Well it looks like this it the finally list: TODAY'S UPDATE and FINAL LIST OF MEMBERS: 01. ncgardengirl-Fran***** 02. medontdo-Michele 03. markcase1964-Mark***** 04. lgslgs-Lynda 05. misskimmie-Kim 06. conniesc-Connie***** 07. heatherbon-Heather 08. dirtdiggin-Toni***** 09. gardeningbingo 10. grolikecrazy-Chris***** 11. douglasls-Lisa 12. beverlysc-Bev 13. aphroditelaughs-Ellie 14. sissifriss-Myriah***** 15. chellflower-Chell***** 16. mary_grether-Mary 17. poisondartfrog-Alana***** 18. grovespirit-Iris 19. lindaruzicka-Linda***** 20. angelady-Angela***** 21. dimples31312-Dorothy 22. strmywthr3-Barbi 23. smokymist-Cheryl***** 24. jas_il-Jasmine 25. kristlindgren-Kris 26. ishareflowers-Lisa***** 27. purpleacres-Tracy***** 28. countrygirl_sc-Gail 29. fleethart-Fleety 30. hmacdona-Heather***** 31. echinaceamaniac-Clint 32. lakedallasmary-Mary 33. diana_lynn-Diana Lynn 34. smitties 35. ashle999 36. yotetrapper***** 37. mcbdz-Pattie 38. graanieb-Bea 39. sassybutterfly_2008-Wendy***** 40. threeshyacres-Jodi***** 41. blue_ivy-Tola 42. ibartoo-Linda 43. jaleeisa-Kathy***** 44. molanic-Molanic 45. rane_grow-Iris 46.gardenmom2-Nichol 47. southerncharm1-Kathy SC1 48. kilngod-Tina***** 49. luvgardening2-Nancy***** 50. rbrady-Rhonda***** 51. dessieb-Dessie I will be emailing out my address shortly IF you do not have an email from me PLEASE make sure you email me for my address. Thanks so much I am sure we all are going to enjoy this swap. :) Fran

Thought I'd better catch up and let the newer folks know a bit about me. Married, all kids are too, and altogether there are 7 grandkids. We have no allergies but a few dislikes or aversions: DH loathes olives, the fruit. I dont like florals very much and definitely dont heavily many scented things. Love citrus scents thought or those that could be defined as "grass" clean, not overwhelming. Like handmade or homemade just about anything. I dont lean towards things Victorian or very ornate Love metal, wood, stone, ceramic, organic looking things Neither one of us is fond of the blood-sausage-type things. We both like nuts, chocolate (mines dark, his is lighter but he is changing), spices, sweet and savory things. I love lemon, We eat at home often, I love to set a pretty table, linen napkins everyday We divide our time between NYC and a small town in CT. We are moving in the fall to and down-sizing in NY. CT: The country home is eclectic leans towards the whimsical or lyrical, my color palette is basically established by all the things that I own. You can check it out on picturetrail.com under bubbeskitchen. It is the Sherman House album. NY is contemporary and traditional. We are changing our color palette when we move from the neutrals with dusty peach to spicy colors: saffron, ginger, paprika. My new kitchen is right out in the open; the counters are slate, the cabinets and appliances are wood-grain and the sink and stove are stainless. So I guess my new digs will be more contemporary to modern and streamline if I can do it. Here is a link: http://cielocondos.com/home12.html My kitchen layout is like the dining room picture link on the bottom of the "great spaces" page. I kind of have a free-wheeling thing going on and an opportunity to try new stuff. I do intend to reduce visible clutter by containerizing a lot. Thats what comes to mind right now. Hope that it helps. Bubbe

I think a good addition to this discussion is how my parents got married. It was August 3,1935. The impact of the Depression was still felt and so couples delayed getting married for financial reasons. My parents' crowd of friends included 4 unmarried couples and one married couple. They were all in their 30s and even early 40s. My mother was a preacher's daughter, but her father could not perform the ceremony in those days as my father was (Chicago Irish)Catholic. So everyone wanted to elope. They put together a caravan and traipsed all over central Illinois that day to each other's weddings. Dad had a friend who was a priest in Toluca, Illinois, so that was where they were married. Then they all went off for their honeymoons.

For people who are concerned about their items not being appreciated at a thrift store, I live in a rather crummy area of the country and even our Good Wills and Salvation Armies have appraisers who come in and volunteer on all sorts of things from furniture to jewelry. If you are curious, go on into a few thrift stores in your area and see if they have a "boutique" area or a lot of glass counters to display items away from hands, or cordoned off shelves near the register. You might be surprised at what they have on display... Be careful not to find any new treasures though. For those of you who enjoy your stuff, KEEP IT! Enjoy it and love it. That's the whole point. I talked about my Dad having items that we knew he loved because he had so few and was obviously choosy, but one thing I didn't mention was the stuff that he kept in excess that could not have provided much value to him or anyone else. We hauled off so many old magazines, household chemicals and products that were so old that they had gone bad, old paperwork that he didn't need to keep, cardboard boxes, old broken tools, etc. For those not interested in getting rid of sentimental items, at least do your family members a favor and organize/toss the type of stuff mentioned above. I'm constantly surprised at how much outdated stuff I find in my own house (this morning a box of old paint cans- it was good when it was put away a few years ago, now not so much). It can be hard to see even when it is right in front of your eyes. Interesting thought about designating items to people in your will. My father was not a person who had much of $$ value, but he had listed a few items in his will to go to certain people. They were things that obviously meant a lot to him, but when the executor tried to hand those items over to people, nobody wanted any of the listed items. That left the executor a little bent out of shape because he felt Dad's will wasn't being honored. That's a double edged blade as well. Then also consider that Dad did not designate even one item specifically for me... my feelings aren't too badly hurt, but for some people designations could be very devastating.