Thanks for the nice comments everyone. Phil--yes my DEL is unfurled now too, that pic was from last week. It's been in the garden for awhile and one of my favorites to see open up in the spring. Joebar--lol, retouching would be a big no-no for me, I don't have photo shop, I only crop or resize the pictures for the forums. Liberty is a faster grower than Great Ex. I have Key Lime Pie too, KLP is bigger, more muted color in spring than DEL. Joyce--They may be eyes now but you already know, a few warm days, a nice rain and they are unfurling in all their splendor. July and August, oh so far away right now, lol. Gayle, nice to see you back, looking forward to seeing pictures of your garden. Mary, your Liberty will get there, it grows well once it gets going and then you'll have to move others out of the way. Marg, HP is most colorful in spring but the variegation will always be present. Alexa I think I've taken more photos of Liberty than any other hosta this year, just can't pass it by, I guess hosta people can relate to this. Eileen

beautiful! love lavender, keep some in my dresser love the colors in the chives photo the azaleas would make a lovely portrait frame!

This has been kind of a sore subject for me over the years. With my X, we just order separate sports picture packages and generally end up with way too many pictures. I have a drawer FULL of extra pictures, but that's been the best way, for us, to keep the peace. As far as school pictures go, I always let him know when they are and how much they will cost. He has never bought any school pictures. Usually, I don't need all the pictures. I do give him at least one wallet. That way he can scan it and e-mail it to his family. Since XMIL's birthday usually falls when I get pictures back, I'll frame one for her and have DS give it to her as a gift. Now, FSD's BM, isn't that way at all. Basically she's a Nazi when it comes to pictures. As long as I've known FSD, BM would never inform FDH of when school or sports photos are being taken. We would only know they were done when FSD would spout off something about them or FDH would see them up on the wall when he dropped her off. A few times, BM would pick up sports pictures on the same day FSD had a game. So we'd see them, but BM said we'd have to pay her if we wanted some. So I would take FSD to have pictures made so FDH would have some for his family. Then, after 4-1/2 years of this, FDH comes home from picking FSD up with a box in his hands. FSD says "hey, Ashley, look what mom gave dad for Christmas!" and she was so excited. It was 3 framed pictures of FSD. Then FSD says "Dad was so excited he almost cried". So she can be a total b*tch about pictures for 4 years, but then she does something nice and she's a hero. Then, she was supposed to e-mail me a picture for Father's Day so FSD could pick out a frame and give it to him as a gift. She never did even after FSD reminded her 3 times. So, JNM, as you can see this is a sore subject for me. I don't think you're inappropriate feeling the way you do. I would, too. I would just not be buying any extra pictures anymore. Only buy the individual sheets you need.

If you compare the studio picture to the beach picture, I think it's obvious that the studio picture, as I said upthread, was never meant to be unaltered. She really looks amazing in the beach pics, and while she doesn't look awful in the studio pic, it's still not very flattering. The whole "Cindy Crawford's Untouched Photo Is Empowering" spin is just a cover-up for a screw-up. On further thought, I'm not sure seeing these "untouched" pictures is a good thing. It just provides another way for comparison. "Regular" women may see this picture and say, "Hey look at her poochy belly, cellulite and sun damage - she's no different than me!" How about not comparing our bodies and just be happy with the one you have. I know, easier said than done, but the older I get the more I love/appreciate my body, with all it's flaws, and how it allows me to live a happy life.