Why not just plant a white oak, q. alba? Why bicolor? Tuliptree is a rapid grower and fun to watch. I have to actually thin stands of them behind my house where they pop up all over the place but one of my favorite trees none the less. If you said you primarily wanted a tree for shade while you'll be living in that house, I'd say plant something like tuliptree. But since you've now come out and said you are looking to plant a legacy tree, that's more along the order of slower growing trees like beech, white oak, sugar maples et cetera. Prices sound reasonable if they are retail prices. I saw that a park about 45 mins from here planted an allee of American beeches with about 15' spacing and it was a really cool looking effect. It created a lot of shade and the trees didn't look that old. Some things you might be concerned about with beeches, * easily damaged bark/ easily invaded by insects * difficulty in transplanting * surface roots and suckers * spring raking * not much grows under them * their fruit can leave a cleanup job but then so can oak acorns.

Did some laundry, went grocery shopping.....had to go to three stores to find lady fingers. It would have been easier to make a jelly roll cake and line the springform pan with that than running around trying to find the lady fingers. Came home and made an ice cream dessert with the L.F.'s and got it in the freezer. I'm having my Wine and Dine group here a week from Wed. and decided instead of going out for dinner after "happy hour", we would just stay here. Trying to get whatever can be done ahead of time and in the freezer. Then I tried a new recipe for Lobster Mac 'n' Cheese. It was very disappointing....couldn't even taste the lobster. Total waste of money. Won't be trying that again. Will freeze the leftovers in small portions and when I don't feel like cooking, grab a pack. It wasn't horrible, just disappointing. Tomorrow I'm making cheese crispies. They look like peanut butter cookies but are an appetizer I thought would go nice with the gazpacho I'm going to make next week. I just make little balls of dough, freeze them and when I want some, I defrost and bake. Will also make some mini corn cakes and freeze them ready to top with creme' fraiche mixed with lemon juice and dill, a piece of smoked salmon and dill garnish. A fancier take on lox and bagels :-))) The more I can get done ahead of time the better.

Hi Everybody! That is great, Steph, that you have a doc now who is looking into these kind of things. There has been a great push in the last 5 years to get Vit B12 and Vit D levels up in folks who have it low. If you are not feeling better, you might try the natural sunshine for D. Some studies are suggesting that supplements are not helping some folks. I am probably one who should get out and get more sun, and I rarely leave the house these days! I sprained my knee pretty badly in July and am just getting so that I can walk without my walker outside of the house for short trips. Guess how I did it? Fell in the bathtub and smashed my knee on the side of the tub. Yes, THAT bathtub. The one that was going to be GONE by now, replaced by my roll-in handicapped shower. So I got back into investigating shower components because my Swanstone shower pan is just too narrow at 34" deep. (32" in practice, once you get the walls up and everything in place.) I did find one that is 37.75" deep, so I am optimistic that it will be the best choice. I even called Jim and he has us on his schedule for January-February-ish! I am also having him widen all my doorways to 36" wide. I was just looking at ML's post from 2015 of her kitchen just after the appliances got working. I was looking for the word "penguin" in a post on this forum because I am trying to find the cute little penguin faucet that I found once. Her post popped up in that search. I cannot for the life of me figure out who made it! It has been gnawing on my memory in the back of my mind for months! I know I talked about it here or in "Baths." And I just can't find it. My other project has been redecorating/refurnishing the family room. It started because I have this old Mini-Dachshund, Lizzy. The grass was growing too fast in the spring and was getting higher than she is between weekly cuts. So she did not want to go outside to pee and started peeing on our family room rug. So we rolled up the rug and threw it away. The flooring under it is real Forbo sheet Linoleum that we had installed in 2010 when the kitchen was done. We had the flooring run through to the family room, too. Well, the lino started to speak. It started to argue with me about my furnishings. It seemed to understand that I was not doing any real "decorating" plan in the room, but that it was thrown together from Craigslist and Clearance Centers. It also seemed to be reading what was in my heart. "Give in," it said. "Quit fighting us. The sliding glass door, the lack of windows, the big wall of brown brick with the little fireplace in it. You know what we represent. I can tell because you put me here. If you did not feel Mid Century Modern in your bones, why did you put me in here? So give in to us. That Brown Wall O'Brick is not going anywhere. I know you hate it, but do you really? It is still here, and it has been 12 years now. If you really hated it, there would be no brown brick sucking what little light you have out of the family room." So get rid of the Craigslist over-stuffed brown leather and get me an orange MCM sofa! I want rich walnut! I want color! Those cabinets you put into the kitchen - they are modern. See, so get the furniture up on legs. No more skirts!" A trip to Macy's got us a Terra Cotta orange sofa. I just ordered a tangerine recliner for DH. I have a newish lift chair that is in blah-light brown, but that is just the nature of the beast. We also found an MCM chair at a Retro antique shop and I have ID'd an upholstery shop to do the work. I need to email them the photos to get an idea of how many yards of the light orange fabric to send for. I have found a coffee table (made in Italy) that transforms from a low coffee table into a long dining table, and will be sending for it in Walnut. I have two end tables from used furniture stores in walnut. Lavender Lass, it is good to hear that you did not have to move, after all. None of those houses sounded right for you and your mom, or the horses. It is good to read how everyone is doing. Thanks, Phoggie for starting this thread!

Lets see, yard work, watched the windows being fixed, went lap swimming, ran the vacuum, it was my turn to cook but I made a HUGE salad, then Erika came for a visit, long phone talk with my friend Uschi, then making text plans with Diane from Chicago that is here visiting her sister, just now looked for a sign of life from my nephew. Nothing since noonish... when I found out, the other one was there too, as well as his wife's mother and brother. I understand a lot of houses burned to the ground in Santa Rosa California... Busy busy day today. Moni PS Just heard from Bill. All are fine. Marc's house in Santa Rosa is ok. Moni