duchesse nalabama.....I was certainly surprised myself at how close those headstones (in photo 3) were together. It seems there are only inches between the graves! I have no idea why they are so close, except to say that the graves close like that were the oldest stones in the cemetery. The other parts of the cemetery where the stones were more recent, they were farther apart. Maybe the original cemetery plot was small so they had to crowd them together like that for lack of space? It did appear to me that they enlarged the cemetery in later years. hunt4cem-roses....(great name, btw!)....Its great to know of yet another fellow enthusiast and I hope you will continue to join in the forum! I love hearing from others about their 'finds' and experiences. DH and I always wonder what kinds of roses folks are finding in other parts of the country. It certainly is an enjoyable pastime that not many people other than ourselves truly understand. People think we're a bit 'odd' the way we explore so many old cemeteries...lol. mendocino rose....Glad you were able to visit up 'our way'. New England really IS beautiful, although this time of year we are all getting restless for the snow to go away! Celeste

Mostly I was just passing on the information below, since it really seamed to explain why my spearmint grown from seeds was less than stellar. It's a exerpt from the link I originally posted. I would never have thought of this so I was happy to find that cross at the farmer's market ---------------------- Like other herbs that have long been misunderstood by the industry, starting with seeds is a recipe for disappointment. Although âÂÂpeppermintâ seeds are widely sold by seed companies, the true peppermint, Mentha x piperita, is a sterile hybrid that cannot produce seeds. Artificial crossing of its putative parents is an exercise in futility because any seeds produced by such crosses result in diverse forms, most of which will not possess the characteristic peppermint aroma and flavour. What is commonly sold as âÂÂpeppermintâ seeds is in fact a rank-smelling form of spearmint (Mentha spicata) which has no value as a kitchen herb. While commercial spearmint seeds are at least the correct species â» Mentha spicata â» plants grown from them have all the wrong combinations of essential oils, with, again, an undesirable rank smell and flavour.

I am so glad that everyone has liked what they got so far! Now, I just have to find some more seeds for Gary! LOL! Thanks again to Gary for sending in so many beans! You really helped everyone to gets beans they really wanted! Gary, are there any other veggies or anything seed wise that you can think of that you really want? PLEASE let me know! I am going to be putting in a seed order soon somewhere and I would really like to get you something special. Please email me some ideas! Christy

Many instances happen just as Dixie's experience. An item is ordered without being fully cleared through the customer (or their spouse). That always results in wanting to return something, but the vast majority of the time decorators don't use things from stock goods, but custom-order. Then they frequently want return privileges on these custom order pieces which usually are not mainstream items and difficult to resell. Personally, I would never use a decorator that works 'free' or charges a minimum rate if you buy furniture through them. When you do that, they must make their money on the sale of the furniture itself rather than for their time. This then limits them to making selections where they can either buy wholesale or get a kickback from a store. Your choices then become limited to what they can easily source. Decorators also tend to work quickly, and they must if you are not paying them a contract wage for their work. That limits choices as well. If I were to use a decorator, I would pay them either an hourly wage ($80 to $ 100 per hour) or pay them a contract price for the entire plan. I would then have them draw the layout, a list of recommendations and stores to go see those things, and go shopping myself. At the end of the day - YOU have to live with the pieces, and in most better stores the salespeople are better versed in options and choices within a brand than a decorator - and not under a time crunch. Also, if a mistake is made, you stand a far better chance of working with a store to return a custom-ordered piece as the store has the retail outlet to sell it, whereas a decorator cannot take a piece back as they have no way to sell it. No store ever likes to take a custom-order piece back, but if you are polite and respectful, you can usually work something out. Decorators have their place. You are paying for their designing expertise so go ahead and pay for it, but there's no such thing as a 'free lunch' so the cheap ones or what I like to call "Decorettes" (non-professionals who work out of their homes)mostly lead you down the road to an unsatisfactory result. Use Pros on a fee-for-service basis - they will be expensive - but the job at the end will be superior. Don't expect a decorator to make all your selections for you, or hold your hand all the way through. A lot of what they do is spatial proportion rather then matching colorways. Getting the right size pieces to fit a space is more important than making sure the colors blend. Use a decorator to show you options and choices, but don't them make the purchases for you - that's my best advice. When its all done and the decorator has left, you still have to live with the results. -Duane