Wow! I never knew it took that long for the columbine seeds to germinate. All the ones I have, have self seeded, so Ive never actually started any in pots. The very first one (the second picture) was a small plant I brought from my last yard when I moved in here 3 years ago. So its 3 years old. Putting yours in the ground this fall, you will definitely get some flowers next year. It blooms pretty much all summer, tho its at its peak right now. This is the first year that Ive actually gotten a whiff of it one time when I was near it. Thats what Im trying to get! I have a couple more seedlings I moved to the side of the deck in the picture, and Im hoping when they grow up, Ill actually be able to smell it when I walk out on the deck. Dont know for sure if itll be enough or not, but itll be pretty even if that never happens. The time I smelled it just walking by at Denver Botanic Gardens, it was a HUGE patch of it. Oh, how I wish I had room for that. The first picture was a single little seedling that got dug up with a division of Turkish veronica I brought along with me, and I hadnt even noticed the columbine was with it, but when I discovered it, I just left it grow to see what kind it was. So that one was tiny, tiny three years ago, and you can see how big it is now. I did try to start another variety of columbine from seed this spring, but gave up when it didnt germinate after 3 or 4 weeks. Its old seed, and I decided Ill try one more time, but stratify it before I plant it next time. If youre gonna stratify the lavender seeds, yes, just take a small piece of paper towel and dampen it (not sopping wet), then put the seeds on it and fold it in half, seal it in a zipper baggie, and stick it in the fridge for about 3 weeksgeneral wisdom seems to say 2 to 4 weeks. Then plant it like anything else. The golden sage is Salvia officinalis Aurea, and it IS the culinary sagejust a different color than the standard gray/green/purplish stuff. I have a Tricolor too. Dont have a picture of mine, but heres what that one looks like. http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/salofftricolor.htm Theyre all only marginally hardy. I had always wanted those two, and a couple years ago in spring I found a really good deal on them (with the herbs), so I got one of each to try. I worried about them the first winter, but they made it just fine. Last fall I cut about half the stems down on each one early enough for them to start to grow new foliage at the base, and then I left the other half of the stems on all winter and cut them down all the way when the short stems started growing this spring. They were buried under snow most of this past winter, and, again, no problem at all to overwinter. Theyre evergreen, but the old foliage looks pretty ratty by spring. This is the first year theyve bushed out enough that Im not going to pinch them, and Ill actually get to see what the flowers look liketho Im not expecting anything spectacular. Glad to hear your knapii grew up fast. Years ago when I heard there was a yellow dianthus, I decided I had to have one, and I FINALLY got it. Actually, I have three of them, and theyre looking a little wimpy this yearbut yours look great. I finally got some pictures in my front yard today, so here are a few more pictures. This is the walk from the front of the garage up to the front door. The 3 hibiscus on the left will be starting to bloom by next week. The lavender is all from reseeding. The original one died a couple years ago. The roses are all cut down right now and some are starting to rebud for the second bloom. Heres the jumble of lavender and Siskiyou Pink Gaura lindheimeri (click to enlarge) Heres the hydrangea. This is the first year its looked good. Because of the weight of the flowers, its always been flopped all over the place in the past. This year I got it in a peony cage when it first started growing, and Ive been supporting it with successive loops of twine since it got above the top of the peony cage. Im still debating if I want to keep it or not. It really is a lot of work to make it look good, and even now, with all the support it has, if we get a heavy rain or any hail, itll be destroyed for the rest of the year. And heres one of my whisky barrels thats starting to get going pretty well. Its mostly annuals I started from seed, with some Wave petunias, and some things from the swap that havent started to bloom yet. J, the dark hollyhock is called a "black" hollyhock (Alcea rosea Nigra)its really DARK redand Ill have seed for it at the Fall Swap again. And Ill have mixed seed too, but theres no way to guarantee what youll get from that. I am going to collect seed from the ruffled one, but since they cross pollinate, the seed probably wont come true. Skybird

I have an induction cooktop in a one-level island. We have 2 small kids, aged 4 and 2, who sit on the other side of the island to eat their dinner. I can cook/prepare and face them and a large window behind them. We love this set-up and do not think it is unsafe. The induction cooktop means that the cooktop does not get hot enough to burn, and it is out of reach of the kids (unless they climb onto the counter and crawl over to it, of course). They are close enough, though, to see what I am doing, and they can "chop" something to add (blunt knife!). I can give them a prep bowl to mix in, and they can see what is cooking, and how, on the cooktop. They are both interested in cooking (and eating!), and I've found it a really nice way to get them involved in both everyday meal prep and in baking/special recipes, etc. I think with small kids, any kitchen set-up can be potentially unsafe. Its just a matter of determining the potential hazards in your own set-up and watching for these and making the kids aware of them too. In our last house (which had cooktop against a wall), when my little boy (then 2-3) wanted to help, he had to sit up on the counter between the cooktop and sink -- far less safe and not very comfortable for anyone. Our island is about 4 ft deep by 6 ft wide. The cooktop has about 12-15 inches to the left and i think 30" to the right. There's about 2 ft of counter behind the cooktop. I do my prep on the island -- mostly in that 12-15" to left of cooktop (if I stand sideways, then I have 4ft wide by 12-15" deep!) We have a no-name Italian island hood (Lux-Aire), which i got online for about $800. It seems to work OK, but its not quiet! I am vegetarian though, so I don't often cook meat/fish on the cooktop. I'm linking to some pics below. Here is a link that might be useful: island cooktop

Thank you all for sharing your desks and ideas. I am going to research several options but now I know what I'm looking for. I would love to be able to sit at this desk and write a letter or two. This desk was a wedding gift to my gr-gr-grandmother and was brought by oxen cart from Nebraska to Iowa. I treasure it in every way so I will definately never paint it. Items like this, as well as mirrors, make me wonder about the person who used it and what their thoughts might have been. I'd love if others would like to continue to share their pictures but I feel I have some good ideas now as well as knowing some of the search words. Blotter, that's what I had forgotten. Also, thanks for the great links. I knew you'd all be able to help me out again.

Suzie, just measured the depth of seat to be just under 19" and the width of the chair is 21". The material I chose is a cotton/poly and they have been used on a daily basis since I bought them over a year ago and still look like new. I spilled spaghetti sauce on one of them a few months ago and can't even tell which chair it was on. I did Scotchguard them myself, however, due to the heavy use they would be getting. As far as how they are made, they are very sturdy. If you're hesitant to buy 4 or 6 or however many you need, you could try one and use it for a vanity, desk, or wherever you might need an additional chair. I did a search for Carrington Court and found nothing but complimentary reviews for them. I was skeptical, too, because of the price. In fact the chair I wanted at Ethan Allen was the same price for one chair that I paid for four but these are definitely well made chairs. I don't know what type of fabric to advise you on but I'm sure someone here can tell you what would work best for wear and tear. I ordered swatches that were a big help with the decision making process. I'm amazed at the wealth of information on here, who needs interior decorators when you have this GW forum?!