Hi Jeff, great to see you are joining the group. I have very little to offer since my gardens are only on their second year but mostly wanted to attend for the socializing. Quite a few of us met last year at Deb's house for the swap. We are glad to have you aboard and I think with Signet hosting, we are in for a real treat. She's going to show us "Hosta Choice Gardens" near her home but even better we get to see her vast array of plants she has collected and nurtured. As for me, I don't know that I have anything you might like but if you have an extra Kentucky Coffee Tree seedling, I'd be happy to take one off your hands. Just an aside Jeff...I'm still hoping for those bladdernut seeds to sprout. My wintersowing didn't do well at all and those pots that did sprout are only just sprouting now so I really don't see the benefit of doing the wintersowing at all. Barb

Ack, sorry again for my very delayed reply. As usual, LIFE got in the way - how annoying! ;) rebunky: I was so disappointed by how pricey the Calacatta tiles were that I didn't even want to take photos of them! Wow - I didn't know that $20/sq ft was on the low end for Calacatta. I think that nixes it for me then. :( namarie: I know your kitchen so well! ;) I didn't realize your tiles were Calacatta Gold - I always thought that CG had more brown tones than grey? I did some Googling and I see lots of tiles with the same colours as your tiles so it looks like I assumed wrong! I think your choice to do tile with very narrow grout lines makes for a nearly-slab-like look! I'd love to get the slab look too but it is WAY too pricey, and I wonder how the heck to remove a slab BS should I ever tire of it?? Kitchen Magic: I did really like the look of some mini bricks I saw at the tile stores I visited. I like how the ones like in your photo have muted colours so it gives me a multi coloured backsplash without being too busy. cpartist: how gorgeous are those cement tiles?? I've never seen cement tiles before and it looks like the design possibilities are endless, if you get them with some graphic design printed on. smm5525: Good idea. I will do that instead of dragging all of you along with me as I think aloud!! Sorry for that... I just really love to see all the different ideas you all share! mayflowers: Hmm... I agree that I can't have both the BS and the counters look busy. The London Grey is staying so I think I'll be going with a solid BS for most of the kitchen... but I'll still consider putting in a more "busy" mosaic tile somewhere, most likely in the hutch area. :) barncatz: I agree - I love the tiles everyone's shared! It helps me figure out and narrow down what I want for my BS tile.

I think it depends on one's personality whether they'd be happier with a tour or on their own. I've done both - a focused tour (antiquing) in London and a by myself trek that centered on gardens in the general vicinity. The focused tour was with my mom and my best friend and her mom and was our first visit. Everything was handled by the tour company afa accommodations, some meals and ground transport to the antique market venues but there was plenty of free time to do whatever else we wanted. Mornings were devoted to the antiquing and then the moms (elderly) went back to the hotel for rest, etc. while my BFF and I toured the city and visited all the sites we wanted to see. We did an on-and-off doubledecker bus city tour to begin with but walked or took the underground to all the sites and attractions that interested us. It was a great introductory visit. My second visit was on my own and other than the logistics of locating accommodations and ground transport (and your travel agent can help with that), it was just as simple. But I have no issues with being by myself, either at home or anywhere else. I used to travel extensively for work and that was almost always on my own. But I think you need to be comfortable being alone to attempt a visit abroad on your own. And I wouldn't worry about language concerns. Obviously, England is easy to navigate language-wise (although the strong accents can get you!) and you will find that the vast majority of Parisians speak English as well, certainly those that regularly encounter tourists. This is true across much of Europe.

Hello everyone, Such a beautiful Sunday and I am indoors doing housework etc., watching my leaves fallll! I have a question and I am looking for your comments about composting yellow Norway maple leaves. I will rake up about 20-30 bags this year, no mulching with mower because I don't have one yet to replace my old one. Plan is to trial composting the leaves behind my garage, mostly morning sun. Everything I read says the compost from these leaves is healthy/valuable in gardening. Does this type of compost actually contribute valuable nutrients to my perennial plants?... apparently this type of compost can be used in vegetable gardening?... I suspect I will have to manually turn the leaves to reduce clumping...all comments welcome.