Well the first place I headed in the general store was the notebook section and I got my self 2 books..i got a hardcover book with lined pages..and a sketch diary, a small sketchbook with medium weight blank drawing paper pages.. I too keep a regular diary in my remote control drawer by the t v and computer, i record temps, exercise, weight, things that happen during the day, etc..in this nearly every day, sometimes when i'm busy the pages stay blank, but i try. I also keep track of birthdays and appointments in this one. I also like josh have other notebooks..i have some that have squared off pages where i sketch out garden plans and ideas..i have spiral bound notebooks that i glue clippings into ..several..all with labels like "gardening" "sheds" "interior design" "baking recipes' "meal recipes" "self help" etc..i'm a real big note taker too. i have notes on a lot of my favorite books in notebooks..and i have notes in my books, i write in all my books and underline everything. but i have tried to do the hardbound garden diaries before and they are just too structured for me..as Josh says, i do them sporadically, i write down when i see my first robin, what plants i've grown that did really well for me, when the last hard frosts are and when the snow actually melts, when the first flowers are opening..anmd i try to go week by week in the growing season and make a list of what is blooming at the same time, mainly so i can know how to arrange my plants to a pleaseing garden someday..when i divide plants, i'll have a list of what else was blooming at the same time and maybe i can find a pink this that goes with a pink that in the new garden..etc. as far as lists..i keep in another notebook a list of each plant that i've ordered mail order, or lists of packets of seeds that i have bought and am ready to plant this year, a list of leftover seeds from last year and a list of what i want to buy..etc.. i think my purpose for this garden notebook is to be able to write my "garden" type thoughts of what is going on in my property that has really nothing to do with the rest of my life..in the house..etc..and something i can go back to. i have kept the same daily diary hardcover from the same plublisher every year for about 20 or so,they send them to me automatically, but they aren't really garden diaries..i wanted something that i could keep just for my gardening.. also i think the sketch book will be nice to have on the front porch to grab with some pencils or pastels so that i can draw whatever catches my fancy..as well, it isn't pretty, maybe I'll cover it with some pretty fabric or paper..why aren't sketchbooks pretty like the journals and hardback notebooks are that they sell..don't they think artists like pretty???? duh..i have some larger 8x11 sketchbooks, but i did want a grab size one that i can have handy rather than schlepping around big ones..too.

Oh boy! Thanks so much to those who posted pics. Just to clarify--soapstone is out of the running, as the only ones I found that I liked was through that TX place that would require some DIY to make it affordable...and I think I didn't want so much contrast. Okay--I think we're down to the Wild West or the River White...though I must confess that prior to yesterday my "white" was going to be BM Marble White which is really creamy, but I got it home and feared that it would read too yellowy with a truer white on all the window/room crown trim...but one of these pics (that I really like) does have the creamier white tone cabinet with whiter trim and I think it's lovely! Ugh. My cabinet makers think I'm nuts already. I really hope that the white I've picked doesn't read to bright. I love white kitchens, so you'd think I couldn't go wrong but I have this fear that it'll be too crisp...too bright for the space and I want to be sure it feels warm (though I hope the walnut top island will accomplish that) I've opened up wall to dining room (now it's nearly 8 feet of opening) and it's filled with dark (unfortunately pretty formal) furniture. Here's another question if someone has an opinion. I have 2 base cabinets and a window seat over the radiator in the dining room (it's the wall opposite the kitchen cab wall that are white that I'll re-paint to whatever "white" I go with. Those 2 pieces have emperador dark marble on top. At the time I chose that, I had little emperador dark tiles worked in to my backsplash design in the kitchen, so I felt like it made sense. But now I wonder, should I change those to whatever I pick for the kitchen perimeter cabinets? Is that just throwing money out the window? I figure it's another $500. This project is already so much $, that doesn't even sound like too much to me anymore!! Though I hate to waste perfectly good stone and wonder how else I'd use it. Thanks again!

Uffda! You guys are nice to talk to! Beryl- Yeah...the Big-Dance sure is a crazy time! Last year was SO fun when NDSU had won #3 of 4 Football NCAA-Championships; and in March, our Men's BB-team upset Oklahoma in round 1!!! But when I saw Gonzaga as THIS years game...ummmmm! Awm- Ouch! Hmmmm...that IS an interesting situation. Yes, the Kansas's should've been on opposite sides of the bracket. Arcy- Small world! Gotta like ND HS-Basketball! Are you in or near ND? I got pretty fired-up when the Bison closed within 6 in the 2nd-half!!! The Zag's 3pt-shooting was LETHAL though. We were pretty cold from the long-arc. We did pretty good against their height, but not good enough. Who recruits from Poland anyway?!??!?! That seemed kinda unfair in a way.... Faron

Here are the same plants above, pics taken Dec 31. Tangerine. It is way more yellow than it appears in the photo. Seeing how dark it was back in Sep/Oct is discouraging, but at least it hasn't lost any leaves. Lemon. Holding up pretty well. No yellowing. Has some new growth but as you can see the new leaves have so far stayed very small. Hopefully they'll grow more as the days get brighter. Kumquat. Some yellowing on the top leaves but the rest of it looks good. Has some new growth coming on in the middle of the plant but you can't really see it in the pic. I'll take some more pics in the Spring. They sit in a sunny windowsill during the day, and before I go to work in the afternoon I put them under a daylight CFL in a foil-lined box.