Well, at this point, I only have"intermediate" :-). The existing sectional, coffee table and end table were bought used as a temporary solution - when we moved out of our long-time home, we got rid off almost every stick of furniture. It was old and we were tired of it, plus we wanted to go much more contemporary this time around. We had always promised each other we'd redecorate when we moved, but we weren't going to seriously decorate the rental we were in for 10 months. Now we're settled in, remodeling is mostly done, so we get to buy new furniture. As I said, we ordered the new sectional in December! Couldn't get a rug, or paint the wall, or really anything until the sectional is here. I'm okay at picking individual pieces I like, but terrible at putting it all together, so we'll need help. The room is half of a great room the living room half measures about 21x18 and the kitchen/dining room half measures about 21 x 22. The picture is of the living room half.

Well, DH picked up SS last night and had a long talk with him on the way home. Apparently it was all about wanting presents. BM dragged SS around to various relatives who, caught off guard, coughed up some cash in lieu of gifts (this is typical after his birthdays and such). BM asked SS if it was his choice or DH's that he not come up for Christmas, and SS said that it was his, that he'd always spent Christmas at home and he didn't want to not do so this year. After she told him that he had spent Christmas with her before (he has not, how can anyone not remember if they've ever spent Christmas with their own child or not?!) she asked him why he'd come up for New Year's then? At which time SS informed her that he wanted to see if anyone got him anything!!!! DH made SS call BM to apologize for that comment. DH said that as much as it pained him to do so, due to some of the horrific things BM has said/done to SS over the years, SS was clearly wrong on this one (his honesty not withstanding). DH also explained to SS that it was OK to want to see his mother, or if he's truly afraid of his mother then that situation is what it is - but it is absolutely NOT OK to say that he's afraid to go - unless he might get a present. We can understand and sympathize with the mixed feelings about BM. SS is constantly hoping that things will change and she'll "get better". That had been and I'm sure will be a problem; he'd get his hopes up and usually they were dashed. But this whole thing was not good at all. After DH and I beating ourselves up for a while wondering what we've done wrong, it finally dawned on us that SS has always been very generous and giving before and it's only been recently that we've seen any signs of, well, where he's behaving exactly like BM and SS18. We've no doubt at all he's been exposed to comments about what they can get out of people as it's brought up in almost any conversation with either of them. (As an aside, we found out BM is on welfare and is quite probably committing welfare fraud. Explains the whole "free lunch" thing....) Anyway. This new and un-charming mentality is going to be cut off hard. Our volunteering is going to change to become more focused; I'm looking at volunteering opportunities involving children with health/physical/mental/emotional needs. As DH and I said last night, nothing puts things into perspective like helping a child who doesn't care what, if anything, they get for Christmas but are just hoping to not spend Christmas in the hospital again, or to be able to build a snowman one last time. As for the whole modification in process, DH is pushing onwards at this time. His reasoning is that they might as well get all of this one-time mandatory stuff out of the way now; at any point in the process if any agreement is reached they can stop it. DH will be speaking to SS's counselor to see if her opinion is changed at all by this latest. Unfortunately it is now obvious that SS does not have the emotional maturity (understandable, he's only a kid) to necessarily have any significant input at this time. Even though we can win a bidding war for SS's attention, LOL, that is absolutely not not NOT going to be allowed to begin; not fair to us, not fair to crazy BM, not fair to SS - and then I'll end up with an adult SS like some of you have with an insane sense of entitlement ("Mattie, do you really need to spend that much money on your parents' funeral? Can't you just throw the body into a dumpster somewhere? Because, ya know, that much money would buy me a nice vacation and I'm feeling really stressed right now from all the pressure of keeping my 1.2 QPA in my fourteenth year as an undergrad....") LOL!

A while ago there were suggestions that Obama should do something. Let's not forget, that in recent times they've been dropping their drilling bits down through a whole mile of water before they even start drilling for the oil. And off Newfoundland, they're going even deeper. Bush Senior ... was an oil man. Bush Junior - another oil man. Condoleesa Rice was well connected in the oil industry. Cheney was, also. And I've heard suggestions that he was involved with a substantial amount of deregulations, back then. We know that the oil industry types chafe under regulations. The banking people do, as well. It seems to me that when employees, regardless of how high up they are in an organization, almost run their company into the ground, so much so that it takes multiple billions ot taxpayers' money to bail them out ... ... that they deserve to be fired, rather than to feel justified in demanding major bonuses at year end. ole joyful

As per A2zmom, I was never a daylily lover. Perhaps ditch lilies, with their invasiveness, was part of the problem and I agree that 'Stella d'Or' can get more than a bit much. Daylilies also seemed a bit easy! Some fancy double-flowered daylily cultivars, however, broke the ice for me. I also like the lengthy bloom time of my 'Mint Condition' (below - to me a very nice yellow). Daylilies are generally far longer lived in our mixed perennial beds than medium and tall irises; hence, in our growing conditions, I'd say they're a far more intelligent buy for us). Below (yesterday) we do water both the grass and the perennials (as required), but the latter are far more inclined to uphold their side of the bargain.