I've spent a lot of time with Louisa May Alcott. Her backstory is so fascinating - as are many people of her era - & the era itself. Another that really captured me was Henriette Deluzy-Desportes. After seeing the Bette Davis/Charles Boyer movie, "All This And Heaven Too", I had to get the book to read (which chronicled so much more of her life) & then became interested in its author, Rachel Field, who also had a very interesting backstory, being related to Henriette through the man she ultimately married. Her introduction to that book describes how she grew up picnicking amongst the tombstones of her new England ancestors & how it inspired her to research & write about this mysterious woman. Henriette Deluzy-Desportes

Get rid of the pine. That's not stain grade. You need white oak, and an expert finisher. It's unfortunately that you wasted money on plastic floors, as they will not be nearly as long lived as actual wood floors. All white oak for everything would be the way to go for a floating stair and floors. You can't pretend with fake materials when it comes to a main design feature like that.

edited because somehow the first part of my post didn't post. Thank you all for sharing your stories about skating, Who knew there was so much experience and talent here-I'm so happy to learn this about you all! I wasn't sure anyone would even be interested in this, so I was pleasantly surprised to read of all of your histories with skating. And other things! Like how @wildchild2x2 became a wild child, lol! @lisaam I agree. He really is beautiful on the ice. Such an elegant delivery and most of his costumes take advantage of his long legs and arms, down to the gloves which make his arms look even longer. @roxsolid omigosh how fun for your daughter to be in roller derby. Part of what I loved about attending the bouts (I just remembered what they called them) was the camaraderie among the players, even on opposing teams. Those women were having so much fun. When I first started watching them in person, the Seattle Team was the Rat City Roller Rollergirls. but now it is Rat City Roller Derby with several teams comprising the league. They didn't have uniforms but dressed in the most outlandish, fun outfits (like fishnet stockings that would be torn to shreds by the end of the night) and skated in an old hangar at a former Navy base on Lake Washington in Seattle. As they became more popular, they outgrew that and started skating at one of the smaller sports arenas, got uniforms and became a little less outrageous in their get-ups. I took about 30 of my friends to a bout in Seattle for my 60th birthday, then out to dinner. Every single person, man, woman, child, young and old LOVED it. My friends still talk about how fun it was. Maybe I'll have to check all those unwatched sports channels in my streaming bundle and see if they televise any roller derby! Maybe we can have a thread or two during the Olympics to discuss what we watch. Thanks for sharing.

measure each window separately for an inside mount blind, either top down/bottom up or roman blinds and keep the rod and panels to soften the look. layering is always an attractive plan. Blinds.com is a great source. Or a cordless cellular blind... https://www.wayfair.com/Latitude-Run®--Cordless-SemiSheer-Cellular-Shade-X113943480-L641-K~W002832379.html?refid=PSM49-w002832379_611420933_611421124&costid=PSM49&pin_campaign=626757246272&pin_adgroup=2680088480701&pin_productgroup=4260609578453&device=c&epik=dj0yJnU9OHd3anVMMTZRYmZRNkNrMVE4a1ZLejZoSW9qNTdwXzgmcD0xJm49M29ESVBEcGhha2ZLS0pnMFJlUFdCZyZ0PUFBQUFBR2xJS2lv