That is cool ,,, I've been keeping an eye out for an old birdcage too and, so far, haven't found anything. I like the handle and that it sits up off the ground. And the price, well you can't beat that. Great find. My most creative plant stand (not actually a stand) is my latest attempt with my grandmother's plant (I'll post pictures later). My family calls it the "plant contraption". :) Enjoy your RHP ,,, he looks great.

SunnyC, you should start a new obsession thread every month. I enjoy reading everyone elses "preoccupation"lol! obsession Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion. You asked for a pic of my finished stenciled wall. I did this project at work, not at home. I wanted something a bit over the top in scale. The scroll is almost 3' high though I wish I could have found one about 5'. The walls are 24' so it would have been kinda cool if I brought them up even higher. Didn't want to stencil from an extension ladder though. A broken bone is not in my plans for the future! Anyway, here is a pic. Product has been hastily thrown back in place, so just look at the wall please:) For perspective, the pink is painted to a height of 9'. The stenciling goes around the corner about another 20'. So that project has now led me to the next phase of my obsession which is painting this harlequin pattern on an opposite wall. I'm thinking just a shot of it. Three rows wide and going up about 12'. I found a company that offers diamond shaped stencils in a 4' x 2' size. I could achieve the Harlequin pattern with painters tape, a level and a tape measurer, but that's giving me a headache thinking about it....

I was inspired recently by a quilt shop hop. Typically I go to the quilt shop or look for something at one of the on-line fabric vendors because I already have an idea of what I want. But during the shop hop I was spending time with other quilters and listening to their comments, I had the opportunity to talk about the fabrics we were seeing with my quilting buddy who went with me, and I had the sensory overload of seeing bolts and bolts of beautiful fabrics and dozens of completed quilts. Of course, the shops group everything by designer or by color, too. It was very inspirational and I still haven't sorted though all the new ideas! Kate

I had all sorts of plans to fix our garden this year. Last year, we had a pup who was digging up everything and pulling plants out of my pots. So, thinks I, this year, he will be 19 or more months old, so he will be calmer and not so interested in destroying the gardens/yard. Ha. How wrong I was. This year, I will be spending my time training him to refrain from such antics. sigh. Still, we need to get some trees in the back because our neighboring woods are being developed despite our best efforts to stop it (wetlands and intermittent stream are not valued by our city council who also rejected the geologist's report that said the ridge where the homes are to be built above the wetlands is unstable (arell clay). Can't wait for the pile driving to start. :-( Oh, and speaking of unstable soil, we will, I hope, be trying our hands at building a stone retaining wall to try to stabilize our hill which has eroded more than usual this year due to all the rain we have had which led to raging streams of water rushing down and through the lowest part of our yard toward the woods. Last year was our wettest on record!