Wow, what a mohnin' montage, glittering dresses designed to securely hug shapely contours as well as bring tears to the eye's of the photographer, discussions of "manly" birthday stew, combination kitchen/"li-berries", and epic posts from those thought long lost. What could be better? That is a pretty dress, Brenda. My first Barbie (I still have her) had an evening dress (which I no longer have) that was similar in silhouette. It must be a trifle overwhelming to see your baby girl all suited up for her nuptials, but very special, too. Nice to indulge something besides Cat. diesels, huh? When's the big day? I didn't quite understand what happened in the cornfield with the bike. Did they impale it with one of those pointy things on the front of the combine? How about a shot of the Combine and a basic lesson on what the parts of it are? that will prove important next harvest when the Idyllettes descend on the your farm like Grackles on a lawn. And "ladies foundations" are indeed the order of the day for those with "fuller" (Rubenesque?) figures, though they should NEVER be uncomfortable if they are properly fitted. Many moons ago I was an alterationist in a very swanky dress shop that also sold ladies foundation garments. The women in that department were all older and were "corsettieres", they knew exactly how to measure and fit undergarments and specialized in prosthetics for mastectomy patients. I learned A TON from them and found the niche fascinating and very rewarding. Every woman should go to a good lingerie shop to be properly fitted for a bra; and drive right past some place like Victoria's Secret. ;) The discussion of awfice temperatures made me smile, Cindy. I see that as the next potential conflict in the shop, since there are a lot of windows (that are drafty) and all the baseboard is covered with used pattern material, dust, etc.. It's chilly in the morning and sweltering in the afternoon when the sun streams in the windows. My "office sweater" is a fleece-like arrangement with a zipper up the front and a snowflake motif on a black background. It was left in the shop by a worker who "couldn't take it" after realizing that sometimes sewing can be downright frustrating. Anyway, it has bits of foam "dust" stuck to the front of it and the visiting cat frequently sleeps on it when it's not in use. I cut quite a picture in it. 'bug, I'm to open all windows in the Salon for the first few fires in the new stove and not touch the painted castings as the paint becomes soft with the initial heating. I have a ways to go before "firing that mother up", though. The helpmeet put up the trim pieces that cover the edges of the pulldown ladder to the bahn's attic yesterday. I've dutifully filled the finish nail holes and will sand and finish it this afternoon. And he has all the posts and rails for the stairwell finished, too. I went over them yesterday evening, removing errant pencil marks, filling the deeper, more jagged areas and generally "distressing" the sharper edges. They're made of Hemlock and the wood's grain is quite pronounced and tends to be sort of brittle. It's not ideal for any sort of woodworking for that reason, but it is pretty when it's pickled (I did a sample last winter) and I'm willing to fuss over the parts to get the splintery parts sanded into submission. I've spent a lot of time thinking about your individual trials and family worries, lately. Sometimes it's hard to know what to say, but do know that I try to send good thoughts to the cosmos for each of you and understand that sometimes the toll can be very high. Sometimes just knowing someone understands is helpful. So are "boring" peeks into someone else's mundane existence. ;) I have to "suit up" for the chilly morning. Unlike TCS I'm pretty good at bringing all the accessories home. And like TCS, I sometimes misplace things in safely zippered pockets, too. And it's confession time, Julie. Yesterday I peeked under the couch as I was on my way up the stairs (the railing around the stairwell is open and you can look across the floor at eye level). A scary sight, indeed, with tumbleweeds of animal hair and get this: a full tick, dead as doornail, about the size of kidney bean. She must have succumbed crossing what must have seemed like a tick's equivilent of the Gobi... And on that note, mes amies, I shall head off to work (very late!). Be productive and have some laughs, OK?

A sunset at Conifer Kingdom, featuring (from left to right): Tsuga mertensiana, Pinus strobus 'Bennett Clumpleaf', and Picea orientalis. -Sam

So sorry CharlesB and Terpguy! I will definitely exit, CEASE AND DESIST! I keep forgetting that you all do not know me well, unlike the Rose Gallery people who do! I am very, very SORRY! I promise never to do this, and will just be a very polite viewer form NOW ON!I feel so bad about this whole mess, and don't know if I can ever salvage this. I sincerely, deeply apologize. It may take a long time for me to be able to undo the damage. So I pray that everyone at the Orchid Gallery and Orchid Forum will be very patient and kind/forgiving with me. Here are some excerpts and links and look through for SerenaSYH, and it may help to even out the mood, so that I don't seem as freaky (just someone who is way too enthusiastic without realizing the aftermath). At the Rose Gallery we are always sharing photos with each other. And cross-posting up references. And this may help let CharlesB know that I am truly a normal Rose Gallery person with lots of rose friends at the GW rose gallery. correspondence with JeffAurora correspondence with Boxofrox-Boxofrox also nicknames me KG for Kansas Girl Boxofrox sharing his Abraham Darby with me my typical borrowing exchange of roses between JeffAurora and I (Jeff is in reply #7, I'm borrowing his gorgeous Lincoln on the reply #9. JeffAurora exchange I just think that CharlesB's gallery is just totally beautiful and amazing, too precious to be so modestly hidden with just mere links. I didn't realize that was just sheer rudeness on my part, so I am deeply sorry. From now on I will only stick with simple compliments on just specific links that he posts up and won't ever cross reference his links again!

Strange cloud formation. I am really liking these sky shots. I must have taken 30 in the last couple months. The colors and patterns are always different. The moods go from quite to dramatic. The deep blue sky on this one is great.