Okay, everybody, break it up! rjinga, I certainly meant no offense by my posting, I was just reminiscing about seeing these two paintings 'in the flesh'. I felt it was a totally magical experience, and get the same feelings everytime I see them, whether it be repro paintings, on a coffe mug, whatever. I think they look great in your guest room. Please humor me for a minute and try something. Would you consider swapping the pictures? They were painted by two different artists and are not a 'set', but Pinky is turned ever so slightly to her left and Blue Boy is ever so slightly to his right. By having them face each other, I get a sense of accord and harmony. Please give it a try and let me know what you think. Barbara

Old bills! Yes, I had almost 25 years of boxes of old bills in the attic. Come tax time I was usually so tired (winter) that I would just bundle them up and put them in a grocery bag or box. Even though 2 years ago I finally got a shredder, it just seemed overwhelming to deal with all that paper. As identity theft gets more and more publicity, I realized that I needed to go through all of it and shred anything that might have a cc number on it. So I brought it all down into the dining room. I hated looking at the boxes. It has taken me a year to do it it spurts, but now I am down to just one laundry basket filled with old checks. I have an old artist cutting board (you know the one with the big knife slicer on the side)and have used it to cut off the necessary parts of bills and bank statements thereby lessoning the amount of paper that needed to go in the shredder. My once Darkroom in the basement has become a storage room for my figure skating memorabilia collection as well as other items. I finally trashed over 800 VCR tapes. I really never relooked at them and there is no market for them, and the young people today want only DVD or YouTube. My skating boot man taught me a valuable lesson - you've had something for x number of years regardless of whether you did something with the item or not. Time to just cut your losses and let it go. So a few years ago I sold my Steinway upright piano - for the same price I paid for it in 1976. Time to let it go! And it freed up valuable space in my dining room. Lastly, since my best friend had to declutter the houses of 3 family members, and knowing the toll it took on her, I vowed I would not subject her to the same mess in my house. She is my executrix and I am single and 61. Something could happen at any time to anyone - injury, illness, or death. I don't want to be a burden to her alive or dead. When I declutter at the times I get a 'spurt' I give myself permission to spend x number of minutes and then can stop without feeling guilty. I also say to myself, if I had to suddenly move or if the house caught fire, what would mean the most to me....could I live without certain items? I know most of you are married and/or have kids adding to your burden, but just wanted you to know that single people also have cluttering problems and at times it seems even worse as the incentive to clear is hampered by 'who will know anyway' attitude. Just thought I too would share......

The weather has been a sheer mix here. A little rain, enough to dull the fall colors. It's still warm enough for a heavy sweater when you go out. stopped using the a/c a few weeks ago. It's been a harrowing two weeks for me. Week before last the little old man that shared the entry with me died. And I helped his family clear out some things. His funeral, my cousins son was killed in a motor cycle accident. I went to his wake... My ex brother in law was in the hospital and they wouldn't let him go home, only to assisted living, so my sister and two brother in laws spent an entire day moving and clearing his apartment. That evening two of the younger ones came and finished up for us. I managed to hurt myself with all the lifting and lugging. So three trips to the chiropractor and one to my regular doctor, then on into another town for x-rays. Came out of there and my car was dead. Just under 700 bucks to fix that. In the mean time this past week one sister had surgery on her shoulder (bone spurs) and I had to borrow a car to go tend to her pupper dogs... uggghhhh today after church, I'm supposed to go to still another sisters house and lay tile (glad it's stick on) on her bathroom floor. And on the lighter side, last night I was invited to my nephews house for pizza and a movie.. I guess I don't have time to hyberante, and on top of that, my Mom still had to go here and there. and no, friends, I'm not complaining, just giving you a hint of how life goes for me up here in the Adirondacks... Linda

Not sure, John. It is out in the garden right now and last I checked, the bok choy were still green. If we end up not having any more winter, they just might survive out there. I think that the onion seed will surely survive.