gaatooor, splendid collection. And I can view it all without leaving home. Only in America!

I don't have room in my greenhouse Marie, but if I did I would snaffle some of yours in a heart beat. These things are crazy. I keep saying no, but somehow I keep starting more. What can I say. Crazy, He!. I wish it where easier for me to send plants to many of my friends here on GW from here (Canada). Many moons ago a friend gave us so many plants or cuttings and now the sharing and giving is my time to give back. This is the part of gardening that makes it so special to me. You are all very special to me. Thanks, Rick

Linda, I don't do anything special for my cactus except keep them cool and dry in the winter and they only get natural light as I rarely turn the light on in there at night. My "desert box" as I call it I built out of scrap lumber and lined it with thick vinyl sheeting...no drainage at all. The soil is pro-mix, not a cactus mix. The key I think, is very little watering, I am known for my neglect. I have never killed a plant due to overwatering! :) The Burro's Tail sedum in the box flowers every spring and the large Aloe with a flower spike in one of the other pictures was a desert box resident until it got too big and had to be moved to a pot of its own. All of the plants in the box started out as very small plants in 2"-3" pots. The Agave will be moved out of the box in the next couple weeks...it has just gotten too big. The plants in the pots in the box will be transplanted into it. Here are a few more pictures. Kathy

Punk, unfortunately no one in my family cares about any of my collections other than the Christmas stuff. My DD and DDIL will divide that up and enjoy it. Tho my DD has about as much as I do already, LOL. And if she inherits her MIL's decorations, she'll need another house JUST for Christmas. LOL, her DH is rightfully worried. I have impressed upon the girls that a lot of my stuff is valuable and don't go donating or yard saling it, since its their "inheritance". I've been collecting the dog statues since 1975, and while I got most quite cheaply, a lot is antique or rare. Some of the really 'good' figurines I inherited myself from a late friend. So I'm working on a record book with photos and descriptions so my family won't be lost at trying to sort this stuff out. The Painted Ponies will also increase in value as the company retires certain ones each year. (my DH is the most clueless, so I'm counting on the girls to take care of things when I'm gone) My two sons would be just like DH, and not care where the stuff went or want to bother with it at all. A few months ago I decided to start selling some of dog figurines to make things easier on the girls. I don't need 300, and hope to pare that down to half. Just keep the ones I really love. I sold quite a few to friends, at huge savings for them of course. I don't like the idea of making money off friends, and I DO like being able to help them get some good pieces for their collections. I'm going to eBay the others now my friends are done shopping. (I'm loaded with art and jewelry of the whippet-greyhound stuff too. LOL. I'm have been VERY seriously involved with dogs for close to 40 yrs now. Showing mostly, I only bred seven litters) Jane, the house is 2000 sq ft, 3 bedrooms. I manage to pack a lot into it. LOL. If I owned a dang castle, I'd just FILL it up too. I love too many things! I was born a "collector", soon as I could walk I was picking up pretty rocks as my treasures. And then started collecting little glass horses and dogs all thru my childhood. I'd be in absolute Heaven in a home like Jim has!! His photos take my breath away and I'd love to see it in real life. Oh, to answer your other questions Jane, I buy solely from Antique shops and eBay on the dogs and rabbits. Tho now I rarely buy any dog or rabbit figurines. The Painted Ponies come out with 8 new ones each winter, 8 each summer, and 4 each Christmas. So I do keep buying quite a few of them. Tho my cabinet is FULL, so I better figure out what I'm going to do. LOL. Those PJ Carousel horses are kind of pricey, they were made in the 80's, so I only collect the grey ones to keep myself from getting carried away. The Arabian is the only one I HAD to have that wasn't a grey. Syble, I am so glad there others like us who are addicted to 'stuff'. LOL. Nice not to be the only Krazy Kollector around here. And with all our dish nuts on this Forum too, I'm in good company! Betty, luckily the china cabinets keep things pretty dust free. In fact the only areas that seem to get really dusty is near the TVs or computer. Whew. I'm no Martha Stewart but I do like the house reasonably clean. LOL. As far as I know, dust hasn't killed anyone yet anyway. I really appreciate all of you looking thru my album, and being so sweet about all my stuff. Aren't you glad I didn't take individual photos of the dogs and ponies tho! LOL. But I will be adding more of them to the album as its a 'record' somewhat for me to have for the girls to use if needed. But I bought a book made to list collectibles in with info and pictures, I just need to work on it after the Holidays. Sorry to be so long-winded here. Bet you wished you'd grabbed a cup of coffee. LOL Or in my case, tea. hugs, Karen