Marian...thanks for checking in! We worry about you; you know? So glad the kids were in to visit with your DS and glad the new stoves suits you better. I was thinking the same as Eden, maybe you could move that air conditioner into your bedroom at night, at least sleeping may be a little more comfortable. How has the weather been for you lately? Are all the pots of color on your deck still making you smile? I hope so! :-) Michelle...so sorry about the dry weather I know how disheartening that can be. Hopefully, the rains will find you soon. It is amazing how quickly things will perk up with a little rain (including our spirits)! :-) Its been dry here too, though weve had an occasional rain, enough to keep things going anyway. And we are expecting more later in the week Im keeping good thoughts about that. When I was checking my weather, I looked up the Davenport area and they are suppose to have some rain this week-end...hope they makes it to you. I *loved* your song...brought back great memories for me; back in the 7th & 8th grade when we use to have Coke dances. Back in the innocent days, when a Coke was a sugary fizzy liquid that you would drink. That song was playing and I was waiting and waiting and waiting for a certain boy to ask me to dance, sadly he never did...but I still love the song! :-) Babs! Thanks for sharing your special moment. It sounds like a wonderful time and you are quite eloquent yourself. Dont think Id make it as a writer or a philosopher though, since I had to check for the spelling of eloquent...LOL! Please, Please, Please...share the ant when you guys are done...I cant wait to see him! :-) LOL Babs & Michelle on the PMS. I can say with almost 100% certainty, that I *never* PMS anymore! :-) At my age I just have to call it crabby! :-) Oh Babs...been meaning to say to you...Do you remember when I posted that lavender colored Clematis that Marie identified as Betty Corning? I notice you were saying you wanted a bell-shaped clematis. Well, it is lavender colored and is "bell-shaped" and I have to say that I am loving Betty Corning. This is only the 2nd year and she has just been blooming and blooming and blooming her fool head off, with new buds opening every day. I dont know if thats normal, like I say, I havent had her long, but if she keeps this up she is going to end up being my favorite clematis of all time. BTW, I use to grow the white one you were talking about Sweet Autumn (or whatever they call it these days) and it is a beautiful thing in fall, with tons of fragrant blooms, but you really need a "big space" for it. Pretty enthusiastic and does re-seed. I *loved* mine, but had to finally let her go when she swallowed my honeymoon swing and the telephone pole and seeded herself all over the garden. It was just too hard to keep her in control, but I sure did enjoy her and I sure *do* miss her lovely late summer blooms. Honey...I agree totally...thats "TRUE LOVE"! :-) Eden I sure hope you can make it, you would be sorely missed, but more than that, I hope that your mom has a successful, uneventful recovery and I will be keeping good thoughts. I cant believe your Graham Thomas...what a knockout! I have him, but he sure doesnt look like yours, perhaps its because hes been moved around the garden at least four times...LOL! Hope everyone in your family is on the mend with the bug thats been going around Thanks Mary, you hit the nail on the head! Funny, that is something DH and I talk about all the time, how "things" can never make you happy (although hubby does love a nice car...LOL). But seriously, we have talked about that very subject so many times. How getting caught up in "bigger, better" only steals your "life hours". We have also both agreed that the next house will be smaller and less expensive and DHs goal is to actually take a step back in the career aspect, something with less responsibility and stress and I will find a part time job to fund my gardening hobby...obsession, I mean. I guess that is probably not uncommon for people our age (DH & me) to think in those terms. The older I get, the more I want a simpler life. BTW, good luck with the essay and promotion. I agree with Babs, youre a sure bet. My special moment today was finding 3 vintage gardening books for my BF Anitas birthday coming up. I was able to find A Womans Hardy Garden, The Little Bulbs, and Elizabeths German Garden...all in hardcover 1st or 2nd editions...and very inexpensively, I might add! Im so tickled because I know she is going to be so tickled! She has been looking for those 3 books ever since she read mine years ago. :-) Thanks for the ID on your Eryngium Marie. That Centaurea is so pretty...your poppy too! :-) Oh and that Petit Faucon what a *gorgeous* color! I think Id like to find a place for that in my garden. Moose tracks sounds really yummy about now. Ive been mulching, mulching, mulching (thats why I havent been back here) and I bet I could still use about 20 more bags...sigh. I will say that spreading by the bag is easier than when Ive had the "pile" delivered here, but its probably a bit more expensive too in the long run. Sue...I laughed when you said "Will it never end?" and then Marie said "Hopefully not." I agree with you both! I know I always want to futz in the garden, its my hangout and my respite, but sometimes I think, just *once* it would be so nice to walk into the garden and think "How lovely and there is not a single thing I need to do, but enjoy it!" Hi V! :-) Ive been thinking about you. Glad you had a reward for all your hard work. I love a good cookie too...sometimes they dont even have to be baked! :-) Your talk of Starbucks has convinced me I need to get over there and get myself a Frappuccino. I deserve it after all the mulching! Well, I guess I best be moving, first to Starbucks and then back out to the garden. "Hi" to all I missed. Hope everyone has a great day! TTYL! Ei The Ink Spots - Java Jive I love coffee, I love tea I love the java jive and it loves me Coffee and tea and the java and me A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup (boy!) I love java, sweet and hot Whoops Mr. Moto, I'm a coffee pot Shoot the pot and I'll pour me a shot A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup Oh slip me a slug from the wonderful mug And I'll cut a rug just snug in a jug Waiter, waiter, percolator I love coffee, I love tea I love the java jive and it loves me Coffee and tea and the java and me A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup

There's nothing quite as cool-looking(temperaturewise) as BLUE flowers. I grew Phacelia a few years ago, best blue i ever saw, next to cornflowers. The bell-shaped blue flowers with icy-white anthers were beautiful, and stirred up images of cooler weather. They do have a short bloom time, hot weather just about stops the show, cutting back helps somewhat. Give 'em a try, i believe there are 2 or 3 varieties. Good luck, and enjoy.

That is their standard response to all floors. Maybe the rare floor finisher uses waterborne poly. The answer depends on what kind of finish appearance you want, what expectations for wear you have, and how "historical" you may be willing to be. The list of potential finishes, least-durable (requiring frequent maintenance, but giving a unique and more historically-authentic appearance, to hard, bulletproof plastic-y and inauthentic): Bare floor: ages naturally, but will water spot and stain most easily. wood worn away by foot traffic, especially with a very soft wood like white pine. No color will be brought out except by passage of time and whatever dirt/patina builds up and as the wood oxidizes. Wax finish: low protection from water and wear, must be renewed yearly or more, potential to bring out some color in the wood; colored waxes are now readily available. Will be a very authentic soft finish showing much of the natural wood color and texture. Wax does not form a film. Oil finish: Lots of oils out there, most oil finishes do not form a film, so the wood still looks bare/natural. Colored oil finishes are possible, but may blotch a bit at first, this usually will fade when 100% dry. Water spotting still possible, and wood can still wear down. The wood's surface is still taking the wear, but it has been fortified because the oil has penetrated it. Some harder-drying oils, like 100% tung oil, Australian Timber Oil, and I think Landark, are fairly good at hardening the wood surface and are the most durable oils. Wear spots can usually be masked by the application of more oil as needed. Shellac is called a "spirit varnish" because it forms it's protective beautifying film by the evaporation of the alcohol solvent that liquefies it. As the alcohol evaporates very quickly, shellac is a fast-drying finish. Some shellacs contain wax as an impurity. It is added as an extender, and it does help somewhat to achieve a smooth rubbed-out finish when buffed with steel wool. The wax/impurity also shortens the shelf life and lengthens the drying time, while making the finish less water-resistant. In my experience, it's the wax that makes shellac get white water spots. I only use de-waxed shellac, which can be purchased ready-mixed (Zinsser Sealcoat) or made by dissolving flakes in alcohol. I use a lot of shellac for various things, including some floors in my house (and fine furniture finishes). The formula I use for floors is to sand to at least 120, with the grain, by hand, then apply two coats of de-waxed garnet shellac (the darkest colored shellac that really brings out the beauty and gives a base color that's very pleasing on old wood/old house context) and put on 4 coats of the Sealcoat for the wear layer. Six coats of garnet to reach the same film thickness would be awfully dark IMO. Scratches in the shellac floor can be easily touched up without the need to sand the whole floor. Shellac will always bond to shellac, so there is never any problems with blistering or peeling. Because shellac has no odor after the alcohol evaporates, and you can put on 4 coats in a day, it's really great for bedrooms or people with chemical sensitivity. Old-fashion oil varnishes are sometimes used, but the reasons poly is preferred is because it has more benefits for floors because it is harder, so people don't mess with non-poly oil varnish much at all. The only benefit would be that it could theoretically be removed by a chemical stripper so future refinishing would be possible without further sanding. Oil varnish gives a deep amber color to wood, especially your old white pine. Problems include long drying time, softness, difficulty to touch up without sanding. Easier to re-coat than poly, though, because it will stick to itself with lower risk of peeling. Film-forming oil finishes, like Waterlox, are sometimes the most appropriate non-poly floor finish for historic floors. The huge selling point (what sold me) is the need for no future sanding. As historic flooring fabric is a finite resource, and can only take so much sanding until it is worn beyond use, eventually one must consider replacement vs. conservation. Waterlox makes the case that since it can be scuffed and recoated there is never any need to fully sand the wood, so a stable condition on the old floor can be maintained for a long time. Waterlox is a thinner oil=based varnish made with tung oil (I can smell it!) along with other resins and solvents. It has a _very_ strong odor when being applied, as you are getting the effect of the solvent and the material all at once. You need an activated charcoal respirator made for VOC's, or you will suffer the effects. It stinks, OK? The curing time, during which the odor can be detected, will be about a month. The bad, toxic aroma is gone in a day or two. I chose Waterlox for my old kitchen floor. It has held up pretty well; it's now been almost 5 years and there are some scuffed-looking areas where the chairs sit. It's been great for spills, water, general traffic, etc. So I recommend it unless you have chemical sensitivities for aromatic organic compounds, or nut allergies (!) Tung oil is from a nut, BTW. We then come to Polys and other hard commercial-grade floor finishes, some of which are technically difficult to apply and have severe health threats if the proper measures aren't observed while applying. I have such limited experience with any of these that I cannot comment as to any particulars, except to state that they do not have it within themselves to be touched up, and any damage to an area however small usually calls for the whole floor to be re-sanded for a total refinish, or the spot would still be visible. These finishes last an amazingly long time, requiring only cleaning maintenance, and if the floor in question were a new hard wood, it would make the most sense to use the most long-lived finish you could obtain. But in your circumstance it's probably obvious by now that I would not recommend such a finish for your historic wood floor. Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to weigh all the characteristics within your specific context. Casey

My house had all the trim but the doors painted when I moved in. I have one room finished, the MBR, which I did over the summer. The other rooms are in various states of "Genteel Decay". You're lucky to just need to renew your finish. If there are water-stained window sills, you may want to do some heavy sanding before refinishing- it's really nice when they are smooth. As for a pre-shellacking cleaning process, try very fine (3/0) steel wool with windex or Fantastic brand cleaners. they will remove lots of dirt and any waxy yello buildup. (purists may insist that steel wool tends to enable tiny rust stains as the fibers get embedded in the wet wood. They may use bronze wool) The bubbling will probably be broken down during this cleaning. If you actually have "alligatoring" (bubbling squared) you will need to sand with 320 abrasive. The gold-colored sheets from Lowe's or HD do well. The problem is that the subsequent coats of fresh shellac will exacerbate the alligatoring, and this sanding will have to be repeated for a perfect finish. Mostly those of us antique-house-dwellers are used to compromise, and often are satisfied with less than perfection. The whole lot can be stripped, of course. I use the cheapest methylene-chloride type. Formby's is terribly over-priced for this application. I used a light-duty liquid stripper by Parks for the shellac. And many rolls of paper towels. And a charcoal-filtered respirator. And keep a fire extinguisher at hand. Afetr stripping sand with 120, 150, and 220, then shellac. try Rockler's, Highland Hardware, or Woodworker's Warehouse for shellac flakes and solvent. Use a 2"w. natural brush with long, soft, white bristles. Casey