Andrew/Laag, it does strike me that you are somewhat resistant to authority figures/teachers telling you what you should know, as witnessed by your story about your father and design school. In that story, if I recall it correctly, you ultimately did see that design theory as you had been resisting it in a classroom situation did have direct applications with what your father was doing, and you appreciated the fact that you were finally able to make the connections for yourself based on what you were resisting in class. Might not the Japanese design theories, nomenclature, historical context, etc also play a part in having a better understanding of the cultural context and influences on Japanese garden design? And even though you mostly feel that it is completely unnecessary to know all this to achieve your desired visual result, your own previous example would seem to imply that infact the process does rub off on the results, and widens your experiences sufficiently to allow greater understanding and perhaps even meaning to enter your designs. I don't think you can ever discount knowing the history and guiding principles of anything you hope to imitate. Or maybe it would be better to say your have designed gardens with an Asian flavor, as opposed to Japanese style, which does come with certain historical and cultural implications. In my own case, I think direct exposure to great examples of such gardens here in California that include both older traditional approaches and modern takes on them help tremendously to appreciate the cultural influences on the style. I am sure that this would be further developed if I ever spent more time in Japan looking at gardens, rather than the limited several days in Tokyo and environs. I have seen some great Japanese style gardens in unlikely places such as tropical Malaysia and Singapore, and left me feeling that the exact plants are not the basis of JG design, but how they are arranged and manipulated in the landscape. My own feeling on garden design of any style is that it is both a learned process that teaches by example and trial and error, and innate talents to express oneself artistically. In the case of garden design, it also helps tremendously if one knows how to make use of what each site has to offer, to avail oneself of the views, light conditions, planting possibilities within their climate, etc. And most emphatically, any garden design is really all about how space is used and manipulated to create an effect. In the Japanese style, it is also necessary to pare down the plant palette to the essentials, and make the parts subservient to the whole experience. Strength of form, and the abstraction of wilderness and great age seem inherent in the plant manipulation used to achieve these aspects. As to Nandina's conclusions about representing the whole cycle of life and death as important aspects of JG design, this has never been apparent to me as a guiding principle. Maybe I am being too literal here, but the beginning and the end don't always seem well represented in a JG setting, it seems much more a case of abstracting nature and controlling it to give an illusion of great age, and then conscious control to maintain that point in time. In this respect, it has parallels with tropical garden design, in that the garden has great consistency in all seasons. In a tropical garden, it will be the consistency of year round summer and endless growth; in a JG, it will be the consistency of an abstracted nature and efforts to give the illusion of age and permanence. In neither style is it in fact the same all year round or year to year, but this is not the feeling we remember, but the consistency. I would posit that when the design of any style garden is inherently pleasing, it achieves this both visually and as a comfortable and/or intriguing spatial setting, that engages our thoughts and emotions. I find my own interest in Japanese garden design primarily linked to explorations of how layering of plantings and strategic architextural elements can make small gardens seem much larger. This has direct applications for my own design practice in densely urban coastal California, where space is at a premium, yet great borrowed views and magical light are all around us, and available to be used creatively. I find other aspects of JG design less fascinating, and have never quite understood how cloud pruning shrubs are thought to look in any way natural. The verdant green look also seems somewhat inappropriate for our local mediterranean conditions, and in direct contrast to our softly rolling hills and evergreen live oaks contrasted against summer golden grasses. As such, JG's only seem to work locally when they are self-contained, enclosed gardens that relate to creeks and watersheds here that are more woodsy and green.

I can't see the pictures here at work, I've got to remember to check them tonight at home. The dinner sounds delicious and I'm sure will look every bit as good as it sounds. Congratulations on a job well done. So SWMBO was suitably surprised and good for the daughter, to allow that the soup wasn't totally "icky", LOL. Annie

Many regulars here are folks of modest means. Is saying that one has 3 pairs of sunglasses that are a few hundred dollars a pop or more something useful, or instead maybe boastful? If they indeed own three pairs of expensive sunglasses that would be an honest, factual answer to the original question and not at all boastful. What would you have them do, Elmer? Lie and tell everyone that they own one cheap pair from the dollar store or stay completely out of the thread? By your logic, mentioning your high performance BMW, your second home and your extensive travels to Europe would be considered boasting. Should you never again mention those things because some cant afford a BMW, a second home or traveling to Europe? And, please. If you are going to quote me, please don't snip just the words that fit whatever point you are trying to make. To do so, takes my meaning out of context. I have no desire to further disrupt this thread nor do i wish to argue with you so i am going to bow out now. It always amazes me how the most innocent or innocuous of topics can go completely off the rails; I guess nothing should surprise me any more but it always does.

I don’t particularly like wearing a hat, but when i started running I started wearing a lightweight hat or visor. When we travel in the Miata (convertible) I have a wider brim hat with a drawstring. My head is small too, so I have to find something adjustable, sized, or with an elastic band. Hat head is a real thing. I always wear good sunglasses. I have a narrow nose bridge and find that it helps to shop around for a pair that fits well. I love a particular model of Maui Jim’s and have a couple of pair. I can send them off for repairs or new lens, sometimes it’s been free, so I feel like I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth and they don’t slide around.