Misty is definitely not keen on her 'treads'! That picture was the funniest and may eventually end up in a frame. When we first put the booties on, we put them on her first and then put our winter coats on. I went to close the closet door and it didn't close properly. When I looked down to see what the problem was, this is what I saw: The kitchen is usually NOT neat :-) In the original house, where the kitchen table is now was the dining portion of an L shaped living room/dining room. There was a window where you can see the doorway on the right side behind the chair and the main kitchen window looking into the backyard started above where you can see the dishwasher by the stove. The addition we put on runs behind that side, so the window to the right of the table became the doorway to the pantry and the window above the dishwasher and sink is an opening looking into the living room. The original living room became the dining room after we put up the wall - and doorway to the dining room - on the left side of the table. That left a long, narrow kitchen that would have had no windows! So the window you see there now had to be knocked through the outer wall as part of the renovation. That gave it a nice wide windowsill that is perfect for plants! There are counters and cabinets on both sides of the kitchen, with the counters on the left side being short - 30" tall - and the ones on the right 36" tall. The shorter counter makes it easy for me to sit to work at the counter if need be. There are sinks on both sides too - as well as one in the pantry. And there is a fridge in both the kitchen and the pantry. The pantry has a long counter on one side with no base cabinets to make it really easy to use that surface as a work space - that's where I did all the drawing work for the course I took last winter. When I planned the kitchen, my intent was to make it as efficient and usable as possible for as long as possible given the many unknowns about where my health issues will go. So far it's worked quite well. We did think, when we moved in, 'At last, lots of storage space in the kitchen' but we could still use more space....:-) One of the odd things in the kitchen is that the floor is uneven just about where the picture starts. The old stairs to the basement went down under the cabinets at the entrance to the kitchen. The new stairs go down outside the kitchen and, when the old stairway was filled in with new joists, it became very obvious that the original house had sunk on one side because the joists would not meet on the level! So there's a funny dip in the kitchen floor...

Yes Judy (that's my sisters name) - it's a non stop begonia. You can usually find them in any garden center in the spring. They came in all different colors. I got quite taken with the yellows this year since the yellow tulips that had just passed were so nice with the hostas. You can save them by breaking off the foliage once it's been killed in the fall and putting them dry in a paper bag or box. Then go dormant and can be kept in a cold room or even in the house for the winter. Put them in a pot and in the window in March or so and they'll sprout again. Don't bury the corm thing, just set it on top of the dirt in a bit of a depression. If a lot of water comes into contact with where the stem joins the corm once it's started growing, it can rot. These non stop's are bright and cheep. I haven't found that they increase much though. If you buy a begonia corm (I think that's what they are called?) in a garden center in bulk bins like the way they sell daffodils and tulips, those corms get bigger and bigger every year. I've seen some that are the size of a lunch plate. I grew some like that when I lived on the west coast. I had to support them with stakes. Anyway - what a lot we have to look forward to! McT

To clarify about the color shades/variations on the leaves. Those are just from the evening pics & not there. Will take more pics to post. #4 green leaf is a solid green not shades of green like in pic Why potential HVX? I want to know before I toss it. Thanks you all, Corrine

ILoveToGrow, looks like Hollywood Bob's may have some of the Chastain stock from the man who bought out Mary Chastain? ...... I can tell you that Verna Jean performs beautifully. I have about 5 of them and they grow fairly quickly. Last year I surrounded The Razor's Edge with them. Also Banana Muffins is a good one. If it is yellow it does pretty well in my climate. Here it is 7/31/2014. MadPlanter, my Pin Strip Sister just arrived. I'm hoping it does well here. One of my streakers from last year is leafing out, and so far all leaves have the streaks. All Jazzed Up....it looks great and vigorous. I've ordered and received 2 orders so far. I have about 2 in the pipeline, and 2 orders yet to place. Plus, I will be driving to north Alabama over Mother's Day holidays, and on the way home swing by Hostas On The Hill near Birmingham to see her garden and pick up about 10 of her hostas. The way I keep my slightly (well, maybe a little more than "slightly") over 500 hostas is in pots and in a dedicated hosta garden. I call it The Garden of The White Dove. Not so pretty right now, but that is a temporary condition. Hostas will cover the pots entirely in a matter of weeks. I am so glad my remodel is almost completed, because dealing with hostas in pots in south Alabama is a matter of being TIMELY....about the watering, about the drainage, and giving them a good springtime exposure to sunlight before the heat begins in earnest around mid June. First day of summer, longest day of the year, is when there is no shade on the north side of my house. Any pots sitting there must migrate to the south side of the house for afternoon shade, or else find a convenient umbrella. Not having really counted acquisitions since mid season 2014, I'm estimating that total different named hostas will be around 550 when orders are received. Please, DonB, do not breathe a word of this to my "density calculator" husband ... H. Annabel Lee by Alttara Scheer, ordered from Naylor Creek in 2013