Blow,blow,blow! Are we having March winds already? It was so noisy last night that I got very little sleep. Tommy went out before I went to bed, and I kept listening for his attempts to get my attention to let him back in. It was 2 AM before the noise I heard was him. The hover on our chimney came lose on one end, a few days ago, and was the big part of the racket. Naturally Nolon is no longer able to tend to such things, so no telling when it can be fixed. Prairiemoon, My DH's health problems are mostly from old age. He is 80! He has had heart problems, but that seems to be okay now. He has a very bad back, and emphysema. He also has frequent memory lapses, and mood swings. I am 74, and have battled the Fibromyalgia Syndrome and osteoarthritis for many years. I am the 'queen of Googling', ( smile) for answers to my health and for the meds that I take. I am only taking 2 prescriptions regularly...my blood pressure med, and a rather strong pain med. I have got it pretty well regulated, along with the OTC meds and supplements that I take. The OTCs are for high cholestral, low potassium, allergies, acid reflux...etc. ( I keep telling my friends that I am a factory reject and need to be recalled! ) LOL I really do not think I am depressed. I don't have those type symptoms. Discouraged often, but not depressed. Beautiful swan pic...:-) Marie, I enjoy all your pics of the new family, and I enjoy your DH's humor...:-) The idea of him bronzed is a hoot! Weird...but funny...lol. I saw a red tailed hawk on my way to town recently, then on a later trip, there is a dead one in the highway! I can't think it was hit by a vehicle, and hate to think someone shot it! What a wonderful thing for you and your DH to do... purchase 'half a house' for the new family. I am thinking you are as thrilled with all the 'newness' as your dear grandson is! How wonderful for all of you. We never know what tomorrow will bring. LOL about the old boyfriend's picture. Mary, I liked your "Holland" story. A lot to think about . I love the 'dragon'. Wish I were ambitious enough to make one! I am glad the missing girls showed up and were okay. And I am espacially glad Annie wasn't with them! LOL, V. I have had dreams of unseen friends also ( but then, you have seen many of 'us', and had the pleasure of having a bunch at your home). I can identify with the tiredness from some dreams, also anger or sadness. I have never been to an Opera. A theatrical group puts on shows in Harrison, but I have never gone. Once several of my aquaintences were acting in one. I almost went...:-) Eden, I never did tell you how happy I am that your mom's tests came out good. I hope she is feeling okay. Michelle...such a handsome family!(Both yours and Ricks.) The newlyweds are 'beautiful'. The groom reminds me so much of a dear friend that is a bank manager in Harrison. His nickname is Cub , and he is like a cuddly bear...(smile). Martie, I guess I am pretty strong, else I wouldn't have made it this far. But then, you know from whence comes my strength. Deanne, I haven't been commenting on all your ezcellent bird pics, but you know I consider you a master at all you do! Cindy, I really do not mind winter, but it has become increasingly a challenge with the wood heat! I do admit long dark days can get to me, but I have pretty much learned to 'tune' them out. Stormy weather, regardless of the type, invigorates me. I agree on your analysis of the 'youthful spirit'( Been there, done that!) ;-) That is strange about the PictureTrail pics. That is what most of us use. T, I love your wintry scene. Honey, I hope your funk is lifting. I hope you saw my answer to your xmas cactus question. Ei, I am still enjoying 'your' orchid's blooms. They are hanging right in there. Norma, has the artic express reached you? You are fortunate that the firewood debris is in your basement. Mine is through the breakfast room and into the livingroom. Our aging stove has taken to down-puffing, and blowing ashes out of the draft door! ( Actually, it is probably not the age of the stove, it is the shortness of the chimney. It needs another joint on top! ) I love the BD pic you posted for Taryn. Where is that? Drema, that is great that your DB is improving. I can hardly imagine the heartaches. It's so good that he is close so you can visit regularly. My old Jade plant surprised me with a few blooms this winter. It had never done that before. Woody, I think I am due for more MRIs . It's been several years, and various new problems have came up that xrays don't cover. I will be thinking of you and yours, and praying that you get a good report. I like the sweater. I hope your DH will at least wear it around home. It doesn't look like a target to me. :-) I hope you find the perfect helper. I made another trip to town today. With the incoming bad weather I needed more stuff than I got yesterday. I think we are pretty well set, regardless of what comes! The wind is still strong, but warmer than yesterday. I wore one of my new flannel-lined jeans. It felt good! Marian

Good to see your progress Jan! I'm sure you didn't run Di/Jimmy off, they're just busy, yea, yea, that's the ticket! I thought about writing an entry all day yesterday, but ultimately I didn't because I don't have the pictures yet. We have made oodles of progress on the bathroom. Torn out the floors (Ed) and pulled the nails (LF) and replaced it (LF). On his vacation, Ed framed three of the walls. When I arrived home and said, "Where is the vanity going, the ___ going...", we realized we really needed to use more space whether we liked it or not. It was just too squeezed even if it was worlds bigger than the current bathroom. As we talked and moved around using our visual aid (a stool which was the exact width/depth of the vanity), a light bulb went off and we realized if we moved the door to poorly used corner we could end up with a good two and half feet more of wall space and that was enough. Yea! We could move forward. He finished building the bathtub platform. This week, he's been putting up vapor barrier and hardibacker for the bathtub. We (Ed and Rob) put the bathtub in on Saturday. Sunday we bought the "linen closet". We're still talking about the best use of space and when we both agree, we'll finish (probably tonight because I think he was saying a good idea last night, but I was busy listening to LF when Ed said it). We can't do the plumbing and wiring until we do. I have pictures of LF swimming in the tub and the new storage piece, but they'll have to wait since I am at work and the camera is at home.

oh shirley, i'm coming visiting with my shovel and bucket. just fabulous and i think you know how i feel abour iris... klick, great pictures. i too enjoy the birds and have been doing my best to attract more and more to my yard. luna, just love your aquarium pix. when my neice and i were up remy's way, we went to the aquarium there and totally enjoyed ourselves. of course, remy was kind enough to leave us all kinds of two for one coupons. okay, sue's been bugging long enough, so here goes. a close up shirley's scarf an AV that's blooming and my dessert from yesterday...they are called molten lava cakes. you eat them right out of the oven and this sinfully rich ooey gooey chocolate comes running out. of course, you have to cut it back with something, so it's very light whipped cream it's sitting on, with a little splat of chocolate sauce, dusted with 10x sugar. yummmmmmmmmy maryanne

Hmmm. It's amazing to me that this is the only fixture that has given me this much trouble. I've been holding most of my fixture order until I made this decision and thought there was no time like the present... I may have to stew on this overnight. Thanks to everyone for your input. It sounds like really, no matter which fixture I choose, it will "be ok". And none of them are extremely pricey (when compared to the rest of the house, :) ) so if I eventually find the "perfect" fixture, I'll just switch it out. oruborisThanks for the link to brightspot.com. I had shopped there before but had forgotten about them, so maybe I'll go peruse their site tonight. Thank you everyone! j.