Hello Max, I'm doing fine. When I recieved the two air layers, they were both doing great but within one or two weeks, one of the air layers started to drop all of its leaves and that air layer is now gone. When the air layer died, I peeled back the aluminum foil that wrapped the roots and it appeared as if all the roots were detached from the trunk of the tree as if someone perhaps unwrapped the tree for inspection and then accidentally squeezed the root ball too hard. The two air layers were treated exactly the same and I only have that one other one left. It is doing very well considering I have been keeping it indoors ever since I recieved it. All of its original leaves have fallen off and were replaced by approx the same number of new leaves. Once the weather in San Diego stabilizes, I will slowly acclimate it to the outdoors and then bring it back in again during the winter. Because this variety is so rare, I'm going to be extra careful with it. I recently contacted the USDA at Hilo again, where I got these air layers, and they said they will no longer ship air layers due to the difficulty in cleaning the roots but they will ship scions that an expert gardener may graft. My Kwa Luk air layer is still the same height but is slightly wider due to the new growth and the roots have completely filled the pot it is in and the roots are even starting to come out of the drainage holes. Hopefully the stronger light outside will help it gain some size this growing season.

Dearheart, there is nothing that cannot be fixed. It's just a question of how many $$$$. I have a Koehler "Hawthorne" cast iron farm sink. It's 150lbs, Roussalain red. It sat on my garage floor for 2 years. (Thank you, my STBX) A floor that was flooded several times when the water softener overflowed, condensation, etc. By the time I got it installed the underside was rusting & the bowl had kind of a slice in it. I called Koehler to ask what I could do to seal the underside, knowing the scratch was our own fault. They had no touch-up kits anymore, but they could replace the sink. This is built into only counter I have & I can't take that out. They sent me a whole new sink. I have it in the barn. You never know. They might send you a whole new face panel! Good luck. Christine

Lazydaisynot, Thank you, Lazy. "The connection to the past imparts some intangible element that seems just right." Yes, exactly. We prefer old homes and we prefer old things. We know a little bit about the history of the family that summered in this home for many years and we liked to keep a link to their happy memories here. Cyn, Yes, it was lovely. It was also a nice test of all the things I had looked at on floorplans (since we were all inside this time, unlike over the summer). The house worked wonderfully for us. WMA, Yes, it does. It is rickety and the finish is uneven but we feel it makes the room feel more casual and that's why people feel free to amble in with their cereal bowl or newspaper, etc. Thank you Gooster, Pipdog, Gscience, Voila, Decordummy, BBstx, Bethpen, Linelle, Teacats, Joanie, Dilly, Yaya, Emmarene, Irish and Funkyart Laurie, We actually went to a Calico Corners looking for an off white duck to recover the side chairs (just your basic lift and staple). They had nothing that would work, I forget why. So we bought the oversized blue and white check. It was not supposed to be something you would see; we have custom made off white duck skirts with ties for all of the chairs. Then we decided we like the check, so the skirts we will just put on for formal occasions. Nini, Yes, i can't believe I did not realize the darn chandy is way too high until Breezy was worried hers would be too low. I am so glad she posted or I might never have realized why the chandy bugged me. AMJ, One of DH's 90yo relative spent hours in that windowseat, happy as could be, looking out at the ocean. It's very comfy ... oh and the heat register is right there! If no one ever used it again it was worth it to see her enjoying something so much. AKTillery, Haha. I loved this room when we first looked at the house, but I just wanted it simplified, and better lit! Not much to do really! Pugga, Thank you, I amuse myself. Apologies to Mssr. Frost! KSWL, Thank you! We have a whole closet of that china. We were going to give it away at first but I am glad I saved it; it is the right note for a holiday, and it made for a pretty table. As for the Great Wave. We just had it framed, and it engendered a lot of discussion. We watched the BBC documentary on it as a family, which is really interesting and I highly recommend. I think this may be part of a series they have on great works of art. As expected, none of our guests on the holiday or brunch the day after recognized the print although one or two knew the genre. We interviewed some landscape architects and one knew it right away and commented on it as well as laughed about the flipflops! Here is a link that might be useful: BBC in re the Great Wave

I boiled my dozen eggs last nite for scotch eggs. Gonna hit the kitchen now to peel them and will have them ready for cooking in the moring before heading to friends. Learned this from a fireman: In boiler pan, after eggs have cooled in refrigerator, and are well drained, put the lid on and shake them like you would if you are popping popcorn . Open and they should have peeled themselves or partly peeled. Twill see in couple minutes.