WATCH OUT!! Me and Nona tend to act as the 'Posting Police' HEHEHEHE Yes, please keep this side 'conversation free' and only post things you found, bought, or made for the garden. Oh, and questions you may have concerning how to make or how someone made something, or if someone can find a post or may have saved a pic about something that was made. Did I leave anything out concerning the 'discussions' side?

I think you'll find that the Kitchen Table is a fun diversion. Like Gina said, nothing to do with kitchens, but it's a nice group who share lots of things, from family and work, to cars or sharing fun websites or games or whatever. Just like visiting with some old friends. Gina's right, that most forums have their own flavor, and you know most of the people who frequent them. But the KT forum is like a group of friends who just enjoy each other's company. Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Table

Hi, lavender, I feel as if we're old friends from Smaller Homes/Old House sites, so I came looking for you, after reading your current threads in discussions. Thank you for the 'shout-out' about my hood. It was kind, as every post of yours that I've read has been kind and helpful. Also--keep your chin up! We've done what you are proposing, on a very small budget, 'paying as we go', although that did involve refinancing our home several years ago, for the biggest project, a 30'x12' story-and-a-half addition, with a partially covered concrete porch. In all it's taken 16 years, and I'm not finished yet! When we bought our house, it had been a rental for 10 years, on the 3-acre remnant of an old dairy farm. Many potential buyers had viewed it and said that it would take too much work. But I had a vision (actually not my vision at first--my parents saw it and convinced me that the property would work for our then-young family). The yard had been neglected, and sadly all the original woodwork and trim had been removed, but the structure was basically sound. As our family grew, we added rooms and made other improvements (new roof and septic system, as needed). We are DIY'ers, and have an extended family-and-friends network of contractors, woodworkers, excavaters, and painters, so our projects have been made much more affordable than if we'd had to hire out all the work, but you may have the same resources, too. I just want you to know that I understand your dreams, love your ideas and pictures, and I know it can be done!!

I'm one of those persons who says "thank you" back when I am thanked for something... but it is when, in doing something for someone, I have also benefitted. I think at those times, it is fitting to "thank the thanker". I also admit to saying "no problem" at times when it was just a small thing I did that I am being thanked for. Similar to, in other languages, the use of what translates out to "it was nothing". If I do something for someone that has required me to expend energy, time or money that I wouldn't have normally, then I think the correct response is "you're welcome". I had no idea there are people who actually are annoyed when something other than "you're welcome" is said. It negates the "thank you", in a way, to walk off annoyed at a person you just sincerely thanked. They did something for you and you wanted to show them you appreciated it, so you thanked them. They acknowledged your appreciation. This can be done in many non-verbal ways, actually. A bow, a touch to the brim of one's hat, a smile, a nod, a pat on the shoulder; all these are considered adequate acknowledgment by many. Lots of people have pet peeves but "you're welcome" is not one of mine. What DOES bother me is when newscasters and public figures, who should know better, mis-pronounce words. It makes them sound uneducated. Two prime examples of this is "realtor" (REAL-tor, not (Ree-lit-er) and "nuclear" (NOO-clear, not Noo-cyah-ler). I can't believe that in all his time in office, no one ever told George W. Bush that he was mis-pronouncing nuclear. Also something that bothers me a little is the incorrect usage of the apostrophe in print, such as "neighbor's" when the writer meant plural rather than possessive. Some years ago, there was a big discussion in our church about people writing "Xmas" for Christmas. They called it "Taking Christ out of Christmas". What I didn't know then, and obviously no one else in the discussion did either, is that the "X" is representative of a cross that has been taken down. If you look at the "X" in that context, it is quite symbolic. There are so many more serious human errors, such as rudeness, confrontational behavior and snobbishness that I tend to try very hard to overlook errors made when someone is making an effort to be polite. I appreciate the effort in a time when some people actually enjoy "being ugly".