Lynn, Thank you for the info. I built a strawbale bldg in Montana and low walls of strawbale, and they looked very similar to yours, which is why I asked. I might go back to WA this spring to help buddy build a wall around their garden, so was looking for ideas, as yours are close to what I had designed for them. Two years ago we put in a ~350 sf raised bed out of Allan Block against the south side of the house, I put a spigot out there as well on a 4x4, with another spigot on the back side for the soaker hoses. We find the raised bed works wonderfully for the veggies, allows much more control of the water and amendments/nutrients (heavy clay here). The last remaining task is to put a hardscape path around the wall, but the better half has different ideas than me (mine is similar to yours). I used to design landscapes in CA, and always put in raised planters, for various reasons. First, most important, is to dig down below the level of the planter and incorporate your fill with native to ensure drainage, as a perched water table will result & stress your trees (even with wall at 2ft high). Second most important is to have the design flow with the rest of the landscape. Third is to plumb the planters - don't count on hand-watering as one vacation during hot weather will result in stress and loss, as raised beds don't retain as much moisture as the ground does. I also tried to ensure my designs allowed sitting on the top of the wall for guests to enjoy the flowers and bees and scent (plus you get to subtly change the decor for parties with different styles of cushions, candles, moving the clay frog, etc.). I wouldn't make them any wider than 5-6 feet so you can prune/weed without stepping in the beds. You'll also find your walls will make wonderful microclimates around the yard (and increase heat on south-facing walls) and you may want to take some time to learn these changes before you go nuts at the nursery; our south wall soil does not freeze and I have a coldframe out there now with veggies in it (just outside Denver and we have had a half-dozen nights below 0º F this winter, as many in single digits, many in teens). What we did to our stucco walls in Montana was to use broken glazed pottery as decoration, as well as glass marbles and one artist did a bas-relief of a man on a horse, all of this done while the last coat of stucco was still wet. Sounds like an excellent project to dream about, Lynn. Dan

Lyra, His grandparents are from Germany, They are a very German family whenever there are family get togethers, its German food. Which I don't mind. Its all good. They use a lot of venison meat too which I like becuase its very lean and when cooked right not gamey. So I can get German recipes. I'm also working on perfecting Black Forest Cake. I've made it twice now. Second was better, so hopefully by the 3rd(even though I swear to never make it again after each time :-D) It will be even better.

Welcome Susan!!!! This is a great forum with very talented members. Hope your recovery is fast! I also like to 'put up' stuff and garden. I moved from Central Florida to a small (very small lol) SE Georgia town (community) and I have no quilting friends here so I depend on our forum for knowledge and entertainment. Everyone in my town and family loves my quilts and they tolerate me talking about them but I have not met or converted a quilter yet here yet. Yes we do love pics! Rosa

Thanks Everyone for the wonderful welcome!!! What a friendly group!!! I felt bad posting last night and then dissapearing LOL... I went on a road trip to meet my new nephew today:) Tose mountains are the view from my house! Beautiful aren't they! We are so lucky :) Since a few of you asked about the rose quilt, I thought I'd tell a little tiny bit about it... It was probably the easiest quilt I have ever made! Seriously. My MIL came home with a quilt book called Nine Patch pizazz by Judy Sisneros. I saw a quilt in there I LOVED but needed to find the right fabric... walked into our local quilt shop and there it was the rose fabric! It took me three months to find the burgandy fabric that matched just right, but once I got it I whipped that quilt up in no time (maybe 4 hours) I'll post a link below to the authors website it shows some of the quilts from the book. Anyway I find them rather fun and fast... great gift quilts :) The bottom block was fun too... I got the pattern out of a quilt magazine... I'll try to find it and post the particulars of the quilt. Scraphappy I think it was a 12" block IF i remember correctly :) Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome! I'm defiantely looking forward to getting to know all of you! Here is a link that might be useful: Nine patch Pizazz