This is the time of year I wish we could import all you frozen-ground gardeners to come out here and help. December-March is one of the busiest times of year in coastal California. Wet leaves to rake, bushes to prune, weeds to pull, citrus fruit to pick, new plants to put in, etc. etc. etc. New growth is already appearing on the roses which were pruned back just recently, near the end of January. The freesias are a month ahead of themselves - we had an early hard rain in October that woke things up - so those flower stalks have just begun to raise their heads. It'll be another couple of weeks before they start to open, though. Freesias are my favorite spring flower - fragrant and return reliably! Last year I grew a bunch of freesias in a pot and didn't realize the colors would cross. They were supposed to be neat waves of red, white and purple. But some of the purple became streaked with white, sort of odd but pretty: Goodness knows what the freesias will look like this year, LOL. If I get anything interesting in the color mixing, I'll post a 2010 photo in a month or so.

Oakley- I like the Sisila but don't know that that works with the furniture. It also has gold in it. (Dang pinkish carpets.) I know it give the dimensions of the scale but it helps me to see the fabric IRL or a photo of it on something. I'll look around, thanks. I also like the Selim but the colors are little too cheery. I'm going to pass on the table. I like it but starting thinking it reminded me of a nightstand. I have bb wallpaper leftover. I actually have painted posterboard inside the ends, but could cover foamcore board. Tina - That made sense about preferring the color in accents. I think her pillows are from PB. I like all her pillows and would switch her houses, ha. Sadly, our PB outlet was really lacking the last time I was there. Tuesday - I really like those photos, thank you. Kswl - I like crewel work pillows. About the burlap tablecloth, with the wingchair being beige/tan you don't think that side would be lacking color; worsening the unbalanced feel? I've been meaning to get a glass top so will look into local. Geo, Val, Tuesday, Oakley, Kswl - I pick up a sample of the Saybrook. It is a pretty color and on and off over the past 6 months I've had occasional thoughts of painting the kitchen area (currently BM Olive Branch) a similar color. I think it would work better with the floor, etc. Anyhow, my biggest concern is I paint the room Saybrook and 6 months down the road we decide to replace the furniture. It's not in the plans but... I also think I'd feel more comfortable with a color like Shaker as it's similar to what I have. I was thinking about carrying the LR color through the foyer and hall, which also has the brown carpet, to help the flow. The color there is even worse than the LR color paired with the carpet. I never cared for it once on the walls. Geo - I like the idea of the Saybrook better for accents in the room. I'd be ok with changing the back of bookends to that color. I like the cream idea too. I probably could take the doors off but DH and I both like the glass. Also the ends light up and we turn them on a night. The shelves consist of mostly books and wooden ducks that are sentimental, but the few other things could change. This post was edited by sheesharee on Thu, Mar 7, 13 at 17:37

Katie, I don't grow a bunch of inside plants, but the few I do (7 orchids and a small group of other assorted things that I have enough attachment to not to want to loose over winter) live outside on my back porch in summer, and are brought inside during winter. Inside the plants sit on stands right in front of three 5X7 foot plate glass windows with no shade. The house is surrounded with huge Water Oak trees that are completely bare in winter, but even then the bare limbs break up what sunshine gets through them. The windows are not vertical, but the top tilts out more than the bottom. This gives additional roof overhang, so the only time of the year the plants receive any absolutely direct sunlight is mid winter, and that is coming through the bare oak limbs. Moving the sun sensitive plants up on the shelves reduces the amount of sunlight they get. Right now the sun is high enough in the sky that only the plants on the floor are receiving direct sunlight. In summer the plants go out on the porch with no shade other than what the leafed out oaks supply. Sun demanding plants on the top shelf, and plants that prefer more shade on the deck of the porch under the other plants. It works. I don't have many photos of the setup, but here's one that shows some of the setup. You can see part of the three shelf tall stand on the right where small potted stuff is kept. Two Phals. in bloom on the low stand. The pure white one was purchased in Feb. 2014 by our children for use at our 50th anniversary reception. They had two plants, and both of them are in bloom again this year. I cut both spikes back (not off) after they finished blooming (early Apr.) to see if they would branch. One spike died without branching and the plant has another spike blooming now. The other spike did branch from two nodes, and is in full bloom now. Out the window you can see the yellow birdhouse on the Water Oak that supplies part of my shade. As far as "Orchid bloom enhancement fert." I personally have never heard of it, so can't comment. I normally use a higher amount of Nitrogen when the plants are in active growth, and when they are mature and getting ready to set blooms, I reduce the Nitrogen to prevent the plants from continuing to grow instead of blooming. Enough for now. Bill

Maybe eld . However, these were not coworkers at all. They were truck drivers,either bringing stuff in or picking stuff up. Mr. Kit Kat comes in frequently, and is rather obnoxious anyway, and Reeses boy just started coming in there recently,and had no clue that he was talking to the treat provider/decorator. Again,I don't think I feel ownership over the treats. They are for everybody. I am just amazed at how rude and obnoxious some people can get about something that supposed to be a nice gesture and fun. (How DARE you not make sure that there is more than 1 free Reeses cup!) As for money,I do get contributions. It's usually the same people every year. So far, in my pumpkin pig I've brought in about 30 bucks. I don't get annoyed if people don't contribute and they get a treat or two.I get annoyed when people don't contribute,yet come get enough snacks to live off of. Or I get annoyed at the people who work in that office with me,as i mentioned above. They will nag people to put change in the pig(something I NEVER do. I put the pig by the candy for those that want to put in. I don't ever TELL people to put money in it. ),yet I get nothing from them,and they eat more than anyone. It's a year round thing though really. The obnoxious entitlement that is.We provide them with free coffee. As a courtesy. They often complain that we only have regular and hazelnut coffeemate,not this or that flavor. They actually think it is a job requirement for us to drop whatever are doing if the coffee pot is empty and make it for them. Someone actually yelled at me that they would have me fired for not "doing my job" and get off the phone with a customer that second and make him some free coffee. Yeah. Good luck with that. You can't be nice to some people. They become rather entitled. I don't get it. But, I refuse to let the few doofuses dampen my Halloween happiness,especially as I got my Charlie Brown working,and that made my whole month. I can feel it. This is the year that the Great Pumpkin finally shows up.