Thanks for the page of links! Now I know what to Google. I'd been unfamiliar with the term "rubblestone." I'll check out those links. There's no sign of the foundation changing in the past 40 years--no changes in the way doors close or other differences in the 1st and 2nd floors with its post-and-beam construction. It's reasonably water-tight (some water has always leaked in at the base of one corner; it follows a trench to a sandy spot where it sinks away). I'm not so much trying to "fix" our cellar's foundation walls as to plug up air leaks and make it a bit more challenging for rodents to get in. Basically we hope to patch it up more or less the way the previous generations did. We just heard from the guys who haul in our firewood each fall--suddenly our cellar work has to be done within the next 5 days due to their schedule. Looks like we'll be stuffing fiberglass into the cracks again. I did note in some article links (just started reading them) that there's a danger in repairing only from the inside--I can see there's more to this than I'd imagined. Sadly, we can't afford a major (or minor) engineering project. The house needs to stay intact about 15-20 years (our maximum expected lifespan), which I think it will do. Thanks again!

A couple of comments are in order here: First, I think my concept of a "pressure cooker" needs to be updated. I guess I was recalling the "pressure CANNER" that was my total experience with pressure pans of any sort, until I got a long handled pressure pan as a wedding present way back in 1958. And the TIMELY MANOR....what a great name for a house! You caught it yourself, MamaGoose, and then you tracked it down in that other naming thread. It is a truly inspired name. With hints of British humor, much like Fawlty Arms. It could be a TV series. Also, because of THIS THREAD, I cruised by the small appliances in my trip to the WalMart pharmacy yesterday. I saw the KitchenAid mixer, sitting there in all its glory. Everything else cost under a hundred bucks, but the KA cost $199.99 so they are still proud of it. Any thoughts I had of buying it must wait until I get the kitchen done. I sure did like the looks of the stainless bowl and the heavy duty blades. It is a design which has endured. I also looked at other small appliances. You know, they make so many different shapes in SLOW COOKERS....what I used to call the CROCK POT is actually a BRAND NAME, like saying I want a COKE when I want a SODA POP. I have a "slow cooker" now which can bake cornbread or otherwise act as a tiny lidded oven. It really can get confusing if what you want to do is take all day to cook something and avoid burning it. Some things should not multitask, they should stay the same!

In the "vision" thread, deannatoby mentioned Margaret Roach's 365-day garden webinar. It's being given today--possibly the last time for a while because she doesn't offer webinars during the busy gardening season--and I've signed up. I'll try to post some comments later. My current idea is to defy convention by replacing evergreen "foundation plantings" that date to the original construction and aren't doing well with deciduous shrubs that would flower early in the season. Shrubs with dark foliage would complement my house, a very early mid-century modern one with grey siding, and it's oriented the wrong way on the lot, so the long sides don't face the street and there are foundation plantings on both of the long sides. What I have in mind is weigela x Velda ('Date Night Tuxedo') on the south side at the end nearer the street, and diervilla 'Kodiak Black" on the north side, with specimen plantings of other shrubs at the ends away from the street. We'll see if the webinar changes this. I have a couple of concerns about the webinar. One is that, although Margaret Roach's garden and mine are in the same state, they're at opposite ends of it, with different growing conditions. Another is that she has a very large garden and I have almost no planting space, because the house is sprawling and the lot is small.

For me, I'm finding that I have to wear different colors now that I'm older. And a slightly different style. If you're into "Color Me Beautiful" kinds of style advice, I used to be a "Summer" but have aged into a "Winter." The paler shades all alone wash me out. I still love them but need more color up by my face. And I used to love the "Ingenue" look but all that fru fru stuff ages me now. I bought a poufy peasant top two years ago as a beach cover up, was the kind of thing I used to wear all the time, but it looked silly on me. I can still wear some of the hippie peasant styles, but I have to wear more color, particularly up by my face. A little frull and lace goes a long way with me these days. I have old lady arms and don't know if I want to go to all the effort to try and fight it. That's why my wedding dress was particularly bad, pale and sleeveless. I was supposed to wear a hot pink shrug with it but that day in late Sept. was oddly hot. My hair fell that day too . . . oh well, being with friends and family was fun so I am choosing not to dwell on that. I didn't on the day. Now I can't even get into my wedding dress, I've gained about 15 lbs. from then. Trying to take it off but I'm not motivated to exercise and starve myself. So I'm maybe embracing a more "zoftig" personality in my clothing style. I keep telling myself it's only temporary but it may not be. You can still look "put together" and stylish no matter what your age and figure. My Mom was impeccable in her dress until the day she died at 87. I marvel at how she did it, but she was the master of putting together a wardrobe and catalog shopping. I'm seeing a lot of ladies even in their 80s embracing a casual jeans or leggings and tunics or t-shirts style. They are my role models. I have other friends that are more formal, but that's always been their style. I think if you can get by with just a few tweaks, you are lucky. I have to do a revamp only because my body has revamped.