I've missed reponding to a few things... I had to look up golden seal; I wasn't familiar with it. It seems to want damper conditions than I have so it probably wouldn't do well. And, if it did, it sounds like it might spread more than I'd like! So thanks for the suggestion but I think I'll pass on that one...:-) The trillium in the picture is a red one. Most of the trilliums in my garden are the big white ones but I have a patch near the shed that are red. They were the reason dark red was one of the colors I had considered for the shed door. (I ended up deciding against a red door because I figured I'd never be able to get the right color match....) Deanne - I think the little tulips have been there since 2002 - that's the first time I see them on my bulb buying lists. I have added them in a number of areas over the past few years but the sheaf of them in the picture are in the driveway border. That's the first place I planted them so they are the oldest ones. Those ones and are about a foot away from the one that came up in the lawn so presumably that's where the seed for the lawn one came from.

Do you have pics that you could post? -Jmcat

It would be nice of This Old House Magazine to tell us what their insulation costs represent, per s.f, per inch thickness?, installed?; none of the prices make sense to me, at least in the online version. And whatever the percentage of heat loss to air infiltration, it is always more cost effective in the northeast to add attic insulation than to substantially tighten up the envelope of an existing house. You won't find that there is much difference between the performance of the materials. The material cost of the fiberglass batts should be enough more than cellulose that you might be able to get the cellulose blown-in for the cost of the fiberglass uninstalled. Don't assume doing it yourself is necessarily a big savings. It's great to not have to handle insulation materials. Push cardboard insulation baffles between the rafters down into the eave against the roof deck if a baffle isn't already there. A professional installer would probably automatically include that in the price. While you are at it, seal any penetrations in the ceiling including the access door and insulate the door as well.

I learned a neat trick from this forum a few years ago for threading the sewing machine. Slide a piece of paper behind the needle. It helps to see the needle. I use white paper, unless using white thread. Also, I bought a pair of tweezers from a hardware store. They are what I would call "reverse" tweezers. When you squeeze them, they open and when you let go they close. I use these to grab the thread after it makes it thru the needle. That way I don't accidentally pull the thread out of the needle. BTW, I wear trifoclas too. Kathy G in MI