How fun! I love a curious mind. Nothing wrong with going further when it comes to learning

Neil - it was a busy day. It took me all day because I kept having to go inside to cool off! But then again, I wasn't in a hurry. And if I don't find homes for my plants, we do have a big plant fair in March. I know, it's a long time off, but it is a great venue for trading - much to the chagrin of those who are trying to sell their plants. When I sell my plants, it is usually for a dollar or two, just to cover the cost of growing media. Sharing is more important to me. Kim, everything I read says this plant is frost tender and grows in zones 9-11. If you can keep it in a pot and bring it in for the winter, I think it will do fine. These guys were quite manageable before going into the ground. Can you folks message me? I have tried to set my profile so anyone can message or email me. If that doesn't work - and please give it a try just so I can see if it works - you can email me at crenda at AOL dot com. (Can I type my actual email address?)

Somewhere on my shelves I have a copy of BB's posthumous memoir, "Bare Blass", which includes pictures of his houses and apartments, including the 18th century Connecticut stone house, a former tavern, with this room. I remembered that after BB died, Sotheby's sold the Bill Blass Collection, about 15 years ago. I Googled and found it was in 2002. According to this article about the auction, the mystery object is "a large patinated bronze rendition of Napoleon’s column. This reduction of the celebrated monumental bronze, erected to the glory of Napoleon I in the Place Vendome, Paris, sold for $176,000" Half of his estate and some of the more important antiquities went to the Met. An interesting comment on this blog post about the framed picture in the living room -- "I once read he bought the long horizontal piece shown near the ceiling in the third and fourth pictures by ‘eyeballing’ the dimensions. No surprise that it was a perfect fit." Ha!

Linda, what a beautiful beautiful quilt! I love it. I can imagine finding the six values of each color was a challenge, but you did it so well. A quilt can never be too big, only too small.