saccharum: No offense--I am a natural exaggerater, but do my best to restrain myself. As for the copper fungicide's toxicity. I have noted in these forums before my suspicion that it has some toxicity to sapwood if it soaks down inside a tree and gets at it from the inside. I have not reported all the things I have tried with this, but I did try applying this stuff to real extremes, and at what I would call almost ridiculous over applications I suspect some marginal toxicity. One pine tree that I poured this stuff on in amounts I cannot accurately document had a portion of the side of the trunk under the application zone die. But this was a tree that a storm broke half of off, the broken part being about 14 inches in diameter, and where it broke there was a sunken area where I could actually pool this stuff. But in my experience, the part of the trunk under this really huge broken area may have died anyway. In another instance where I applied it very, very liberally I noticed some bleeding beneath the cut, which was a cut to remove half of a forked tree and the cut was about 5 inches across. I did this experimental overapplication on this tree, a Norway spruce, because it was a weak tree growing in the shade of other spruces and a white pine. A stronger tree growing in full sun may not have shown the same symptom. The tree, however, is still alive and has not shown any loss of vigor. It is in substantial shade but is "plugging along" nicely considering that. Both of these instances were cases where the cut or the break was across the grain and the cut or break faced upwards and absorbed all the rain that fell also. I noticed no other instance of anything I would suspect was a toxic effect, and for a while--until I learned better, I applied more than needed. So I think it is in all probability safe. As for research--I have been talking to people for at least 20 years in several universities trying to get someone interested, but no luck so far. This liquid copper fungicide is the third thing I tried--it seemed obvious very soon that it was working, so I have tried nothing else since. But of course there are other things one could try. Part of my reason for trying this liquid copper fungicide is that it was my understanding that the copper itself was the active agent, and I thought that the copper would have some stability in the outdoor environment and would not break down so fast as other fungicidal compounds. Also, it is my understanding that the "liquid" copper fungicide is, in fact, a true liquid solution, and as such it would soak into the wood in a way that a wettable powder would not. A great many trees get fungal infections through injuries to the trunk or from pruning cuts made to remove very large limbs. It pains me to see this and I am convinced (I understand research needs to be done, if only to convince others) that it can be easily prevented. Many of the trees are trees loved by their owners, and in many cases these trees have a monetary value that would exceed several thousands of dollars. What a waste! Oh, I must note--even though I admit to a frequent tendency to exaggerate, I am not exaggerating about the ability of this liquid copper fungicide to stop fungal infections. Just to be clear--over the last 20 years, I have probably used this stuff on 200 trees. About 60 or 70 of these were spruce and pine trees (Norway spruce, white pine, red pine) that were forked. I cut half the fork off, leaving big ugly cuts, mostly sloping, but not always. Some of these cuts were at least 6" across. Many took 10 to 15 years to occlude, and some, after 20 years have not yet occluded. I have seen no evidence that I could recognize of any fungal infection whatsoever. And the wood at the surface of these cuts is as fresh and hard as a board in a lumber yard. I am not exaggerating this one tiny, tiny bit. I have also used this stuff on logging bumps and scrapes, some really huge, on various species of hardwood trees and hemlock, and as I reported above--no trace of fungal infection that I could detect. I have tried to renew this stuff every year--in some cases I missed a year or two, especially on the logging wounds which require a lot of walking to get to every year. One thing I would like research to show is how often it is necessary to reapply this stuff. I have wanted to be on the safe side, hence my reapplication every year, as far as I have had time and energy. Getting to all the treated trees over the 300 acres I have is a four day job, and an exhausting one at that. --Spruce

My cats get their initial shots and their boosters the following year. One of my cats hasn't had a rabies shot since I've had her (and her vet records from before I adopted her indicate she hasn't had one in about six years). She is 9yo, sickly enough to require daily steroids, and my vet and I have both agreed not to vaccinate her for rabies again. I agreed not to cart her around town with a sign saying, "My cat hasn't had a rabies shot", and the vet agreed to sign a waiver if it came down to it. My other, healthy, young cat may get boosters next year (I adopted her last year), but she won't be getting any more than the legally required rabies vaccs after that. She will get regular check-ups, but I'm not convinced that animal vaccines work any differently than human vaccines. We don't get vaccinated for everything every year, so she doesn't need it. Not to mention, my cats live indoors and don't encounter any other cats. I am not convinced that animal vaccines are so much more ineffective than human vaccines that they need to be administered every year. Beyond the legally required rabies vaccinations (which can be waived for medical reasons), I will not vaccinate any of my animals beyond their boosters. I'm not even convinced boosters are required, but I'll go along with it for now. However, I am a huge proponent of getting a vet's eyes on your pet on a regular basis, regardless of vaccines. Vaccines aren't the only reason to take your pet to the vet on an annual basis. Younger pets can get away with it for much longer, but it's a good idea to get older pets tested for common illnesses/disorders. Even basic bloodwork can indicate issues that can be easily treated if caught early.

Thanks so much!! Yes, I painted all of those. The vintage ones were either missing their paints, or the paints weren't useable, so I just kind of made it up with acrylics. I did each pair in the same color scheme, but mixed it up between the pairs. More so because I wasn't happy with it until the last set, than trying to be creative. LOL! That painting for the bathroom had that background drybrushed in the directions, but the whole thing looked a little flat when it was finished. I added a crackle medium to the whole surface, then stained it with a glaze. The whole thing took a few hours of painting each evening for a few weeks. I'm working on one now that's going to take months, if I'm lucky. Tacky or trite? I don't know, but I enjoy doing them. I have a high-stress career, and I find it very relaxing to just chill out and dabble in the paints. And (to paraphrase Magna) I'd rather have something tacky and trite that I did myself, than something ugly bought from the store. Pal, that's a wonderful display! A little too dark and brooding for my taste, but you've shown off the art and set the tone perfectly! I love the blonde girl with the black cat. It looks like Frank -my very black cat.

Did you look at BM historical colors? Have you looked in your closet for colors that you feel good about and get compliments when you wear them? Another direction would be to just work with lighter and darker variations of the gray you're already happy with. What other shades are on that color strip card? Most decorating projects end with the paint selection because it can be custom blended to work with your fabrics and textiles which are set in stone. Best way to test colors in a room is to paint a large square of each color you're considering in the center of a big white poster boards. That way you can move each color from wall to wall to see how they change with the different lighting effects including rainy days, sunny days, night, with your lighting, etc.