Karen, Sorry to hear you missed Thanksgiving dinner this year at Jasons. Sounds like you've had a rough time. I'm so glad you have BFF to help you through the tough times. I also hope she doesn't let you get by w/o some Christmas decor at your home!!! It wouldn't be like you not to be here joining the fun this time of year. Seems like it's that time of year again when so many jump in and post. So fun to have more enjoying our wonderful bunch of enablers.LOL Been so busy at work the past month that I don't get home much before 8. Stayed up late tonight to get a little decorating done. I did get my tinsel tree up and decorated tho. It's different the way I decorated it. Tis a beautiful tree tho. I will try to get some pictures to share soon. I also need to try to decorate some outside this weekend if it ever stops raining. I refuse to go out in the pouring rain and decorate. I also don't like to go out when it's freezing.hummmm We will have alot of company coming in on the 16th for Christmas this year. Should be a fun time but I know this won't allow me time to redo as much this year. Hang in there and know we care. Wanna come visit? I love company. Jane where are you? We need that bus rollin'. I think it's time we all get together and have our 1st Holiday Christmas Party! Hugs BTU, Punk

Chutney? I really like this one, but I love crystallized ginger and the "hot" spices: Peach Ginger Chutney 4-5 Half Pints 3 1/2 lbs peaches, diced (about 7 large) 1 large onion, minced 1 yellow pepper, diced 1 hot red pepper, diced 1/2 cup crystallized ginger, chopped (candied ginger) 2 cups cider vinegar 3 cups sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground mace Prepare fruit and vegetables. Put in heavy saucepan and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to a simmer, cook until desired consistency. Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims and seal. Process in a water bath canner for 10 mins. this conserve was good and pretty with the bits of cherry. Be careful, though, have a big pan. When you add the rum, it becomes a volcano! Peach Conserve with Rum 2 pints 3 tablespoons orange rind, slivered 2/3 cup orange pulp, chopped and seeded (about 1 medium) 1/2 cup light rum 2 cups peaches, peeled,pitted and chopped (about 3 large) 3/4 cup pineapple, crushed 1/4-1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped 3 tablespoons lime juice 6 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon mace Combine orange peel and pulp with just enough water to cover in a small saucepan. Cook until peel is tender; set aside. Put opened container of rum in hot water; set aside. Combine reserved orange mixture with peaches, pineapple, cherries and lime juice in a large saucepot. Add sugar and spices, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook almost to gelling point. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Stir in hot rum. Ladle hot conserve into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Finally, a good peach salsa, although the next time I'd cut down the onion and add more hot pepper instead: Peach Salsa Recipe 8 1/2 pints 6 cups chopped peaches (about 3 pounds) 3 large fresh tomatoes 1 1/2 cups chopped red onions 4 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped 1 large sweet red pepper, seeded and finely chopped 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro 1/2 cup white vinegar 2 tablespoons liquid honey 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper Blanch peaches, cool in cold water, peel, pit and chop to measure 6 cups. Blanch tomatoes and cool with cold water, peel, remove seeds and cut into chunks. In a large stainless or enamel cooking pot, combine peaches, tomatoes, onion, Jalapeno peppers, sweet red pepper, cilantro, vinegar, honey, garlic, cumin and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add more cayenne pepper if you desire a spicier taste. Ladle salsa into hot jars to within 1/4 inch of top for headspace. Remove air bubbles by sliding a rubber spatula between the glass and salsa, wipe rims and add 2 piece lids, process for 10 minutes. Now, truthfully, my favorite peach salsa recipe I got from katieC, but it's at home. Annie

I'm not seeing the stone. It seems like there is so much texture going on already with the brick and the dimensional roof shingles that more texture is going to take it downhill and confuse the overall look. I actually like your current columns very much. I think the right paint choices will make the most of them. They are a lovely detail on your house. As for the windows, I had some similar "wrong" ones--plain casements on the second story of my 1929 Tudor. I couldn't replace them so I got corner brackets that fit inside the upper corners, sort of like gingerbread but more plain, and screwed them to the inside of the top of each window so it gives an arch to the overall shape of each one. That helped immensely. They are painted the same color as the windows on the outside so they don't look added-on. I also used heavy lace draperies on the top floor to "sell" the whole look. Sort of a chalet-style or Bavarian thing going on. My windows on the first floor are six over six mullioned windows, and surprisingly the two different styles of windows actually work now that I got the arch going on the top floor. You might want to do something like that. I noticed that the windows are of different sizes so too much of the arched business might look weird. I'd do it on the top floor only. And add on mullions on the lower level, so that the two floors aren't trying to mimic the same look. I think the white trim and the yellow is a big part of the problem, like has been mentioned. Can you also paint the white trim on the windows? Then painting those large surrounds around the windows also would help. I'm seeing a darker color to bridge the transition between the roof and brick elements and maybe a similar color on the windows themselves, or something like taupe surrounds and charcoal window frames. Or even a dark red on the windows and charcoal surrounds. Something like that. And then you can paint the big columns to fit with that scheme. Either garage door would look good to me, but I'd keep the brackets and paint the area above the door. I'm seeing Bungalow when I look at your house. With some Tudor. There's a great book by Jane Powell called "Bungalow Details: Exterior" that you would get lots of ideas from. There's another one out there with a similar name but it doesn't focus on the exteriors, so see if you can find the "Exteriors" one. It's a beautiful book full of great colors and details. There are similarities amongst Bungalow and Tudor elements that you can use between the two styles. I don't think you need major work, but rather very careful selection of paint colors and some window corner/brackets/mullions to change their shape. And the garage door will make a big difference too. I think it has so much potential without doing too much to the actual structure.

Hair spray actually used to be dangerous. The propellant used was vinyl chloride. It was hardest on barbers and hairdressers since they were around it all the time. The danger was a significantly increased risk of liver cancer. I think the show I watched was called the Chemical Revolution. There was also something in maybe the hair dye?? that caused a surprisingly high rate of bladder cancer in hairdressers. (Obviously this is not a commonly occurring cancer.) Here is a link that might be useful: PBS link about Hair Spray Propellant