Well, I am still one of those without my personal e-mail addy listed on my member page, but can have e-mail sent to me through GW. In the past, I have had my addy listed and have had serious problems with spam mail that comes from other forums on GW. Since I post on quite a few of the other forums on GW, I found that some of them do have their fair share of spam type posts; advertising for various websites, products etc. When my e-mail addy was available for anyone to see, these posts would pop up on these other GW forums and within an hour or so I would have the spam coming to my e-mail box about the product, site etc. Once I realized where all this spam was coming from, I removed my addy from my member page, and that was the end of the spam coming from here. Hope you all understand why I no longer have my e-mail addy available to see, but as I said, you can send it through GW and I would say that 95% of the time I don't have a problem getting it. Fran

Brent, No rain here. They also called off the effects of the cold front we were supposed to be getting, i.e., the temps are now going to be in the upper eighties instead of very low eighties (as had been forecast all week). I'm bummed. If a mattock is the same thing as a pick-axe, then it has become the most used tool in our arsenal as well. Our tiller can't do anything except scrape the surface. (BTW: How's Otto doing?) Frankie, Because I am a plant junkie, and because I am turning DH into one as well, we will certainly be adding more and more plants in coming months and years. The immediate problem with our ground conditions has come about due to zero rainfall for the past five weeks. Normally our soil is fairly easy to work with. laag, Thanks. I understand what you mean about too much of a flattening effect. I am doing what I can to re-work what's here to lessen the effect. As much as I would like to have larger specimens to start with, I can't seem to find any. So I will have to count on time, to some extent, to add more depth to the scene. Many of the shrubs we do have will (fairly rapidly) reach 4-6 feet in height and width, which should have a favorable effect on the "depth factor". During the course of this posting, I find myself staring more and more often across the street to my neighbors front yard. His is a two story brick colonial and is masterfully grounded by medium and large shrubby trees planted across the front and at the "wings" on either side. I would be sorely tempted to copy many of his plant choices if it weren't for the fact that his front yard has a northern exposure (shade) and mine is the total opposite. I can, however, try to mimic the size and forms of his plantings. If he has managed to properly "ground" a large two story colonial, then my challenge should be child's-play in comparison. Annie, The trellis is 10 ft. tall and 4 ft. wide and the bottom two feet are buried in the dirt. Although it is technically possible to move it, it is already at least 15 inches out from the siding (for air circulation) and I think it would look odd if it were any farther away from the wall. Still, the rose is less than a year old and will probably get much bushier as it matures and is regularly pruned. That should help to achieve the effect you describe. ......Jan

Thanks everyone, the photo's DO help. The faucets are installed as I mentioned, so this is the placement they will have to remain (they never asked me - and I never realized that they would just put them here. I would have preferred it mounted on the deck, and would have indicated that if I knew they were about to install.. but it's too late. The only options I have is to go to the lower neck, which I am not really that found of, - or the waterfall faucet (great suggestion!!). I think though... after seeing sujafr pictures, I'll live with them a while and see how I feel. They do make the sick faucet and maybe once everything is in it's place.. it will come together.I will take a picture of the actual tub and faucet tomorrow and post it so that you can see the real thing.

Beth, I have been so delighted and educated with all these posts. I love the evolution of your wonderfully charming home! You are an amazing woman! I share several of the decorating dilemmas you've mentioned. My "living room" is about 2' more narrow and 2' shorter than your area. I'm learning a lot from your post. The repurposed gun cabinet idea is absolute genius. Please share a photo when you've installed the shelves and contents. Regarding the non-glare glass for your larger artwork. The price of non-glare glass has become simply ridiculous. I have an entire hallway lined with (Gasp!) a family gallery wall. It includes photos from more than 100 years ago to this year's school pics of the great-nephew. Color, colorized, sepia toned, black and white, all mixed together and mostly in their original mismatched frames. That just about breaks all the rules, but I love my wall. Several of the older photos - Mom's 1954 graduation photo; MIL's 1952 wedding photo, etc. - had plain glass. I can't tolerate the glare either. I made a note in my iPod of all the frame sizes that needed replacement non-glare glass. Every time I'm at a thrift shop or yard sale I check out the "frames" area. You can often find large pictures that may be in horrid frames, but they will have non-glare glass! I buy the frame, take out the glass, and toss the rest. I found one very large print of ballet slippers framed with non-glare that was big enough to cut down into several pieces. It made one 8x10 and three 5x7 pieces of non-glare glass for my wall, all for $1. With their permission, I took the glass out at the shop, tossed the faded print, and re-donated the empty frame back to them.