It happens all too often, and more now than it used to, that whole varieties of vegetables are dying out. That's why some universities have started germ plasm banks. To preserve the old lines. I grow flowers for a living, and even in the twenty some years I have been in floriculture have noticed how what is available depends on 'fashion'. The most popular bedding plants don't even resemble the ones I grew when I first started in this business, because of media exposure, the consolidation of seed companies, expirations of patents and loss of patent revenue, size of gardens, leisure time of the gardeners, and just out of novelty. When we come full-circle and once again see seeds available for old favs........they often aren't the exactly the ones we remember, but have been altered for height, bloom time. We are seeing this even more in vegetables, I'm afraid. I grow a lot of the varieties my parents had in their gardens. They may get a little bigger, or not have as pretty of a fruit, they may not bear as heavily......but by gosh.........the old fashioned taste is there. I start a lot of the plants my now grown kids have in their gardens, and they get the varieties I grow, and my folks grew. And I have more than a few customers who come to me to get an old standard they don't find in the marketplace anymore......that other vendors aren't selling, because they are too busy trying to be cutting edge.

I am "tickled pink" that Pinkie is still in the hearts & minds of some of us! LOL A special thanks to don_socal for the link, "What happened to the old GP days?" Wow, what a stroll down memory lane! Neat to hear some of the names of folks I still remember, and have a bit of an update on where they are now. I had drifted away from the gang before Dicken passed on to the Eternal Garden...so sad to read that. Spent the better part of a morning going thru the box of old photos I have but found only a few pictures of Pinky. I had taken her to a Civil War re-enactment on our little town in SW PA where she met with the brave nurses that traveled with the troops. Among the photos I had was one of her on a makeshift table with a nurse in costume dressing a "wound" on Pinkie's leg. :-) Had another one of Pinkie being held by a slightly bemused modern-day EMT that was also there, and of course several pics of her among the various pink flowers in my garden. Unfortunately, I found none of these better pictures. Cannot imagine where I put them for "safe-keeping" but someday when I least expect it I imagine they will surface! Anyway, thanks to those of you who responded, and for the pleasant nostalgia trip! Best wishes to all GPers for a terrific gardening year. CK

I can't speak to the variation in roof color. Ours is a light gray. But I can speak to the efficacy of the skylight covers. I know they seem really simple, and maybe a little silly, but that's the beauty. Easy on, easy off -- even with one as large as ours. Even if I'd had an unlimited budget that wold have allowed for new skylights with some sort of built-in shade system, I might have still gone for the simple cover. Our cover can't be seen from the ground outside, so there's no need to "match" it to anything. We chose the gray-ish color, as it was the lightest available. On a clear day, you can stand under the skylight look up and see the trees. It doesn't totally obscure the view. I can't remember if we got the 80% blockage or the 90% blockage (80%, I think), and it's been fine. As for the reflective coating, I'm sure it will help if your roof is currently dark. But you need to speak with someone to make sure the coating won't adversely affect whatever roofing system you have currently. Oh, and for bonus points, the fabric smells just like the interior of a '63 VW. It's a little nostalgia trip twice a year when we put it on and off.

florantha suggested resurecting this thread to post my kitchen wall. Here it is: Love the red accent. It is SW Poinsettia. We just finished an update of our 14 year-old builder kitchen. The housing market does not justify a total remodel, in our locale, which was our initial plan. Here's a summary of what we used: Dishwasher - Bosch, Whisper Quiet Refrigerator - Jenn-Air, Side-by-Side, cabinet depth Range - Jenn-Air, natural gas, slide in 4-burner with single oven plus warming drawer Sink - Soci, 16 x 28 x 10 undermounted, 15 guage Faucet - Blanco Disposal - KitchenAid, 1HP Granite - Cathedral Brown. We continued it onto the window sill and a new top for the side table. Backsplash - 4 x 4 stainless tile Paint - Cabinets: Cabinet Coat, White, semi-gloss. Walls: C2, Shaker and Fusion - both in Eggshell finish. Accent wall: SW Poinsettia From appliance shopping to completion of room painting took 37 days. We handled all the painting DIY. Because we had been considering a remodel or facelift for so long, decisions were fairly easy and we caught the granite fabricator in a slow time so the counters were installed in only 11 days. Linked are Updated and Before photos. Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Updated and Before Photos