are totally different from the old ones. Very unique looking I must say. Photo tomorrow.

Shirley...I am so glad you finally got your box, even if the wine got broken. It just shows how roughly the PO handles our boxes. As you saw, I had marked it "Glass" and "Live Plants". Wonder what happens if you don't mark them to let them know that there are fragile items inside??? I wish you had gotten to see the label though...It was made especially for you. Also, I have spoken to different people in various Post Offices about mailing wine. Each person gave me a different answer. One told me that it was okay to mail wine as long as it was under a certain proof. My homemade wine isn't proofed, even if it was, they wouldn't know what it was because they broke the d--n bottle;0) I'll bring you some when we go to Gatlinburg in the spring. Don't let me forget. Gloria...OUCH!!!That does sound really painful. Hope you heal quickly. Marea....Thank you for the nice complement about the wine. I'll have you a bottle waiting when you come and see me this spring. I can hardly wait to show you over the farm. Maybe when you get settled in your permanent home I can return the visit. Welcome Roxanne. Glad to have a new member. I've been away from the group a lot recently and have missed out on your joining. Now for the sad news...My aunt passed away late yesterday, she was cremated today, and there will be a memorial for her tomorrow in her hometown (London, KY). This is the aunt that I have been helping my cousin by sitting with her a few times a week. Maretta (my aunt) was 66 years old and died of cancer one month after being diagnosed. The blessing is that she is no longer suffering and is in a much better place. Hello to everyone...I have missed you, and hope to be back and more active in our group again soon. Debbie

swamp whiz, there are a lot of ways to build better walls. there is an insulation company that does a lot of work with my clients. his company installs a glue based rockwool for a R-15 in a 2x4 wall. this combined with a 1" polysi foam board to the exterior of the wall is how we get R-22. if foil faced foam is used it will act as a radaint barrier (not as well as roof install which gets sun all day, walls only get direct sunlight at various times of day)..radiant barriers need a minimum of a 3/4" air space so this wall application works when brick exterior is used. it can also work if furring strips are attached to walls and hardi of vinyl attached to strips. the interior of wall is drywall with air tight drywall approach. keeping air from passing though the insulation is the key. we start from the exterior..foam boards with all seams taped all holes sealed before exterior cladding is installed. then insulation (you can use R-15 batts) the final air sealing is the ADA to interior. most folks mis spend their insulation dollars by using spray foam in walls. the above is a cost effective proven equal. then dollars saved can be used where foam performs most effectively. roofline applicaions (unvented attic no soffit or ridge vents). this is an unvented attic. the benefits are these insulation on roof line keeps ducts in a semi conditioned space, so duct leakage is not an issue. equipement is also in attic seminconditioned which extends the life of the unit. sounds like you are doing a lot of research. there are people who can help you to make the correct decisions for your specific climate. visit www.natresnet.org unbiased third party independent information for hire. 2x's are the weak part of the walls wood has an insulating value of R-1 per inch. a 2x4 stud in the wall is R-3.5 which reduces the overall value of your insulated walls. using foam sheating to exterior reduces thermal bridging. the only way to eliminate thermal bridging is a wall without studs. this is called SIPs Stuructured Insulated Panels. when you build a home with these upgrades it is very important to size the hvac system for the upgraded house. the person who sizes the house has to accurately input these upgrades. the end result for all this is a smaller hvac system ..bigger is not better. efficiency is all about trade offs. better insulation better windows (solar heat coefficients of .35 and u-values of .35 or lower)..smaller hvac system..higher efficiency hvac system. low utility costs, reasonable payback, and the most important to the homeowner... comfort. best of luck. .

You have a beautiful home and I love your woodsy setting. You are getting great recommendations on lighting, but I would like to make one other suggestion. When you do your window box and perhaps shutters (I like the idea of white), seriously consider removing the two shrubs flanking the garage. They just appear too rigid/boring for such a pretty setting. Replace them with planters with colorful annuals to add some color - potted mums would be yummy in the fall. Your new garage lights can shine on them! Tuesday