Here's a note from this morning's forecast discussion at the Seattle NWS office. Climatology...Seattle is currently on a streak of 5 consecutive months of below normal temperatures ( through August ). July and August ended up pretty close to normal...just a half a degree below normal for the two month period. The hot spells over the Summer have masked just how cool it has been for Seattle. Taking a look at the number of days with highs 70 degrees plus so far this year the number is only 54. The average number of days with highs 70 or above during the year for Seattle is 84. On average Seattle will get another 11 days before the end of the year with highs 70 plus. The record for the least number of days 70 plus in Seattle at sea-tac is 46 days in 1955. The top 5 is rounded out by 53 days in 1954...65 days in 1980 and 1964 and 66 days in 1956. 1954...1955...1956 and 1964 were all La Nina years. It is certainly possible that this year will end up in the top 5 for the least number of days with highs 70 plus. Felton ...thinking back fondly of the lovely summer we had in 2007....LOL. Actually, it's not so bad, because the slower my plants grow, the less I get behind on potting them up.

I forgot to mention I love the idea of the planters with greenery next to the door with the christmas balls. that is so cute. I swear everytime I come to this thread I smell pine. LOL I like the greenery on the handrails. I brought fake greenery like that in Michaels a couple of years ago with the white lights in it and it looked so elegant I hated to take it down!!! Caroline your husband looks sooooo cold LOL. That is something I do not miss although they say we might get hit with lots of snow this year (NC) and I am not looking forward to it AT ALL amck I would love to see your porch and front yard. chicoryflower thanks for the compliment. The front is only a small part of the property the back is REALLY beautiful. The Orig owner was a gardner but it happens that after she passed the next owners did not do much so the whole place is overgrown and out of control. it was just waiting for my TLC!! I have copied pictures that I saw in here for real life pine decorating and next year I am going to DO IT UP!! LOL. I see right now you guys are going to keep me sooo busy.

My favourite Books of 2011 - no particular order - 1) ""Get Me Out of Here" - Henry Sutton A dark -- very dark -- satire set in modern-day London.... Tells of a once-successful financial professional who's on the skids -- yet, still hankers for the luxuries and amenities so many of his ilk had during the '80s - early-2000s - until the global financial crash. 2) "Bleak House" - Charles Dickens My first reading of this classic. Like the above -- another tale of riches-to-rags -- for some characters, rags-to-riches. Teeming w/ delightful or creepy characters, high drama, ugly-beyond-belief slum scenes and human cruelty, enough neuroses to keep a psychiatric clinic busy for a decade (or more!), generosity of spirit, healthy lust for life, etc., etc. ... a rich cornucopia of humanity -- both wonderful and lousy. 3) "Left Early, Took My Dog" - Kate Atkinson Very "juicy" mystery involving a kidnapped spunky little girl and one of the most delightful female police detectives I've ever encountered. ... She reminded me of the actress Dawn French. 4) "King Solomon's Carpet" - Barbara Vine / Ruth Rendell One of the best books she's ever written ... even though I was annoyed w/ how meagre the explanation was at the end -- of a couple of the characters' outcomes. But, still, a fascinating ride -- in both senses! -- the story as well as the hair-raising subway ("Underground" in Brit speak) scenes. Some of the weirdest, most intriguing characters I've come across in a book in a long time! 5) "Bad Behavior" - Isabel Wolff A woman's storybook -- I call this genre -- some call it "Chick Lit", which turns me off. Anyway -- a lovely story about a young, single woman setting up a new veterinary practice in London. She has a very awful secret in her past. A war photojournalist comes into her life, and the secret if blown open. 6) "My Cousin Rachel" - Daphne du Maurier Several of us "chatted" about this in the August thread. I still think the dame did it! 7) "The Private Patient" - P.D. James A professional investigative TV journalist goes to a posh country clinic to have an old scar removed from her face. But much more than that happens to her. Really intriguing who-done-it... although I felt that bringing Dalgleish's personal life into the story interrupted the flow. That's it. This year think I'll read more non-fiction. After going over the lists of all the books I read - 2011 - I noticed I've been reading way too many mystery books! Some books keep popping up in the lists above and in discussion that I want to try -- "IQ84", "Discovery of Witches", "The Assassin's Cloak". Kathy9norcal - You named 2 of my all-time favourite books: 1) "Brazzaville Beach" - Wm. Boyd -- Every time I mention this novel I have the feeling I'm the only person who's read it, as no one seems to've heard of it! Although I've read some awfully good books set in Africa (fict. &...

Thanks... I'll keep my optimism and hope for the best for my Arbutus marina. I've picked a spot in full sun (of course) with good drainage, etc etc. I've given up on the native Arbutus (at least temporarily). I've tried several times and have had limited success, though I've never had one die due to harsh winters. They always seem to die in late spring / summer / fall, for no apparent reason (which the native Arbutus is known for). The last one I had lasted for 4 years. It was a nice looking, healthy little tree and then, poof, it just decided to die in mid-July. I hope you have more success than I with that that one. I am (probably temporarily) content with looking at the huge healthy native Arbutus across the street in my neighbour's yard.