Ellie, I am disappointed that you did not comment on the pictures. You have such a fantastic way with words. Lol I still think your comment that one of my seedlings looked like hound dog ears is one of the funniest I have read on GW. I am finding it hard to keep up with seedlings using numbers and might just call that one hound dog ears. I think I am going to use the "blind hog theory" on hybridizing yellows next year. (Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then). If you send me GS, I think I will have 8 yellow self daylilies in the gh for hybridizing next year. I will have GS, LEDGEWOOD CITATION (from Tammy), LEMON PARCHMENT (purchased from Christie's), HBHMB sdlg from a friend and four of my own seedlings. It's interesting that I just took a stroll through the few daylilies that are still blooming (Yep, it's 100 degrees, but it was a very quick stroll). One yellow seedling was blooming that I would have been elated with two years ago and it won't even get in the greenhouse next year. So, I guess that's progress Nice garden shot Edward. I look at all the neat gardens all you folks have and just shake my head. Mine looks like the local garbage dump, with daylilies growing out of it. Nancy, the posts back and forth between all of us do help. I am especially looking forward to using SAVANNAH ROYALTY and was totally unfamiliar with it. Even Christie was not familiar with it. Royce

I was lucky to have Friday off. Most of the snow had gone from my gardens. It was nice to see the different heathers' winter foliage color (usually buried under mountains of snow!). I wish I had taken a picture... Some perennial geraniums foliage I planted from Bluestone last fall were a happy green color. As well as some Snapdragons and pansies near the house. We had similar experience with the weather but only got around 2" of snow.

I went out to Walmart yesterday and bought some clear (not cushy) non-adhesive Contact paper, unrolled 1 roll and put it (18" wide) in my drawer near the stove where I keep pot holders, trivets, removable handles for my pans. I'm going to see how it works (that cabinet back was broken by installer so stuff wiggles when I close the drawer - not softclose) and maybe put it in all my drawers. That drawer was getting a little worn after only 18 months with stuff in it. My deep drawer in island has a scratch through the paper maple-grain laminate on top of the plywood. Other top drawer near stove has a chip in the laminate (not melamine). These are Merillat's "Deluxe" drawers - not sure if you can get lacquered solid maple bottoms along with the plywood sides if you go with their "Masterpiece" line, but I know the two solid maple dovetailed drawers I ordered online have a much better finish on them than the doors and drawer fronts on my Merillat cabinets! I don't want those drawer bottoms to get scratched either, but at least I know if they do I can refinish them. I've got dish towels in them now. If the clear Contact paper (says it's safe for all finishes, unlike the cushy ones made by Duck I saw in Walmart and BB&B) doesn't work out I'll try the cork. Nothing should be put away wet (unless a recess where the handle attaches on my pots is holding water, but I put those in the dish drainer after taking them out of the DW so they can dry thoroughly), and I'm getting plastic silverware organizers for my cake spatulas, kids' pencils, markers, etc. b4 I put them in new drawers so just need them to keep things from shifting or scratching - esp. things like our collection of chargers that is currently sitting in a ziploc bag near the MW.

I just wanted to chime in to 2nd what pharaoh said. The guy who did my floors told me the same thing about all coats being gloss and only the final coat is the desired finish. My finish came out perfect. I think everyone overreacted after the first coat. Which probably says your floor contractor isn't very experienced. That first coat will always be flawed because it can't possibly provide complete coverage. That's because your floor is not perfectly flat. With each coat, the layers build and everything starts to even out. To really see the final finish they should have did the whole process on a board. That's what my guy did. He took a board and applied the three coats, including the sanding between coats. That's the only way to get a feel for what the end result would be like. For you, it's not too late. Take a step back and experiment with several scraps starting with two coats of gloss on each. Then apply the various mixes for the final finish to determine your desired mix. Then just sand the floor (no need to strip it), apply the gloss to repair the base layer and finish with the top. You'll basically end up with four coats but it'll be fine. I had my upstairs done by a different guy (because he was cheaper and as a favor to my MIL because he was a "friend") and he screwed up the finish. I ended up hiring the first guy to fix it which is how I know what I said above. In the end, it ended up costing me the same as if I had hired the first guy to do the job. Lesson learned.