Emily, Thank you for the wonderful package. I am sorry I didn't post sooner but we were out of town. I love the two vintage books: The Art of Carving and Helen Corbitt's Potluck. I already saw some recipes that I will be making. I love the fantastic seed collection that you sent and will be wintersowing these right away. Thank you also for the yummy treats: Lorna Doone cookies (love these) and yummy Lindor chocolates minus one (my son couldn't wait to try) Toberlone bar- Yum Yum Yum! I also love the tea's Irish breakfast, organic chamomile, english breakfast and Lemon Lane (great name) I look forward to a relaxing cup today after work! Also love the beautiful silver tube key! I have never seen one of those before so I will have to research it and find out more! I love everything Emily! Thank you again! Amy

"People coming from Russia at that time did not often want it to be thought they might be communists" maifleur, I've read dozens of books on 20th century US and European history and this narrative you keep repeating differs from what I've read. The US didn't immediately warm up to the new Soviet Union for geopolitical reasons as much as anything. When Lenin took power in 1917, he withdrew the country from active conflict. That allowed Germany to concentrate its forces on the Western front (where the allies and ultimately the US were fighting). On the other hand, anti-German sentiment was quite strong some time earlier because of the war (started in 1914, renaming of Kitchener was in 1916 just as one of many examples). The Soviet regime was new and in the early years, few Americans knew much about it. The Germans were severely punished by the Treaty of Versailles and not forgiven by the western powers anytime before WW2 started. If you had a choice in the teens to 40s of being known as having German or Russian ancestors, most would have chosen Russian. It would be wrong to not mention that Germany (West Germany through the fall of the wall) was the bulwark of the West during the Cold War and has served as the anchor point and foundation of European recovery, peace and prosperity for the last 60+ years. And continues to function as that foundation.

Here's the timetable we experienced: November 2021 we looked at lots. Saw one we really liked but first contacted a builder and interviewed him (we were looking for a CAPS certified builder, and found one that was also design-build.) The builder asked to see the lot but also another in the same community. He really liked our choice so we made an offer and the sale was finalized February 2022. Meanwhile we started meeting with the builder's designer in December 2021. We saw the initial house plans in February 2022, worked further with the designer, made changes, and signed off on the "scope of work" in April 2022. Some changes were made, electrical diagrams were firmed up, and we had the final plans in June 2022. The designer prepared the application for the HOA architectural review committee and submitted in July 2022. The committee said it was one of the best applications they'd ever seen, and it was approved by late July. This was one of the reasons we loved working with a design-build firm - we didn't have to lift a finger to make that application. Grading began September 2022. Our builder decided to enter the home into the Parade of Homes in October 2023, so the house was basically finished by then. That was good and bad - they really pushed to get it ready in time, but then slowed down a bit afterwards, even though there were still things to be done. But all that's left right now is installing a dehumidifier in the encapsulated crawl space (somehow that was left out originally) and going through our final checklist, and we should take possession in about March. A couple of issues slowed us down, just because of shortages and problems in the building industry. We couldn't get an electrical transformer box for the longest time. They just weren't available. Our builder just called the power company once a week and got to know someone on the other end of the line, meanwhile using generator power. Eventually the insulation subcontractor said he could not work on generator power, and magically our contact at the power company found a transformer. There are people in our community who have been waiting two years for a transformer. Digging the well was the other big delay. All the well-diggers in the western NC area are booked months, in some cases years, ahead. Somehow our builders managed to nab one. Overall we felt the process was really smooth with our builders. The main part of the build took just a year, and after that it was a matter of putting in the driveway and doing minor things. If you've read this far (sorry so long!), you might like to look at our Parade of Homes virtual tour. The house wasn't really quite finished at the time it was photographed. There was no driveway, and there were no shower doors. There was a faulty lighted mirror, and the electrician had reversed the dining room and breakfast nook light fixtures. It's all fixed now! 32- Gateway Mountain Getaway in the WNC Parade of Homes

Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folktales for Mothers and Daughters to Share by Jane Yolen & Heidi Stemple