Wow, what a mohnin' montage, glittering dresses designed to securely hug shapely contours as well as bring tears to the eye's of the photographer, discussions of "manly" birthday stew, combination kitchen/"li-berries", and epic posts from those thought long lost. What could be better? That is a pretty dress, Brenda. My first Barbie (I still have her) had an evening dress (which I no longer have) that was similar in silhouette. It must be a trifle overwhelming to see your baby girl all suited up for her nuptials, but very special, too. Nice to indulge something besides Cat. diesels, huh? When's the big day? I didn't quite understand what happened in the cornfield with the bike. Did they impale it with one of those pointy things on the front of the combine? How about a shot of the Combine and a basic lesson on what the parts of it are? that will prove important next harvest when the Idyllettes descend on the your farm like Grackles on a lawn. And "ladies foundations" are indeed the order of the day for those with "fuller" (Rubenesque?) figures, though they should NEVER be uncomfortable if they are properly fitted. Many moons ago I was an alterationist in a very swanky dress shop that also sold ladies foundation garments. The women in that department were all older and were "corsettieres", they knew exactly how to measure and fit undergarments and specialized in prosthetics for mastectomy patients. I learned A TON from them and found the niche fascinating and very rewarding. Every woman should go to a good lingerie shop to be properly fitted for a bra; and drive right past some place like Victoria's Secret. ;) The discussion of awfice temperatures made me smile, Cindy. I see that as the next potential conflict in the shop, since there are a lot of windows (that are drafty) and all the baseboard is covered with used pattern material, dust, etc.. It's chilly in the morning and sweltering in the afternoon when the sun streams in the windows. My "office sweater" is a fleece-like arrangement with a zipper up the front and a snowflake motif on a black background. It was left in the shop by a worker who "couldn't take it" after realizing that sometimes sewing can be downright frustrating. Anyway, it has bits of foam "dust" stuck to the front of it and the visiting cat frequently sleeps on it when it's not in use. I cut quite a picture in it. 'bug, I'm to open all windows in the Salon for the first few fires in the new stove and not touch the painted castings as the paint becomes soft with the initial heating. I have a ways to go before "firing that mother up", though. The helpmeet put up the trim pieces that cover the edges of the pulldown ladder to the bahn's attic yesterday. I've dutifully filled the finish nail holes and will sand and finish it this afternoon. And he has all the posts and rails for the stairwell finished, too. I went over them yesterday evening, removing errant pencil marks, filling the deeper, more jagged areas and generally "distressing" the sharper edges. They're made of Hemlock and the wood's grain is quite pronounced and tends to be sort of brittle. It's not ideal for any sort of woodworking for that reason, but it is pretty when it's pickled (I did a sample last winter) and I'm willing to fuss over the parts to get the splintery parts sanded into submission. I've spent a lot of time thinking about your individual trials and family worries, lately. Sometimes it's hard to know what to say, but do know that I try to send good thoughts to the cosmos for each of you and understand that sometimes the toll can be very high. Sometimes just knowing someone understands is helpful. So are "boring" peeks into someone else's mundane existence. ;) I have to "suit up" for the chilly morning. Unlike TCS I'm pretty good at bringing all the accessories home. And like TCS, I sometimes misplace things in safely zippered pockets, too. And it's confession time, Julie. Yesterday I peeked under the couch as I was on my way up the stairs (the railing around the stairwell is open and you can look across the floor at eye level). A scary sight, indeed, with tumbleweeds of animal hair and get this: a full tick, dead as doornail, about the size of kidney bean. She must have succumbed crossing what must have seemed like a tick's equivilent of the Gobi... And on that note, mes amies, I shall head off to work (very late!). Be productive and have some laughs, OK?

How old do you have to be to be an "oldtimer"? Yes, I still lurk on occassion and remember RLV well and miss your posts. I am still growing the beautiful Love's Promise you sent me some time ago. I still have the same old Kodak digital camera I got because you used to post such beautiful rose pictures with yours. Glad to hear all is well with you. Hope you are still writing. Hello to everyone else on the forum. It might be interesting if people posted pics of their garden then and now for comparison. I know in my case the trees are a lot larger, the deer population is much greater and we have been in a no watering drought for ever. Still, I have managed to keep things alive and this time of year the roses are tall enough that the deer can't reach the blooms. For those who remember my Betty Priors from Wayside, they were virused and finally declined to the point that they were replaced by KOs last year.

My Christmas box from Annette arrived today! She snuck my box into the mail on the 8th & I'm so delighted with everything! It was just stuffed with goodies, including the most elegant homemade card I've ever seen (just beautiful & so polished!), a delicious decandent chocolate scented candle, loads of yummy candy, seeds of all sorts of interesting new-to-me plants like yellow buddleia, moonflowers and exotic datura, a hoot of an Inspirational packet that included a booklet of Christmas prayers & hymms as well as several useful office items that remind one to "Reduce, reuse, recyle", several more presents that I'll open on Christmas and a beautiful rhizome of 'Designer Gown' TB Iris!! I'm sure it will dig right into its new pot, Annette ~ I divided an iris clump at Christmas a couple years ago and the rhizomes I potted back up bloomed beautifully the next Spring, although a bit late. THANK YOU VERY MUCH & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I don't understand... what's going on. I was in Target & Harris Teeter today, and had no problem... opening three different caps of Downy. Beyond that.. if they we're tightened, how would consumers open it up, when they get home? What I do is.. shake the bottle, and very casually and quickly remove the lid. Sometimes I place it.. into the top shelf of the cart, or... I'll just leave it on the shelf. Additionally.. You can cuff the lid in your hand, and smell it, without anyone knowing what you're doing ;) I've got to admit.. 99% of the time, I can find the exact box I'm looking for without huffing or sniffing. It's somewhat... rare, I actually smell boxes... it's mostly just fabric softener.