What a wonder-full evening! My thanks to you both for sharing your selves and your gardens so freely! What a joy to stroll through your gardens- To see MONSTERS and wee ones all so beautifully grown! To hear the stories of how some hosta came to reside in the gardens, and how some had departed, as well as several other stories shared, all told with your welcoming smiles. I wish that more folks here in the forum could have shared this evenings tour. It was well worth the trip even in the oh so VERY humid heat! 97 actual temp- but due to the (EXCESSIVE) humidity, the heat index says it feels like 110-116! And I bet some of you thought it didn't get hot in Minni-snow-da! Sheila, Jim, my thanks again to you both- Julie P.S. Melissa's garden is well worth the trip too! Amazing what she has accomplished in a few short MN garden seasons! Her gardens look better than many 10+ year old gardens, mine included! You are in for a treat next week!

I lived and worked in the Twin Cities until 3 years ago...and was there visiting 2 weeks ago. I'm 52. My sis lives outside LA and I've visited her frequently. Here goes. All the buildings in downtown Minneapolis are connected by second floor skyways. You never have to go outside unless you want to. You'll be able to get from your hotel to the convention center without ever breathing real, honest to god fresh air. So, for your business meeting, dress for indoors. All corporate offices were business casual until about 3 years ago but then Target went back to regular business attire because young women took business casual to new degrees of beach-type wear. If you go out and about into the real air, have layers - the jacket would be good but have a light sweater to wear in addition to a top, just in case. A compact umbrella is a good suggestion. My personal practice when living there was to never be able to wear shorts/go bare legged in the evening except between June 10 and Labor Day because I got cold. Nice jeans are fine for shopping and with nice shoes (not rattie tennies) you'll be fine in most restaurants. However, for the fanciest restaurants, good slacks/skirts are fine. Minnesota is more casual, in general, than So. Cal. due to the general outdoors approach to life. Styles are comparable to S. Cal, but for middle aged women, you won't be out of place if you're not dressed like a teenager (i.e. you choose to cover your body parts!). My college is in N. Indiana and for our reunions, women wear nice dresses for the formal dinner, shorts/jeans/nice slacks during the day - pretty much anything goes for daytime. I think you'll find that the teachers are happy to have a chance to dress up so a snazzy black dress would work. Just be comfortable.

There was a similar story on one of our San Diego stations about a fruitcake. The fruitcake was circa 1941. It was passed back and forth for awhile, then in storage for 30 years. Finally, the owner mailed it back to its originator: Kroger Foods. The Kroger Co. has put it up for auction. They expect it (a 70 year old fruitcake) to bring quite a bit of money). Donna

Wow. Totally beautiful. I looked searched Houzz for that granite. > 2,000 hits Here were some reactions to the backsplash just as I had them. The comments are about the backsplash, not the granite: too grey https://www.houzz.com/photos/main-kitchen-sink-run-traditional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~618886-kitchen-sink-run-traditional-kitchen-boston too brown https://www.houzz.com/photos/burlap-and-glass-eclectic-kitchen-phvw-vp~44151-and-Glass-eclectic-kitchen-other-metro interesting https://www.houzz.com/photos/granite-countertops-traditional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~984432-Countertops-traditional-kitchen-boston Wow https://www.houzz.com/photos/one-kitchens-transformation-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~1560211-Kitchen-s-Transformation-traditional-kitchen-new-york everywhere is beautiful https://www.houzz.com/photos/sea-cliff-hideaway-traditional-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~57669-Architects--Projects-traditional-kitchen-san-francisco not crazy about it https://www.houzz.com/photos/edina-country-club-kitchen-rustic-kitchen-minneapolis-phvw-vp~347362-Country-Club-Kitchen-rustic-kitchen-minneapolis white - matching the cabinets looks pretty good https://www.houzz.com/photos/jacksonbuilt-custom-homes-traditional-kitchen-charleston-phvw-vp~842773-Custom-Homes-traditional-kitchen-charleston https://www.houzz.com/photos/georgian-beach-house-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~4989984-Beach-House-traditional-kitchen-new-york lighter looks good darker doesn't https://www.houzz.com/photos/showpiece-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-chicago-phvw-vp~697316-Kitchen-traditional-kitchen-chicago https://www.houzz.com/photos/hawaii-kai-traditional-kitchen-hawaii-phvw-vp~2056437-Kai-traditional-kitchen-hawaii https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~214605-spaces-san-francisco https://www.houzz.com/photos/georgian-beach-house-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~4989960-Beach-House-traditional-kitchen-new-york nope (beautiful backsplash though) https://www.houzz.com/photos/shaker-transitional-contemporary-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~4976651-Transitional-contemporary-kitchen-new-york https://www.houzz.com/photos/shaker-transitional-contemporary-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~4976637-Transitional-contemporary-kitchen-new-york Love that floor tile with it https://www.houzz.com/photos/east-brandywine-master-tub-surround-traditional-bathroom-philadelphia-phvw-vp~4444380-Brandywine-Master-Tub-Surround-traditional-bathroom-philadelphia hmmm https://www.houzz.com/photos/palos-verdes-contemporary-residence-kl-contemporary-kitchen-los-angeles-phvw-vp~4164852-Verdes-Contemporary-Residence-KL-contemporary-kitchen-los-angeles