I want to thank you all for participating in my Round Robin. I hope you all had fun. Maybe we can do it again sometime. I know I have enjoyed reading what everyone was receiving. Treasa, Fedex ground probably would have been cheaper than US mail. Diene, Yes fedex "ground" takes about the same amount of time as Parcel post...but most times costs less if shipped from a fedex station (not a mail boxes etc type location) and the tracking on fedex is much better and the insurance does not cost anything. Where USPS mail charges for both tracking and insurance. FederalExpress (not ground) is really fast but costs much more. I love the new USPS flat rate boxes. A specially marked flat rate box is only 7.50 priority. Cant beat those prices.

cmarlin - if we keep them, I'll clean them, but no paint, I think they look pretty rich and even though old, I actually like them. I think I'll probably put in something like Silestone in a mocha color and it would look great. What will determine whether we keep them is if I can find a good match that will appropriately fit. kelpermaid, I think they painted in the house recently, though I'm not sure - going to try and find out. I know they've lived there for 6 years, so if they are the only people who smoked there in the last 25 years since it was built, at least 19yrs of it had no smokers - but not sure how bad the last 6 years have been. creekside - now you've TOTALLY confused me! In some cases, homes need to dry to the interior. Kilz will prevent that. So will some other products. A spot of Kilz here and there won't hurt anything. Rolling it on all the interior walls may promote mold growth. So, if you are going to use Kilz after cleaning with TSP or something like it, you can't paint everything?? I'm sure I'm not understanding something here - I'll try to read the info on the link you sent - maybe call the co. next week. Carol_from_NY -thanks, I think my cleaning list is growing by leaps and bounds. The way I'm going, I may have to put my mother on the top of the car and tell her to hold on to the luggage rack for the trip up I'm going to have so many supplies to take! Thanks for mentioning the steamer, I have one and wouldn't have remember to think about taking it. I've never heard about putting gum in for smells, that's a new one. I'll try ANYTHING to get the house to normal. Thanks for all you suggested. Well, at this time we are in limbo. Inspections turned up a few problems, two problems that could be major, one that definitely is and has to do with a foundation failure. I am trying to get the owners to agree to fix what's on the repair list I sent them - which isn't everything that needs to be repaired, I took on the cheaper and more easily aspects of it. Will know more next week whether the deal goes through or falls apart. Wish me luck!! Thanks again to all - everyone has been extremely helpful, and it's all appreciated! Oh, one more thing - my Mom was there during the inspection and told me they had a machine running to take the stink out and she thought it smelled better in there - was probably an ozone machine. My nose will decide (if we close on it, that is) THANKS!!!!

Your table is screaming for a tablecloth. As others have said, the room has a very formal, elegant feel. (I like that). Follow that feel with your table and everything will look great Worry less about the walls and windows... focus your attention where your guests I will be! A book I heartily recommend to anyone: "The Art of the Table, a Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware" by Suzanne von Drachenfels c. 2000, Simon & Schuster. This book explains it all, with great good humor, and tells you how to "make do" when you don't have all the proper "stuff" and/or are unsure about how to pull it all together. I see a lovely tablecloth (over a hushcloth, to deaden the table noise), with napkins to either "match" or provide a SUBTLE contrast. A simple centrepiece (a cornucopia with some fruit?) or NOT, depending on the available space on your table; maybe a discreet pair of candlesticks? Your "best" china and flatware; OR whatever you HAVE but sparkling clean and laid with care as to how far from the table's edge, everything in alignment, napkins crisply pressed and neatly folded THE SAME WAY AT EVERY PLACE. The most important thing is that you pay attention to detail. You can mix and match to your heart's content, but beautiful tables begin and end with attention to detail. All the rest is up to the company and the food... good fun conquers the oversights (be a love and pass the wine, won't you, dear?). ;) Here's what the basic white tablecloth can do with some imagination; even the "everyday stuff" looks fancier: I was pleased with the centrepiece in the first shot above, here are some others I liked, too:

This rainfall map from the OK Mesonet shows, in numerics, the rainfall recorded at each OK Mesonet station. Of course, the rainfall at any given place can vary from the rainfall recorded at that area's Mesonet station. The color coding on the map depicts rainfall as measured by radar and helps fill in the gaps in terms of how much rainfall fell over the larger area. Sometimes the radar-indicated rainfall varies a great deal from the amounts recorded at mesonet stations and the map helps clarify the variation. 3-Day Rainfall Totals Then, for anyone interested in the amounts of rainfall recorded so far this year, here's a map that shows that: Year-To-Date Rainfall And, here's the map that shows observed year-to-date rainfall as a percentage of average rainfall for the same period of time: Observed YTD Rainfall Compared to Average Rainfall There's more rain coming up in the forecast in a few days, which is great news for the areas that remain either abnormally dry or in drought.