Karate626: Thank you for helping and for the info.. Christopher: They said those Orchids were going on sale weeks ago..I'll bet they are holding out for Christmas.. You know, what's the point? They should sell them at discounted prices just as soon as they loose all the flowers..No one buys them all year anyway..I think I will chat with the owner since I know him and he is a great guy. Thanks for your input too.. Get ready for the snow. It will be a true test of my pop up..yes, it's still up..lol Mrlike2u: Yes, they do have a way with putting up with lot's of abuse..The leaves look pitiful, but I am just glad it even still flowers..I am going to make this plant a priority into a much better mix and care come spring. Thanks Pug..Thank you much! All your help and incentives have paid off and benefited me...Yours are to die for though, especially that yellow one..:-) Laura: How are you? How's all your plants doing? You are right. Our first snow storm coming Sunday night and I am not thrilled since I gave up snow boarding..Personally, I can handle the frigid temps a lot better when I can still see the ground, although the blanket of snow does act as an insulator to many of my plants...lol Thank you for your nice comments..It is very much appreciated..The color is quite different, and every year the color suprises me.. Have a great day everyone. Mike

Thanks for all the info. I traced it back using tax records. It is impossible to go past the Church because at that time, they took the property off the tax rolls. I work at the AssessorÂs Office so I have access to them. I didnÂt have a lot of time but I tried running the names back in the Clerk of CourtÂs Office for ownership. IÂm going to have to sit down for a few hours and try to run the ownership back. In this parish, itÂs very hard to trace something once itÂs tax free. I havenÂt been in the attic. We have found square nails in the subfloor. The wood used to frame the house is heart pine. Some studs are a true 2x4, some are 2x3 & others 1x3. The beams under the house are solid heart pine and cut specifically for that house. They are 1 piece, spanning the 25Â across the house. The house has been remodeled several times. It was 2 different doctorÂs offices in the 60Âs. I posted this in the old house forum but maybe I should post some pics and ask questions about the construction. Thanks again.

There are many many baptismal fonts in Catholic churches that are short and lacking a cross or other symbolism. Also the cross might have been on a lid. Here's one at the Cathedral in Magdeburg, Germany. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Baptismal_Font_Magdeburg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptismal_Font_Magdeburg.jpg&usg=__s2HUw0Vs7AnSG2w9F_SIdvAiII4=&h=1049&w=1162&sz=302&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=PHBODd5fvg4TLM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcathedral%2Babaptismal%2Bfonts%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1 There are more. Check Google images. It's not uncommon for a font to be placed on a plinth and to have a lid. This piece appears to have had a lid at one time. I think it's European or American. I think it dated from about the mid 19th century....and it could have been used for a baptismal font. It could also have been used to hold sand to put out cigarettes and cigars in a fancy hotel...or to hold incense sticks. But it's unwise to say that a Roman Catholic baptismal font would ALWAYS have a cross or inscription. I can show you lots of pictures of Roman Catholic fonts without inscriptions. But, the more I think of it, the more I like the idea of a sand bucket for smokes. The handles would provide for easy emptying... But the piece looks like it had a lid.... Adds to the puzzle! Here is a link that might be useful: Italian font

Thank you everyone and yes, I am grinning from ear-to-ear. Even though I did one new kitchen and two baths, somehow this does it for me in a way they never did. My 14-year-old DS who helped us pick it up and load it, got it right away. This set has HISTORY. It will definitely be an heirloom set. Sad part was that it belonged to a woman with early onset Alzeheimers and her daughter who is only 24 and doesn't have room for it, sold it. Wanted to get rid of it quick and because I had been looking at antique stores I recognized right away this was a find. I even offered her extra to hold it for me, but she declined as it was taking space in her dad's house where she was to move back (mom and dad divorced). Lucky, my DH also knew it was a find after seeing the stuff in the antique stores and was able to take off work and treak up 70 mins. to check it out. So, last night I said a prayer for the previous owner and her daughter. As for the chair, I will look into having it professionally restored. Until then, it's on the side and we won't use it. The only reason I was debating refinishing it, is because I do want to reupholster/recover the chairs. I much prefer to keep the finish as is as we have kids and so I know anything I get will develop it's own patina. However, I've made a note of all the products johnmari and jejvtr have suggested and will work on that after the holidays. I want to take my time and not do anything rushed. In the meantime, I'll just polish it woth the Guardman. jejvtr, yes I would like the detailed instructions. There is a small gouge on the table (maybe 1/20" deep)--would probably need to be filled, but I'm OK leaving it, it shows it's an antique as my DS said. One more item is the leaves are all darker because they were stored away which I understand is common. One also looks to have some water damage to it--though I don't even have room to extend to it's full length so not too concerned. I was wondering if I were to put the leaves in the sun, would they lighten (like reverse of cherry)? I am also in need of advice on how to do the chairs. Is this a DIY job or should I also have it done professionally? The chairs don't have too much padding in the seats. Is it possible to make them thicker or would that interfere with the backs? I like all the ideals for the sideboard. I'm wondering if a nice large antique china tureen wouldn't look good there in the center since it curves out slightly. Still not sure about what to put on the wall, but I am going to take my time and let the room evolve piece by piece now that the bones are there--perhaps look for some more vintage items--like old botanical prints? Most pressing will be the floor rug since my flooring is new and don't want the chairs to scratch. I was thinking of some type of Oriental rug similar to the rug posted by jejvtr--though will see what the Ethan Allan designer comes up with. I do want to pull in some color here in there--bronze and accents of burgundy. I haven't told her about the dining set yet, but she did tell me most likely she would not be able to get me my wood items by Christmas, though I could get the sofa/chairs/drapes so hopefully she'll still help me out. With all the money I've saved here, I feel like I can splurge on the drapes as I like the ones I saw in the Ethan Allan store better than JCP. The drapes will match the living room and what she suggested is to do silk roman shades (3 in the bay window, 3 for 8' wide window in living room). Then tall silk panels 96" long) hung on rods to either side that would "kiss the floor". We were thinking of doing the roman shades in a solid and the panels in a stripe. If I were to go custom, the panels could be hung with rosettes; but due to budgetary reasons, other option she recommended was a reverse pinch pleat which I could buy in stock. She recommending doing a long rod across the width of the window, but I'm leaning towards two narrow rods to frame the windows since the panels will be decorative. Or is that look too "trendy"? I did like the rosettes, though, will see what she quotes me; but seems excessive to do custom just to hang with rosettes.