Beth - my package came, too! Thank you very much for all of your hard work sorting thrue everything for us. You did a great job on my package. I was surprised to see so many of my wish items in there! The gourd seeds are great. Thanks again and thanks to everyone else that participated and sent in the goodies to share! Marie

Better yet come on up to British Columbia and I'll find lots for you to do - I am changing jobs in 2 weeks, going from caretaking apartment buildings to working at the head office. Before the new caretaker arrives I have 2&1/2 storage rooms full of crap I have to sort and either store somewhere else or get the goodwill to come and get. Meanwhile I have to paint and clean a unit for her to live in, patch paint another one and clean from top to bottom another one. In another building I have 3 suites that need various things done to them before they are rentable. I also have to put together some presentable work clothes for office attire, I have been wearing paint splattered clothing so long it will be a shock to wear something that is paint free.... add to that the regular duties associated with my job and my own life, and yep, I could really use your help if you're bored...lol. No time to be bored in this neck of the woods. Suzan J

I haven't read any of Suze Orman's books, but I did watch a special with her answering financial questions on PBS a couple years ago. She seemed pretty on-track. We are totally into paying off our house early. We are on a 15 year mortgage right now and always pay a little extra. We are hoping to move soon, so we will have to refigure all of that, but the jest will be the same . . . moving towards paying it off ASAP. We don't have any other debts and hope to own our home free and clear by the time DH is 50 (that gives us 12 1/2 years). We do invest in a 401K, but with the tax shelter, we really don't notice it. It is 10% of our income, but it keeps us in a lower tax bracket, so the actual take home hardly varies. My husband loves watching the stocks and spends a lot of time on such websites as the Motley Fool (A site for people who do their own investiing without stockbrokers), but other than a few very small stocks, he hasn't done much with it. He knows he has to answer to me! LOL! I was thinking about the gal you listened to on TV about investing and saving money. There was a local guy here in Spokane that did a weekly show on investing and financial strategies. He went to our church and in reality he was one of the most financially screwed up people I knew and they even filed bankruptcy! I did some graphic design work for him and nearly had to take him to small claims court before he paid . . . even so we ended up involving the pastor as a mediator! So I guess it was the old "those that can't learn, teach"! It would be interesting to peek into the lives of other "financial gurus" and see if they practice what they preach. Brenda

All walls look boring when there's nothing on them. Artwork is the natural solution, and choosing it is the opposite of boring. Depending upon your taste and budget, choices include original art or a print. If a print, you can choose a framed piece, gallery wrapped canvas, or metal -- I've shown an example of each from SteveHendersonCollections.com (also https://2-steve-henderson.pixels.com/) -- the framed piece is Sunrise on the Columbia; the canvas print is Awakening; the metal print is Autumnal colors. You can go for a poster, but in order for your home to not give a sense of being a dorm room, you'll want to frame it -- and when you frame it, you don't want to go ultra cheap: it shows. Sometimes it's just as easy, and around the same price, to purchase the work online with the frame. The key to choosing the right art for your home includes taking your time and finding what is meaningful to you. Whether or not it matches the rug is not the issue -- what truly matters is finding that piece that speaks to you, brings a sense of happiness or well being, challenges your mind and thoughts, and literally brings a smile to your face when you see it. Art isn't an accessory. It is an invitation to step into another world.