Here is a proposal for your trip. Places with a *** are really a must. Freiburg (Germany) Arboretum: 100 yo Pseudotsuga menziesii. http://www.biologie.uni-ulm.de/extern/guenterstal/farbotxt.htm Arboretum du Vallon de lÂAubonne, West of Lausanne. http://www.arboretum.ch/ *** Lake of Derborence, Canton du Valais : old growth forest of Abies alba, untouched for more than 2 centuries. *** Aletsch forest of Pinus cembra. You will go to Morel (after Brig) and take the telecabin to Riederalp, then a second telecabin to Moosfluh above the Aletsch glacier. Also Larix deciduas and Juniperus alpine and Picea abies. You go back on foot to Riederalp. You can have a hot drink in the Hotel/Restaurant in Riederfurka. If the weather will not change unfortunately already too late. I would not recommnend to go there if snow is present. http://www.wettercam24.ch/d/channel1/riederalp/index.shtml Go back to Brig and take the Simplon Pass. (If it is closed you will have to put your car on the train to Domodossola.) *** Lago Maggiore between Switzerland and Italy. *** In Verbania  Intra, look for the ferry boat to Laveno, and find the Villa Taranto Botanical Garden just right side of the docks on the shore. http://www.villataranto.it/home_eng.htm *** Living the car in the park place, take the boat to Isola Madre. http://www.pinetum.org/Madre.htm Take the ferry-boat to Laveno (running until 24h00) and you can spend the night in Cerro at the B&B: www.polidora.com *** And visit the 7 hectares Botanical Garden the next morning. Go back to Switzerland on the same side of the lake until San Nazzaro where is the Otto Eisenhut Nursery and Botanical Garden. http://www.eisenhut.ch/location_en.htm Then you can go in the Graubunden to the one Swiss National Park. http://www.nationalpark.ch/snp.html If you will send me a private message (pinetum(at)hotmail.com), maybe I can send you a useful recommendation. Driving through the Alps and if you have the choice (snow is always possible), do not take the tunnels, but go for the passes. (I fear though that it will be too late, already some passes are closed.) http://www.swissinfo.org/fre/inforoute/index.html?siteSect=490#pass Even the tunnels could be difficult. See: http://www.lematin.ch/pages/home/infos_services/info_route (gesperrt = closed) Conifer diversity is low in the Alps. Picea abies is everywhere. Pinus sylvestris is local sometimes already in the valleys. Pinus cembra is rare and to be found only at high altitude (timberline is around 2000m.) usually away from the main roads. Pinus mugo is everywhere, but more frequent at high altitude where it grows low. Larix decidua is frequent and goes to the timberline. It is the pioneer species around the retreating glaciers. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: Conifers in Switzerland

Don . Always glad to enable. :p I had no intentions of looking at or even buying GwtW. Chris has it listed in his catalog but there is no picture, so I hadn’t paid it any mind when I was scouting my first order earlier this year. Then BAM I saw it. I mistook it for Bridal Falls at first, but looking at my Bridal Falls now, the only similarity is the white margin. The leaf shape, overall size, and mound shape are completely different with GwtW. The picture that Olga has on her website does it justice. It’s going to be a biggun’ so mind where you plant it once you do decide to purchase it. :) Ademink . I actually ordered from Chris this spring as well via mail order. There were 43 hostas total in that order. After this second order arrives I’m going to need a sign in my front yard that says “Garden brought to you by Hallson”. Here is the link to my original post when my first order came . . . it was a great day. :) My First Hallson Order Jan . Shopping for new plants is something I do best !!! I do have a big task ahead of me getting these all in the ground, but it will so be worth it in 5 years when everything starts filling in and my hours of toying back and forth endlessly over which plant should go where will pay off. Thanks again everyone ! Ludi

Msmarion, glad these threads have inspired you. Let us know how you do. I, too, find everyone's hard work inspiring. It motivates me to keep going. Today I worked on my clothing closet with my good friend. I tried on all of my dresses, skirts, and jackets. I got rid of 17 items. It was really interesting to have someone objectively evaluate how clothing looks on you. It made me realize how harsh I am on myself! My friend is someone who is particular about how clothing fits, flattering styles, age appropriateness, etc., and it was a positive experience. I got rid of two vintage dresses because they didn't fit or flatter my shape well. I really liked these dresses, too , but I chose to keep others that look much better on me. Two contemporary dresses were nixed because they were a tad short. My friend said I could get away with them, but because I have others that look better I decided to keep just the best ones. The process has started to feel and sound familiar to other culling tasks I've completed -- my closet has a limited amount of space; I have lots of clothing but certain items are the most flattering; these clothes are in good condition; I enjoy wearing them and do wear them. I keep only the best of everything. I am glad to have gotten this far, but still have a lot to do. Slacks, tops, and shoes remain, but I already have more room in one closet. I need to start a list of particular items that would help round out my wardrobe, but I'm not going to buy anything until I have completed the entire culling process. Also started working on removing an applied texture from the walls of one of our bedrooms. Originally thought it was sand-textured paint, but it's a bit thicker than that. I'm using a spackling tool to lift and chip it off. It's a bigger project than anticipated, but I think the results will be better. Tina

So here's the completed project with the Centor Blinds. Check out the install video at their website and realize that the casing that houses the blind assembly sticks out from the door unit a good 4-6" and looks shady onside- wish I'd taken a photo of that before having the left and right sheetrock furred out to make the screen flush with the interior walls. The mechanism slides well, but once in awhile makes a large "clunk" about midway that seems like it isn't lined-up straight on the reel-out of the screen side. I emailed Centor for care instructions, as I have a Phantom Screen on another french door that I silicone regularly, and they never replied. The only care instructions I could find were to keep the tracks clean. You see where the blind meets the screen, and there is a full-length magnetic pliable stip attached to make the connection between the two. It is so magnetic (most likely due to surface area of magnetic material, that t it is a STRONG two-handed separation to open the gap. I'm going to run some quality Scotch 32+ electrical tape at intervals to see if I can make separation more manageable. We have "lake" or "rice" flies that hatch at different intervals of the summer, and if they are on your screen or blind, they get crushed-into the material, and need to be removed via tooth-brush, etc. I'd do it again, but I'd check other brands to see if there is a comparable option that is US instead of Overseas-based.