'U' are preaching to the choir here...

Given increasing and probably irreversible globalization, in ten years it may be hard to have a varied diet if one limits oneself to "grown/processed/packaged in the USA." Look at Walmart: they'd go out of business next week if consumers refused to buy stuff from them of foreign origin. A lot of raw veggies and fruits in my grocery stores, local produce stands, and even "farmers markets" do not indicate country of origin. When they get unboxed and put out for sale, the employees may not even know for sure where some of them originally came from.

Isn't the Dollar Tree store fun! One of the Crafting boards I go to comes up with the cutest ideas using Dollar Tree finds. I bought a bunch of the mugs that have removable inserts. I replace the inserts with a collage of pictures. FUN! And only a $1. Makes great gifts for the kids to give team mates, etc.

I think everyone who's seen Jay's (mushcreek) powder room is jealous!! Haha! Or the rest of his house, for that matter. I think about that peninsula all the time. I have a tiny powder room, a wee bit smaller than Jay's, and I'm not too proud to admit I'm stealing a lot of his ideas, haha, including the plate rail and the barn door! bluesanne, SCORE on the claw foot tub! :-). I've found, in life, that persistence gets people farther than intelligence, looks, social standing, etc. Good on you!! :-) I too have "claw foot tub envy," haha! Funny thing is, from ages 1-13, I grew up in a house with a huge claw foot tub. That thing was so deep! I hated it, lol! I was embarrassed by it--oy, kids! All my friends had "normal" tubs AND showers. We didn't have a shower. LOL When I think of what that tub would sell for today... Bluesanne, wow, so fortunate you're still able to use the tub!!! :-) Bluesanne, how interesting! I've never heard of competitive horse carriage driving! That is fascinating! (Score on the cones, btw. I'm kind of addicted to the dollar store, lol.) My pastor is competitive in dressage, which I wasn't very familiar with. Everyone in our church knows not to try the church first if we want to talk to her, you just head out to the horse barn. (Although she's almost always reachable on her cell.) btw Bluesanne, you mentioned northwest--where are you? I'm in eastern Washington. Chris (Shades), I can't imagine anyone hating you! But sometimes friendships really grow from relationships that began with a misunderstanding. I'm so sorry that Joe can't get outside for a chat for more than a few moments. My claw foot envy is actually ridiculous considering I can't use a tub anymore due to the arthritis. But my daughter Joy loves them too. She takes a bath every night, almost never showers. So when I get to the bathroom remodel, I would like to put in a cool claw foot for her and a walk-in shower for moi. Being in a 37 yr old manufactured home, obviously I will have to reinforce the floor in there big time to support the weight of a claw foot. Steph, wow, how cool your ex happened to see that tub being removed from the building and got it for $50!! Jay, it's no secret I'm in love with your house!! Lol! I love, love, love all the antique and reclaimed materials you've used! I'm really going to try to use as many used, reclaimed, thrown away, donated, however you want to phrase it, materials for my house project. Not just to save money, which is definitely a big consideration, but because I think we throw so much good stuff into our landfills, and I want to do my part by not adding to the pile. You have shown that a variety of "finds" can go together in a house in a tasteful, nay stunning way! In fact, I'd go so far as to say, had you just bought brand new and prefabricated everything, your home would not have nearly the charm and beauty it has now. I know for a fact your house could be in a magazine spread, and I'll be first in line to buy that issue! Which brings me to...STRINGWEAVER!!! We've been missing you!! So so happy to "see" you! :-) And I agree 100% with you--one of the many advantages of a smaller home is that you can potentially put nicer, higher quality materials into it. Small is beautiful! :-) PLUS...less to clean! :-) Stringweaver, thanks for sharing your story about the hardiplank! Between your and Jay's hardiplank scores, I'm starting to think my dream of hardiplank siding might come true!! :-) Steph, how are you these (hot) days? And Jed? And...doggie (can't remember doggie's name, sorry!) I think of you often, hoping you're OK and making progress on your home. :-)