I feel incredible appreciation every day. It's not easy to grow roses here. I had to learn a lot. But they are happy most of the time. I can't imagine not being able to garden 12 months anymore. I did it for 40 years and hated, hated, hated the winters. I'd be like a kid looking out the window waiting for spring. It's been rainy and I've been stuck inside for a few days and I feel incredibly deprived of my 'playtime in the garden.' We have a pool, so if it gets hot, jump in, cool off, and back to the garden. Nancy

Thanks, everyone! I love sharing this stuff with you. Have you designed a project for a larger hooked rug yet? With your new frame how large of a rug can you create? One of my first hooked projects 20+ years ago was a small rug I designed. Then later I bought a pattern that appealed to me and hooked that. I think both still need to be bound and finished (procrastinating about this step is a problem common to many rug hookers). Currently, the two projects I have lined up are a chair seat (I have five but need one more) and a new cover for my footstool. My new frame (which should arrive in less than two weeks) is the same size as my old one, but both can accommodate any size project, as you just lift the rug up and move it to work on different sections. Here's a story for you: Last night I was trying to come up with a design idea for the hooked chair seat. I looked through one of my books on rug hooking, and got nowhere with that. Then I reached for a book on folk art, thinking as I did so that it had been years since I'd opened it. Inside the front cover I found cut-out patterns my daughter Jill and I had drawn for a quilted table runner I made years ago. I didn't use the horse she drew at the time, but there it was, a perfect size for the chair seat. I feel that I was guided to open that book. Here's a picture of the pattern I drew on the linen burlap last night. I'll do some sort of design in the outer border. Now all I have to do is pick which wools I'm going to use. It's like coloring. :-)

colorfast, harleysbud, go_figure, and alongroadahead.... thanks for all the comments! I don't visit the forum much now that our kitchen reno is finished, but I do like to check in from time to time. I would like to add an amendment to my tile details. In the way back of my mind, I kept thinking that I had purchased Jeffrey Court tiles, but couldn't find my invoice from Best Tile to prove it. Finally came across my box of leftover tiles in the garage and sure enough, they ARE Jeffrey Court tiles. I'm not sure if Best Tile has exclusive rights to carrying this particular tile/line, but since so many of you have asked about my backsplash, perhaps this bit of info may help. Specifically, the tile is Jeffrey Court 3x6 field tiles, part # 519505 in Glacier. I'm thinking that if a store carries Jeffrey Court, they may be able to order this piece.

Thanks for the replies. I really appreicate those of you that mentioned squared off shoe molding. No one has given me that choice and it appears to be the lesser of two evils. Just to be clear the floor is engineered, site finished oak (owens brand). It is has been layed wall to wall, then the cabinets were set on top. It has yet to be sanded and stained. No one has mentioned anything to me about expansion so I don't think that has anything to do with it. I tried to ask the cabinet installers as specifically as I could today (owner wasn't here) and the answer I got was that originally they built my cabinets not to have any shoe moulding. They were going to be trimmed off flush with the floor. But now I have to have it because of the timing of the floor finishing. Plus since they have been assuming I will have it there are some gaps under the cabinets that weren't going to be there originally, so I can't just leave it off. (well maybe the scroll bases and the island). So in my mind this is all the fault of the floor guy. I am really angry that I am having to pay $800 for trim that I don't want.