I have been around Garden Web for many, many years but only off and on. Reason being I never felt comfortable with any of the groups. That is until I found this group last december. I saw you were doing a christmas swap and i asked if I could join and Kirk being the generous gentlemen he is said of course I could join in the fun. Well it has been uphill every since. I check in here daily and sometime i post and sometimes I don't. I do however smile alot. I love that I have found a *true* group of junk lovers. I dumpster dived and trash picked long before it was the thing to do so I am a recycler from way back plus I belong to several freecycle groups. I was always taught *waste not...want not!. This group has even helped convert my dh into a junker. Instead of saying why did you............he now says.........hmmmmmmmmmm I think I can use that in a project. :) I used to go to auctions every weekend and I have accumlated a lot of *junk*. I have tons of dishes, glasses, vases, and a lot of odd ball stuff i don't know what I am going to do with it but............ I am also a crafter, doing stained glass, jewerly, mosaics, gardening and woodburning. From these crafts I always have leftovers. If anybody needs some left over stained glass or beads or patterns please let me know i am more then happy to share. I do have one item I have tons of and hope someone can use some..............Rx bottles. They make great storage for seeds, beads, etc.but I have a ton so if anybody would like some pllllllllllllease let me know. My thoughts and prayers goes out to our members who are having trouble, whether it's medicals, emotional or just need a shoulder to lean on. We all need a shoulder once in awhile. I love this group, Thanks Kirk, Carol and all the members. Hugs, Chelcass

gfleatham, I've been enjoying the info on various hydrangeas you've been adding and appreciate the accompanying photos. Any chance you'd be willing to add your zone & general location to your profile so that they post by your name automatically? TIA Houzz doesn't make it easy to figure out how, so here are directions: Go to Your Houzz in the upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page is a blank labeled Climate Zone for Garden Forums along with a link to find your zone. You add info on your state or the nearest large city since zone only relates to average coldest winter temperatures. Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.

Vance, I split the EarthTainers into 2 feed systems (13 each) with their own pressure regulator and filter. The EarthBox folks claim you can run up to 30 on a single system, so no problem with just 13 per zone. I actually have a dedicated line off my timed irrigation system to provide the water to the EarthTainer distribution system. As the "physics" of the AWS pneumatic diaphragm has the valve "open" in its quiescent state, and along Bernoulli's Principle with the water rising around the submerged bell flexing the diaphragm closed, I wanted a "belt and suspenders" fail-safe design that if one of the valves stuck open, or a feed line broke, the water wouldn't gush for 24 hours a day when I am traveling. So I have set the timer to "allow" water access to the AWS for 1 hour per day, which should be more than enough access to top off the 'Tainer reservoir each day. If a valve gets stuck, or a line breaks, I have limited the wasted water to 1/24'th of what an "always-on" connection would have been. Regarding "adding a water feature", I currently get a relaxing bubbling sound sitting in my Hot Tub watching the tomatoes grow....... Raybo

It does; blfenton, and I think you are right about overload. I've seen many patterned drapes with trim added, and it looks very finished and nice generally. But these do make a strong statement already, and almost immediately after I posted the question, I think I knew the answer. Same with the navy walls. A room like this (it's not a big DR; the small table makes it look bigger) can only handle maybe one or two "statements." Once you've crossed that line, you've created a room that people will generally stay away from when given a choice. That's what I love about this forum; usually, when you take the photos and post a question, you are able to make a good decision and can usually answer it yourself; but having other eyes look at the same thing always helps. Thanks for your thoughts, everyone :)