Oh, I totally agree Donna. I've lost roses from the best of the best suppliers. And to no fault of my own. You might have to baby these a little more than some, but not necessarily. Heck, I recently ordered three roses from a supplier in San Diego. One I've never ordered from before, and probably never would've except for the fact that they had a new rose that's not available anywhere else. A new Carruth rose apparently named after someone local down there, but it looked like a real beautiful apricot that I just HAD to have. To make the shipping worthwhile, I ordered a total of three roses. They arrived loose in the box, with dry newspaper wrapped around them. Totally bone dry, with decent roots, but the canes were chopped back to barely 6". Two of the plants were already sprouting growth, but the canes were dry. They inadvertantly sent me two of one of the other roses, and none of the exclusive one. I emailed them and they were very nice and apologetic. I received the correct rose last week, totally bone dry again, with canes dried out and no swollen budeyes. I soaked it, potted it up and mulched it, and now with the rain we've had the last several days, it's all nice and supple and looking good. All 4 of the roses will make it. I won't order from them again because of their packaging. They just obviously don't know how to pack plants properly for shipping, but their customer service is commendable. You just never know. You take your chances. Not all suppliers are going to send out monster plants with massive roots and huge canes. They don't all pack the same either. And a plant that arrives in excellent condition can still end up dying for some reason or other. And those itty bitty dried out ones that you get sometimes might just surprise you. It's all a crap shoot!

As I write this, I still have not received my subscription copy and I refuse to look at it at the bookstore. LOL! So, I'm anxiously stalking the mail carrier these days. Thank you for sharing my excitement. I appreciate your comments. To respond to a few things: Stephenie -- What a great layout Cabin Fever is! Sheesh, that was one of your first pages? I'd love to see what they look like now! Well, I placed my vote. But I can't tell you who I voted for...;o) ;o) ;o) Kristin -- I don't know exactly how many layouts I've submitted for CK's consideration. I don't keep count, but probably since August 1999, maybe 10 or 15...and even if this is the only one they've taken, I haven't been disappointed once! :o) I only submit when I'm proud of a special technique and when the page is particularly special to me. No losses! :o) Connie -- I can't believe I'm actually talking like this...but I don't think the contract I signed allows me to post the layout here. I know...it sounds goofy...trust me, it's *feels* goofy to say that. :op I think the contract says the mag has the only right to publish (display) the layout. I can post it on a personal website, of course. If you still want to see it, email me and I'll send it to you. Sincerely, Leah

I guess I'm becoming an expert in home office setups the hard way. I'm a lawyer with a true home office (not just a place to pay bills and do scrapbooking). Version 1.0: built in one 11' wall of downstairs bedroom, cost $7K (1999 dollars) for maple. Custom built by local cabinet person. 85 year old mom moves in and takes over downstairs bedroom, so office gets moved into spare bedroom upstairs. Version 2.0: I research all over the internet. I rule out the nice looking armoires because (a) I have too much stuff and (b) you still don't have a place to put your feet even after the worktop slides out; I suspect that all well used armoires end up with lots of scuff marks at foot level on the face of the cabinet. I buy lots of Christopher Lowell Shore (the same line that bestyears bought) and start assembling it. It's all crappy particleboard/OSB/pressboard with a hideous printed finish where you can actually see the pixels of the supposed distressing. It starts falling apart during assembly. Cost: $2200, 2009 dollars. Version 3.0: I order solid maple, made in California not China, from local furniture company, cost $3400, 2009 dollars, which takes up most of a 10' wall -- not built in. (Design wise, it looks a lot like the Logan office suite available at Pottery Barn.) It's decent quality but probably a grade or two lower than my kitchen cabinets. However, I think that a 10' wall of kitchen cabinets would cost substantially more than $3400 from any reasonable quality cabinet company. Version 3.1: My mom is now talking with cabinet companies about installing pull out drawers on the lower shelves in the former office so that she'll have drawers in which to store her clothes...grrrr! I really want my home office back -- although I really, really don't want my mom gone. One important point on drawers: File cabinet drawers look and function very different from kitchen drawers. Blue

Wow! Thank you for such promptness. We will proceed with the original order without personalized tags. Thank you for being so on top of it. Thanks. Here is a link that might be useful: Wedding favors