The leaves look almost like the pictures someone just posted a couple weeks ago....lighter green marbled like.....I have never seen anything like that before. I hope it's something else. Thanks, Ken. I'll keep an eye on them. I have sprayed all my Sedum with Pyola. They were/are severely infected with aphids....another unprecedent event in my yard. :-(

Here's my basic vinaigrette; I've made it for years. If you like tarragon, go for it: Tarragon Vinaigrette Dressing 6 oz Olive Oil (see note) 2 oz White Wine Vinegar 1 tsp dried tarragon 1/8 to ¼ tsp salt (preferably kosher) generous grinding of black pepper 4 to 6 dashes of Tabasco about ¼ tsp of Dijon mustard Put all the ingredients in a container and blend well with a fork or whisk. If you want it a little thicker, put an ice cube in it while blending it, removing the ice cube prior to dressing the salad. It can be made up earlier in the day and stored in a glass container, covered, in the fridge; just whip it up again immediately prior to dressing the salad. Makes about one cup. Note on olive oil: this recipe is only as good as the oil you use. DonÂt use cheap olive oil (or--horrorsÂÂlite olive oil.) Use a good green "primavera" extra virgin oil, no blends. Bertolli is fine. If you can find a French oil like Hilaire Fabre or James Plagniol, get it; itÂs fantastic. Variation 1: use walnut or hazelnut oil instead of the olive oil. Variation 2: for the vinegar, use half vinegar and half lemon juice. However you vary it, though, make sure you follow the proverb "A spendthrift with oil and a miser with vinegar" Âthe oil to vinegar ratio should be about 3:1.

natesgram, thanks, I've actually seen that link before, and it's what really pushed me towards painting. It really has a lot of helpful info too. As much as I would love to get new doors (shaker is my favorite!), I'm going with paint for now. The wallpaper...yes, I don't see what's wrong with it either. I took a really close up shot just to show the blue specks, but it really just looks like textured cream colored walls. I would like to know if the suggestions to remove it are because it's ugly/dated or more for resale purposes where painted walls are the preference for most buyers??? alabamanicole, now that I look at it some more, I agree the track lighting needs to go. It should be easy and inexpensive ($100-150?) to change it out. I love the look of bronze, but would it work with my ss appliances and ss cabinet pulls? Or should I get bronze pulls and faucet...CAN you have a bronze faucet and a stainless steel sink? Confusing! Also, thanks for your kitchen idea. The rest of my house is decorated with warm creams, reds, greens. I love organic stuff like wicker, stone, metal, and I love shaker style, country style, and arts-n-crafts style. I really like cream cabinets, but I already have enough cream with the counter, the tile, and the wall. The breakfast bar opens into the dining room, which is has cream furniture and red and green as the accent colors. The kitchen doesn't have to be matchy-matchy with the adjoining rooms, but it should flow colorwise. I'm going for a sleek, simple, yet casual and warm look with bluish/green cabinets. Below are kitchen looks that I love. Some won't work with my sleek cabinets, but it's just to everyone an idea of the look and feel that I hope to achieve... I love the color on this wall...if I ever take down my wallpaper! lol I love the warmth and casualness of cream cabinets. My dream kitchen...if I could start from scratch! :) Here, I love how the bottom cabinets are darker than the top cabs. Cute chandelier, and the island color is gorgeous! Ok, since I also LOVE the idea of two cabinet colors, what if I paint my top cabs cream and my bottom cabs blue/green? I really can't decide between my two colors below, and painting all the cabs either color will be too much cream in the room, or too much blue/green in the the room...no? I'm also open to sage green. If I go with using two colors, what if I paint the storage wall like the storage wall below (where the top and sides would be the blue/green color)?

Well, I tried the yummy treats, but the instant I lifted his tail, any thought of his eating went away. I used an electric trimmer, but didn't get much shaved--only the longer strands. I'd flinch every time he did, and his fur is so silky soft that it just got pushed around, not shaved. I know it'd help if I took off the "length guard" and used bare trimmer, but I'm so afraid of hurting him. So, I checked at Petsmart to see if they have a cat groomer, which they do. I might take him in for at least his first butt trim and then maybe I can keep it up after that (I can hope). If he ever needs a bath, I'll have to remember to use the shower or tub hand-held sprayer (never had one before till our new house we just moved into). That might make spot-treatment much easier! I'm still working on a regular food for them. Both kittens had soft stool with the female bordering on diarrhea all the time. Second trip to the vet (and 2nd med later), he said maybe the food was too rich for her, so I've had to move down the chain a bit (from the higher-end dry foods), and that's when Coco's problem started. His poo went to more firm, but stickier, "pellets" while Ellie's has stayed soft. Funnily (and thankfully), the soft hasn't posed a problem with their butt hair. We're still trying to find a canned food they'll eat. I've wasted well over $100 in the last 2 months, but I might've finally hit on one. Fingers crossed.