Evening All! It was the same here, Tuesday, Margo, overcast and windy but the wind wasn't bitterly cold, which was a welcome change. My mini daffs are starting to bloom! The crocuses are still going strong. And I too am still tired. Bummer! I was reading back thro the posts on this thread and way back at the beginning of this swap, I promised to keep the Robin's flight plan posted. You may have noticed, I haven't done that! So here it is, a little late, and I'll try my best to keep it updated! I sent to Peggy in Washington; Peggy sent it on to Heidi in Nebraska; Heidi mailed it on to Annie in California; Annie mailed it to Ruth in Texas; Ruth sent it flying to Melinda in Arkansas; Melinda just sent it to Diane/Moonfire; Diane sends it to Jeanne/sandlapper_rose in South Carolina; Jeanne sends it to Alana/poisondartfrog in Kentucky; Alana sends it to Robin in Virginia; Robin sends it to Vina/flowergirl134 in New York; Vina sends it to Janine/Jaynine in Connecticut; Janine sends it to Suzanne/hibiscusfan in Ohio; Suzanne sends it to Margo/smitties in Ohio; and Margo will send it to Katie in Mississippi, who will send the completed poem back to me! Hope I didn't skip anyone! Have a great day tomorrow! Shirley!

Thank you all for the wonderful comments, I feel so less gaudy and so more pretty. Party--I start out with just plain old non-decorated, non-lit garland. First job is to attach the garland to the stairs, then I string the lights into the garland, then comes the ribbon.(I luv to use a solid ribbon and layer a shear ribbon on top of the solid, I think it adds some depth and texture) That is usually the first afternoon. The next day I add the picks and then the ornaments. Your right I just hang them on the garland just like decorating a tree. But, now that you have mentioned the word "wire", what a fantastic idea. I couldn't just permanently attach the ornaments(I have to be able to remove them for storage) but, I could cut floral wire in approx. 2 1/2 inch pieces and bend them into ornament hooks. They would be so less conspicuous than the shiny silver or gold hooks.(I have seen them in green but their shade is a little off). It wouldn't be that difficult to do. Now I can't wait till next year, I can't believe that I never thought of that before. Thanks Party! As my son would say 'you have enabled me to take my decorating insanity to a new level'.lol

Very beautiful! I love snow in the winter (not spring, LOL)! I grew up and live in W.PA where we have all four seasons and I love them all. I still get that giddy feeling when I wake up after a large snow fall and see everything white. When I was a kid it ment SNOW DAY! A day to make snowmen and snow angles, sled ride, then come back in for some hot coco. Of course now I have to shovel and driving into work takes twice the time, but I still like it. On really bad days I take a vacation day and play with my DD's in the snow and pretend I have a snow day too.

Yes, I believe he was interested in his mother's Welsh background (sieve-like memory seems to capture that for some reason). He was widely traveled as well. You wouldn't believe the response I get when I tell I people that 'Siobhan' simply means 'Joan.' And I sometimes get people trying to tell me that I should change the spelling to make it easier. I am appalled at that practice, which has become common here. Also it has become popular to come up with a weird and creative spelling for a 'regular' name. James becames Jaymez. Shouldn't be allowed! (I really am turning into a curmudgeon.) I'm a big Burton fan also, and I adore Terfel. My niece is named 'Anwyn' - my b-i-l wanted to name her 'Eowyn' from Lord of the Rings but my sister couldn't get behind that choice. I found "Anwyn' in a baby name book and they were both happy with it. She loves her name. I seem to remember that is a fairly new name construction, not an ancient one. And a friend named her daughter 'Sian' - always called her Siani - as a nod to the character Chani in Dune but is an actual respectable name.