Yup, black was in the running for us, in fact, black and red were the only colors we considered, as we wanted something different than the norm. Some combos to consider with black windows are barn red exterior with crisp white trim, mossy green with creamy white trim, white with red trim (anywhere from burgandy to fire engine to tomato would work), buttercream with white trim (very traditional and formal), deep, forest green with crisp white trim, yikes, the possibilities are endless with black. I don't have any pics, but use the Google image search and look at the window manufacturer sites who make aluminum clad windows (Eagle, Marvin, Loewen, etc.) for pics and inspiration. What style is your house and what kind of windows are you planning (i.e. double hung, casement, etc.)? sandyponder

LOL Annie, little man liked that Michigan Sushi idea. I reminded him of his experience from the past year but he didn't seem to worry. When I asked him "What do you do when one of your friends tells you that you have bad breath?" He said, "I will say 'it's too bad that you don't eat fish.'" I am so proud! Jim, I have never tried lox myself so can't say if it will be less smelly or not. Since fish is one of our favorite foods we never have any leftover fish from the night before. Our mornings seem to be very short and we always end up rushing out of the door so canned fish is what we will settle with for now. Tami, little man has never tried mints before. I personally don't like them so I have a feeling that he may not enjoy a mint in his mouth. He loves tic tac. I bought him some tic tac in little colorful containers with the pop-up lid. So I won't have to worry about school people mistaken them as pills. Terri, lucky you. At least he can still take peanut butter to school. It's an absolute no-no to bring any nuts or anything that contain trace amount of nut to school. Little man loves peanut butter banana sandwiches. I don't want him to eat PBB sandwich every day but once in a while would be nice. I definitely will make the rolled fish bread for him tomorrow. In fact, we have already planned for the rest of the week... Thursday will be sardine sushi. Instead of using nori I will use sesame seeds on the outside. Friday will be BBQ seitan strips with raw carrot and cucumber. It's gonna be a good week for him. Al

I like Burt's Bees shampoo & conditioner, especially the new one "Super Shiny" because it tames my dry hair. However, there was a BB's product I tried years ago that was so awful it actually caused me pain. I'm referring to the Theraputic Bath Crystals. When I put it in the bath water my skin felt like it was been burnt alive. I couldn't jump out of the water fast enough. I've read reviews where others have had the same reaction but most people don't seem to experience a problem so I guess it depends on how sensitive your skin it. Mikasa...years ago I bought a couple of their white soup bowls open stock and loved how durable they were. So was I surprised a few years later to see how much the quality had changed when I bought an extra one. Utensils left ugly marks on the bowl that didn't wash out, even a spoon was removing the finish. I thought surely this is a fluke so I got another one and the same thing happened. Don't know what Mikasa changed but that product has gone downhill since I first bought it.

Goodness, Heather, that was fortunate, especially since the tree is ready to come down. With our continual system of storms and high winds the entire tree would be down! So glad you did not lose any lilies or seedlings in the fall.