Ellen, You have to leave 2 side seams open. 1 Take main fabric sew one side seam. 2 Take lining sew 1 side seam that will match with the main one. 3 Lay right sides togehter. You're going to have this strange looking garment with only one seam sewn lying there. Pin the bottom and the straps. Sew bottom (this eliminates 2 hems). Then sew the straps around the area where you have a side seam. 4 On the side that's the open side seams pin the arm hole/straps and sew to where the open seams are. 5 Now you're going to turn it right side out. You're still going to have this strange looking garment with 2 open seams but the stitches will all be on the inside. 6 Here's the trick, you're going to take the main fabric and and pin it right sides togther. The right side of the main fabric front to the right side of the main fabric back. Pin a little bit of the lining fabric the same way. Sew that on the machine. You're going to have a 4-5 inch area of the lining that you are going to have to hand sew with a whip stitch, etc. to finish the dress. Hope this makes sense and helps. If all else fails pin everything and "pretend" you've sewn it so you can turn it right side out and see what I mean. I'm a visual person much to Joansews(Mother's) dismay. I constantly tell her, "Don't try to tell me how, show me how". Susan

I love the ideas mentioned about soffits. You can turn the soffit into a faux molding of doors. I adore Celineike's beautiful kitchen, what a creative way to deal with soffits. Here are a few more examples. Soffit into a stacked cab or even adding molding to the soffit in the pic with the yellow. All fun ideas to make the space even more beautiful. I would put some elegant drapes on the windows something like this...Not a Duncan P table but lovely nevertheless. Oriental rugs over your tile floors and rich woven drapes will make the coolness of the room flow with the duncan pyfe table you are invisioning. What about a built in fish tank? Fish tanks can take on a mood or feel of their own but built in ones remind us that they are part of the art and passion of the owner not an entitiy of their own. The built in fish tank becomes elegant art. Back to the kitchen... Here is a combo of gray and white with a gentle soffit above. That sort of blends into the wall. I thought of this when you mentioned gray. Painting soffitts above to match walls and cabs unify the space.

Heavens, I could give you hundreds--I used to teach a Kindergarten Storybook Cooks Class. Without opening my files, here are a few ideas that have always been popular with my little students: Walk-Away Breakfast Sundaes--press a large marshmallow into the bottom of a flat-bottomed ice cream cone. Spoon in diced fruit (fresh or canned), spoon in fruit-flavored yogurt. Top with a sprinkling of Granola. (Ice cream cones are also a good way to serve egg or chicken salad, for a fun change) Butterflies (used with "The Very Hungry Caterpillar")--spread cream cheese or peanut butter in celery sticks. Add small pretzels for wings, raisins for eyes, and broken pretzel pieces for antennae. Grilled Apple Cheese Sandwiches--Use Raisin or cinnamon bread, sliced apples, cheese (American, mild or sharp Cheddar), and--if desired--some raisins or walnuts. Grill as you would a regular grilled cheese. I used to make these for DD when she was little--she's grown and STILL requests them from time to time. Alternatively, you can do the same thing with a whole wheat tortilla to make an apple cheese quesadilla How about BBQ meatballs (for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"). Put a pound of ground beef into a heavy duty ziplock bag, add a teaspoon or so of grill seasoning, a small handful of bread crumbs. Seal the bag, squish together. Make meatballs using a cookie scoop (Good place to teach about food sanitation and the dangers of touching raw meat). Put in a microwave-safe dish. Zap 5-6 minutes or until done. Make the sauce using Ketchup or chili sauce and grape (or other favorite) jelly. Spoon over and microwave another few minutes to glaze. Another very popular kid-pleaser. Mouse Cookies (If You Give a Mouse A Cookie) Shape slices of refrigerator dough into teardrop shapes (the body). Cut another slice into quarters--use 2 to make ears, press into the mouse. Add raisins or sunflower seed eyes. Bake. You can add a licorice tail after they're baked. Spaghetti Salad (Strega Nona)--Using a clean pair of safety scissors or a plastic knife, the child can cut up: pepperoni, sun-dried or grape tomatoes, cheese (such as provolone), green peppers, etc and add to a bowl of cold spaghetti. Add a little bottled Italian dressing. Mystery Lemonade Cookies ("The Lemonade Mystery") Mix:1 cup Bisquick, 1 small box instant lemon pudding, 1/4 cup oil, 1 egg. Shape into small balls and roll in: 1/4 cup sugar. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Custard's Easy Tarts (The Tale of Custard the Dragon) Make instant pudding, spoon into individual graham cracker tart shells, top with fruit and/or Cool Whip. A few practical tips for mom. Put a piece of that spongy drawer liner under the bowl when a toddler is stirring--helps keep the bowl from slipping and sliding. Always use a much larger bowl than necessary--it's easier for a small one to keep everything in the bowl that way. Keep tasks simple and always have an adult helper on hand to do the more dangerous work. Even very young children can be taught to cut properly--I recommend a plastic knife, soft foods such as lunchmeat or canned fruit, and a pie pan. Cutting in a pie pan helps catch any bits that fly or roll away. Scissors are also a good way for youngsters to cut some foods. Children are often more likely to try a new food, if they've gotten to prepare it themselves. Great way to get them really interested in cooking and eating.

Here is Cymbidium heaven and I have some bad news for you. They are not good indoors plants. In fact they need weather to bloom. That is summer night temps where the average minimum temperature is not above 20C. And a "winter" where the average temperature might be Low Average 7C High average about 17C. They are cool tolerant down to about 2C. In the USA think Coastal California where the afternoon sea breeze coming off a cold Pacific Ocean cools the plants down after a warm sunny day. There are some bred to tolerate warmer conditions in Florida. Cymbidium Golden Elf is one. The Cymbidium experts here grow them in a sort of pot bound condition and move them up to a bigger pot frequently until they get to maximum size pot, then they divide the plant and start again. Plant needs 4 or 5 growths to bloom, so keep that in mind when the plant gets too big to manage. Sorry, I have nil Cymbidiums so this is just observation. Here is a link to a Local Orchid Culture Notes (written for here) so the seasons are out of time by six months. Read them plus any other complete notes you can find. Cymbidium Notes for Sydney, Australia