Oh, Wow, that is super!!! What an eye you have for placement; the rocks and how they are placed are amazing, especially mixed with the smaller rocks and river stones, the shape of the pond is just perfect! I love it!!! Please post more pictures as you progress. Anne

Hi there Jane! I have newspaper under the new dirt, it creates a barrier for a while and also kills the grass so if you don't need to dig too deep it makes things easier! I also like how it eventually composts itself so i am adding to the earth at the same time! I used fabric weed barrier near the back of the falls because i have been fighting a thistle infestation for a few years now, my previous neighbour just let them grow and seed and they are so hard to get rid of!! Good luck with your pond! :) I hope you get some good rainfall soon! Violet

Thank you so much Christin. If I had the money, I would be going to that junk store every weekday. Not so many people there during the week day, so more to myself. The lady who owns it was so nice. She took the time to show me how easy it was to take that arbor apart and put back together. Then she and I (and her three-year old daughter) put everything into the truck. I also got that arch behind the statue in the garden. The little three year old was so precious and beautiful. Such a sweet child too, and so cute. She followed me everywhere and "helped" me carry things out to the truck, just chattering away. I had to go home to get the truck after making my purchases, and when I came back two hours later, she ran to greet me, her head of blonde curls bouncing with each step and blowing in the breeze. She hugged me and began following again, conversing about anything and everything. I enjoyed her very much. I sure hope the Empress settee is still there on my next visit. Our house was built in 1930. It is a very small Bungalow - too small in fact, and there is now storage - none. The original owner was the village doctor - Doc Davis. There were originally 160 adjoining acres. He didn't farm it, but leased it out to ranchers for grazing and growing wheat, so I've been told. We had the option of also buying the remaining 70 acres. Wish I could have talked "The Heathen " into that. But, we got 3 acres and that is nice enough...for now. Several of the old-timers here have told me so many interesting stories about having their broken arm set here, getting "stitched up", or some such. One man in town lived on the place as a child. His father was the caretaker/maintenance man - he lit the coal furnace for the Misses, and that sort of thing. There was a smaller cottage on the north side of the property where they lived. Just the foundation remains. I am gleaning the old red Iron stones that are loose from the remaining foundation. I had thought of planting spring bulbs inside it. Still would like to do that. It is in heavy shade in summertime, but has enough sun in the spring for flowering bulbs. Would be so pretty. Right now, it is a snake pit - Copperheads. Me no likey that! The house itself is very unique in the sense that it is solid brick, not veneer applied to wood frame. The outside walls are also the inside walls, only coated in plaster. No lath-work underneath, just plaster. And, we have a full basement - not common in Oklahoma on account of the terrible problem with the ground shifting - not safe at all. But this house has stood the years and made it through many tornadoes too. I have visions of it collapsing one day and falling into the basement, especially since we have had some pretty hefty Earthquakes that shook the house and rattled the windows for 15 minutes and longer. Yikes! There was no garden at all when we bought the place. Only a few native trees, and the two woodland areas on the hill above, and a smattering of old daylilies against the northside of the house. Everything else, including trees, I planted. Sometimes when out int the garden working, I think on it, and am amazed at how much I have done to this place. The vines on the house are English Ivy and Virginia Creeper. I planted it the first year in 1996. I love the colorful leaves and blue berries in the fall of the Virginia Creeper, and the English Ivy adds the charm and greenery I love to the cottage. It is not only charming, but it also insulates the house in winter and summer. Birds love to nest in the ivy and creeper, especially the Lesser Flycatcher. Those tiny birds eat thousands of mosquitoes every day and flies as well. The vines and birds lure snakes, but they don't bother us. Our cats and dogs see to that. I did a lot of research to come up with the right type of garden that would look best with the house, and decided upon the Cottage Garden as best choice. I will be keeping a close watch on the junk store - they are struggling to keep it going. So sorry to hear that. Just another family on the brink of failure and ruin in the country. (Grrrrr...) But, if they do end up going out of business, I want to make their closing sale for certain. In the meantime, I am saving my pennies in jars so I can go back to get that settee and the Birdcage gazebo - at least. You ought to see all the lovelies INSIDE their store! ~Annie

smbnoboles said: "I can't wait to see the spa spillover when it's running!" Wait no more, my friend!! Here's one with my daughter in the "cold tub"! Here are a couple photos of the SAm and SAl lights at night: They started it up yesterday and we've been brushing the WetEdge twice a day. I woke up this morning to find the filter pressure already 10 psi over backwash pressure. So I learned how to backwash today. Took like 5 minutes. All that plaster dust really gunked up the filter. It seems to be holding at a lower pressure today. Well, that's all folks. 18 days from dig to turn on. And all workmanship is of high quality. The stone sub is coming back tomorrow to add more stone to the rock beam, because the builder wasn't satisfied with the look. Other than that, we're good to go. I got in for about 30 minutes yesterday. It's still pretty chilly, but it gave me a good chance to put on some goggles to do an underwater inspection. Everything looks good. Now comes Pool School and learning how properly maintain it.