Good afternoon....waking up from a cat nap...really don't enjoy sleeping this late in the day. I think I've been doing a little too much lately and sleeping less, so I guess I needed it. So how is everyone this afternoon? Ei...I am sorry you were not having a good day yesterday. Hoping today was better. I hope no one is editing what they want to share, because the title of the thread is 'good news only'. I think it is pretty difficult for us to get through a whole thread with no bad news from anyone. [g] Well, we only have room for a couple more posts anyway. :-) Wondering if Marian had her company today and how that is going. Seeing someone after 30 years has to be very exciting. :-) Denise, I enjoyed your description of your property. It is fun to try to fill in the gaps around what the photos are representing. You do a great job with such a small site. BTW, how is Marty's back and toe doing? My DH is still going to PT since the last time his back was out of whack. He goes 2-3x a week religiously and has reaped the benefits of it. He is now having trouble with his heel...ongoing issue with Planter Fasciitis...which I think I remember others here reporting having problems with. He has been in pain for a couple of weeks with it this time and has a PT appt today. Flexibility is not his strong point either and I gather that is also a factor with the feet issues. $300. for a house alarm going off? Ouch! How do you remember learning to read, Chelone?! I don't remember learning to read. [g] I am lucky I remember what I had for lunch, most of the time...lol. I do remember we learned to read with Dick and Jane, although I don't remember actually doing it. What are the 'green books'? I have always been in love with books and libraries. I can remember we had one around the corner from the house we lived in when I was in elementary school and I can still see the interior of the library in my mind. I was going through the Nancy Drew series at that point. I have always visited a library frequently no matter where I lived. I still visit the same library I used all through high school. Eden and Chelone....I also enjoy putting the garden to bed and getting ready for winter and hopefully putting things in order so that spring will be easier. I don't always find the opportunity to do that, but we seem to be really coasting along this year. Even have cover crop 6 inches high in the veggie beds. All the houseplants are in the house...big deal...about 8 of them. :-) DH has managed to take care of any weeds that were getting ready to go to seed. Chelone, aren't the sedums dark and gorgeous this year? How was the seashore, Martie? I would love to hear more about your 'sailing days' when you have a slow day. :-) Saucy....I wish I could spend some time at your house the next week...I love all things apple! woody...that is so interesting about your friend who likes sheep so much...lol. I have always enjoyed sheep for some reason. I liked them even more up close and personal, I love the feel of their coat and their steady gaze. :-) I can't imagine how she keeps up with all of it, but it sounds great. I always wanted to live on a farm, like Shirley Temple in 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'. Great when you are young and strong, but as you get older, hopefully you have an interested next generation to replace you. That Harlequin Honeysuckle is variegated? Hmmm....I see Bluestone has it. I had seen it before but their photo is out of bloom and not nearly as nice as yours. I wonder if I could grow that intertwined with Sweet Autumn Clematis, or bad idea? Cindy....is that your garden gate? Very very pretty and inviting! Hi Michelle... :-) For some reason, DH enjoys when it starts getting dark early again. I just don't understand it, I hate that! If I was working and had to wait to garden until I got home, I would find that quite a nuisance. Especially since I seem to work in the garden more in fall and spring and not very much in summer when it stays light so late. Isn't that great, that you had a 'visit' with Kenzie! She must be so excited about Halloween and how did she like Disney? So your Mom has a new laptop? How old is your Mom? DH's laptop arrived today and it is still sitting in the box. I haven't got the energy to start trying to get it up and running. At least he doesn't have an old one that needs a lot of files moved or anything, it just has to work out of the box. At the last minute we added a camera too, since it was only $20. more. My back is feeling much better but easily tired. Happy to at least be moving comfortably again. Would you believe two squirrels actually climbed into the squirrel proof feeders this weekend?! [g] Wish I had a photo of it. The type of feeder that has a cage around the tube of seed, so that only small birds can get in. I keep telling DH they have to be very small immature squirrels. I hope that was a fluke, because I don't want to buy new feeders. Hello 'bug, Kathy, Deanne, Sue, Julie, Wendy, Norma, Brenda...and is Mary still working on the grotto garden or a bathroom? There has to be some Halloween crafts starting soon, no? Sun was out today and ...Chrysanthemum 'Medicine Bow'...is still pretty but starting to go by.....

Hey, I dropped off the face of the earth. Some brutal work hours with no days off. Sorry about that. Nightnurse- I'll try and stay on topic but that cornbread looks incredible. Looks perfect for a Sunday morning. Thank you so much for sharing. A perfect way to use up my abundance of black eyed peas:) Jim- I don't have anything really great anymore.. It's kind of embarassing and disheartening. I apologize for being a lazy bum here but are you interested in tropical aquatic plants? The things I need to go revive are things like my crypt collection that went through a melt when I neglected them and need to beef back up.. nothing spectacular.. c. balansae C. retrospiralis C. Spiralis C. lucens C. petchi C. willisii C. walkeri The worst of it is they can be a pain to identify at the best of times and right now they're melted to nothing.. being crypts I'm sure they'll come back but they're going to need some coddling. I have the usual stuff like E tennelus some vals and Sagittaria subulata, I mowed those down when I moved tanks but they grow like weeds so I'm sure, especially if I give them some plant love, that they'll be back strong soon.. anubias nana that I'm karmically obligated to share because the original piece was given to me maybe 7 years ago. I killed or preemptively gave away all the fun stuff like glosso, my toninas honestly don't know if the Didiplis diandra, Ludwigia arcuata or Heteranthera zosterfolia is kicking around in a tank somewhere or not. Like I said, it's embarassing. Not sure if that's any help or not. My digital camera's a battery sucking older one and I need to get rechargable batteries before it's much use.. which is a good excuse to buy time to get my tanks, and their plants, looking at least somewhat presentable. MicheleLee- Thank you very much! My balcony's eastern exposure. Really looking forward to going and hoping nothing interferes. My boyfriend's scheduled to go back to London in early Marchand I've already explained his flight plans can't conflict with this. He's not very impressed with it but I think he caught the determination in my voice.

I'm opening them alright, but I can't post to the 'coldest temps' thread. So here's what I wrote for that...just a test to see if I can post here... I'm not sure how my husband got the flowers to the wedding without them freezing, since the car certainly never got warm that day. Fortunately, we were poor college students and just had carnations--they are certainly hardier than many flowers usually used for weddings. One Valentine's day before we were married, he walked to the florist's and bought me a rose, and then walked back with it. It was a long time before I had the heart to tell him that it was frozen solid and turned black and fell apart the minute it thawed out. He hasn't bought me many roses since! I was just in Fairbanks for the weekend--the flowers were beautiful, but the smoke was awful. It was good to get home. Right now I'm in the house taking a break from the heat outside. It's relatively cool in the house at 81 degrees. It's 80 in the shade, and 97 in the sun. I didn't take the thermometer out til just now...who knows how hot it was earlier. Unforturnately, I'm redoing the strawberry bed, and it is in the sun all day. Right now it is 100.8 on the front deck. And I did not set the thermometer in direct sun. Not good weather for transplanting strawberries!

Calliope, thank you for the link to the embroidery site, looks like it will be very helpful in explaining different thread types and tension adjusting, both top and bottom. I've book marked it and will study more when I have the time. Thanks for all the compliments on my quilt, and the opinions on the thread colors. I laid a string of deep, rich gold across some of the blocks, and also a string of slate blue. I'm thinking the gold will blend better with the colors in the fabrics. I'll think on it some more and maybe try other colors to see which is best. This quilt has a story (don't they all!). I'll try to tell the story without tearing up so much that I can't see to type. My oldest sister's dh was diagnosed with gastric cancer in 2003, he had surgery, radiation and chemo, and was told in 2004 that he was cancer free. In 2005 the cancer came back, he went through treatments again at that time. He had lost a lot of weight and was very sick and very cold natured. I started piecing this lap quilt for him in November 2005, didn't tell anyone I was making it for him. About the time I got the piecing finished, his Drs. told my sister that he wouldn't be around much longer, and before I could get the quilt sandwiched and quilted, he passed away in Jan 2006. The quilt has hung on a hanger in my sewing room since that time, I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. This man had been my BIL, but more like a brother to me since I was 15 years old, I'm 61 now. I've never told anyone that I made this quilt, but recently, I pulled the quilt top out of the closet and decided I want to finish it and give it to my niece, their daughter, as something that is, in a way, connected to her daddy. She's a very special niece to me, and I feel that I'm special to her. I'm just not sure if I can tell her the story of this quilt, without losing control, and I would sure love to get through it without losing control, for her sake. Tell me, do all of you think this is a good idea, or not? I just can't think about finishing the quilt and letting anyone else have it.