Hey, Robin - It appears that the plant has only been 'sheared' for a while. You'll notice the tendency for the plant to react to a pruning cut by producing multiple branches from the immediate area of each cut. Euonymus alata (burning bush) is another plant that reacts in similar fashion. This will quickly spoil the appearance by producing large knots of growth and a pom pon appearance at branch ends if you don't work diligently to limit branching to only 2 or possibly 3 branches in some cases from emerging from nearly the same point. Fortunately, the plant back-buds profusely of you cut it back when it is growing well, so there's a cure for that look. I would hold off on doing any pruning for now, root prune/repot it very soon, into a free draining soil. I know you're familiar with the gritty mix, which is what I use and know to work very well. By late June the plant will have recovered enough that you can cut it back to force more branching closer to the trunks & main branches, which will afford you plenty of pruning opportunities so you can take the plant in any direction you'd like. Until you repot, be careful not to over-water, especially if the soil doesn't drain well, but DO water thoroughly when you water. If you''re worried about over-watering, use a wick & tip the pot steeply toward one end to help remove excess water. You'll be surprised to see how much more water exits the pot after it's stopped draining and you tip it steeply. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 on all my plants, and it works very well. Al

Sealer does not last on ipe especially in high sun. Don't sand, use my Restore-A-Deck system to clean it and recoat. It will even out and look fine.

You can use blueberries instead of any other berries (especially cranberries) in just about any recipe - or you can use them instead of raisins/sultanas/currants, too. Muffins, cakes, desserts etc. They are nice on a fruit platter, much like fruit salad, but intended for self-serving. Or just add to a mixed fruit salad, maybe as a garnish. Serve some fresh or stewed with ice cream or cream! They freeze very well. Blueberry Bread and Butter Pudding 12 slices white bread, buttered, crusts removed 400g blueberries 2 cups milk 1/3 cup lemon juice 3 eggs, lightly beaten 3/4 cup castor sugar 3 tablespoons Cointreau 1/2 cup orange marmalade cream or custard to serve Arrange 4 slices of the bread, butter side down in a buttered ovenproof dish. Put half the blueberries on the bread, top with another 4 slices of bread and remaining blueberries. Cut remaining bread slices into 3 strips and arrange over blueberries. Whisk milk, juice, eggs, sugar, 1 tablespoon of the Cointreau, pour over bread and leave at room temperature for 1 hour. Heat marmalade with remaining Cointreau over medium heat until well combined. Brush over top of pudding. Place dish in a baking pan and half filled with water, bake at 180°C for 50 minutes. Serve with the cream or custard. Blueberry Muffins 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup milk 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup molasses 1 cup bran 3/4 cup wholemeal flour 3/4 cup plain white flour 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1 cup blueberries Stir lemon juice into the milk and leave for 1 minute. Stir in the egg, oil and molasses. In another bowl, mix the flours, sugar, lemon rind, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add the mix mixture and blueberries and stir to combine. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 190°C for 20-25 minutes or until firm to touch. Blueberry Pancakes 1 cup wholemeal flour 1 teaspoon baking powder pinch salt pinch bicarbonate of soda 1 tablespoon sugar (optional) 1/2 cup milk or soy milk 1/2 cup blueberries Combine dry ingredients, stir in the milk and blueberries. Add more milk if batter is too thick. Cook in a non-stick frypan until done. Blueberry Salsa 2 cups blueberries 1/2 medium red onion, diced small 1 garlic clove, minced (optional) 2 jalapeno chillies, seeded and minced 1 red capsicum pepper, diced 3 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped 1/4 cup lime juice 1 teaspoon salt Coarsely chop 1/2 cup blueberries. Combine the chopped and whole berries and remaining ingredients. Let stand 1 hour before serving. Blueberry Cordial 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup blueberries juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon 1 teaspoon tartaric acid Boil the sugar and water for 5 minutes, remove from heat, pour in the fruit and juice. Simmer for 5 minutes, strain. Add tartaric acid. Stir well, bottle immediately. Store in the fridge but discard if it fizzes or grows mould. To serve, put a little into a glass, top with water or soda water. Passionfruit pulp may be used instead of blueberries. Blueberry Jam 6 cups (approximately 1.5kg) crushed blueberries 4 1/2 cups sugar Wash blueberries before crushing. In a large saucepan combine blueberries and sugar. Bring to the boil while stirring and continue cooking until mixture sets when tested, about 15-20 minutes. Immediately fill hot jars with the mixture leaving 3mm headspace. Place lids on jars and process for 5 minutes in a water bath. (If desired, 1 tablespoon grated lime rind can be cooked with the mixture.) Blueberry Macadamia Cake 125g unsalted butter 150g castor sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 250g self raising flour 125ml milk 400g blueberries Topping 125g plain flour 100g brown sugar 125g butter 100g macadamia nuts, chopped Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 23cm square cake tin. Make the topping. Combine flour and brown sugar, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour alternately with the milk, starting and ending with flour. Spread the batter in the top, top with blueberries, sprinkle over the topping and macadamia nuts. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate and turn again onto a cake rack. Leave until completely cold before cutting. Blueberry Chutney 3 cups blueberries 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup cider vinegar 3 tablespoons sultnas 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/8 tespoon cayenne pepper Combine all the ingredients with 1 cup water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat.Reduce heat simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until thick. Cover and chill to use within 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months. Blueberry Tartlets 2 cups blueberries 2 tablespoons castor sugar 1/3 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon cornflour 1 teaspoon grated orange rind 250g cream cheese, softened to room temperature 24 small baked pastry cases Simmer berries with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and orange juice until plump and juicy. Stir in the cornflour, bring to the boil and stir over low heat until thickened. Cool, cover and refrigerate until required (will keep for up to 1 week). Beat remaining sugar and orange rind into the cream cheese. Spoon into pastry cases, and top with blueberry sauce.

NervousNancy... Our pendants and DR chandelier are Murray Feiss and I purchased them at EXPO Design Center (owned by HD). There are 2 finishes...ours are in Antique Pewter. There's also a Grecian Bronze (similar to ORB, I think). The DR chandelier isn't very big b/c our DR is small. They do have larger chandeliers, if you're interested in those as well. P1095AP - 1-Light Morningside F2050/5AP - 5-Light Morningside Our faucet is the Kohler Vinnata® Kitchen Sink Faucet (K-690) in Vibrant Brushed Nickel with the handle on the right. The handle location is adjustable: it can be on the left, right, or middle...it's up to you. The nice thing about being adjustable is that if you don't have enough room behind the faucet for the handle to work properly, you just mount it in the front. We bought it at FaucetDirect.com. There are 8 finishes and it comes in 2 sizes (main sink, the one we have, and prep version (K-691), which is a couple of inches smaller). We love our location as well! Actually, we're on a 3-acre lot w/a street on the other side of the berm in the back then a horse farm/farm under agricultural preservation. We do have neighbors...across the street from the front yard and on either side of us...you just can't see them from our back windows! Plus, we planted a double row of evergreens on one side to block the NW wind that also blocks our view of that house (to the right). Our neighbors on the other side planted a row of pear trees so we didn't feel we could plant evergreens there. But, they're farther away so it's not a big deal...plus we have nice neighbors! Looking at the pictures again, I just realized that those are the pics taken before I cleaned the granite! So, it still has the granite dust on them from the work they did when installing the sink side. (The other side is not done yet, the granite is just placed on the counters, not aligned or secured. We're waiting for a replacement for the cabinet they damaged when they began the install on that wall.) Good luck on your choices & welcome!