Thank-Bean, Vj and MadG... Do you know how far away winter sowing is? LOL... I have tried that a few yrs ago and did have success with it...I'm trying to incorporate more perennials...and just am a little to gun-ho... Were there any growth for the ones that didn't bloom? Thanks All for your input! p.s. Bean...I didn't use a filter or software...maybe adjusted contrast slightly and unsharp mask-once in Irfanview...That was most in part from the time of morning with the fog/haze Glad you liked it!

lalalalalalalala (fingers in ears) - I'm not hearing anything about any new crafts - Saori weaving, lapidary jewelry, wire-wrapping, rug-hooking - nope, not listening! ;-D I have a tendency, you see, to be compulsive/impulsive with crafts and have always wanted a loom and love jewelry and rugs! lalalalala... Another fabric fangirl here - I also have a stash of lovely upholstery and drapery fabric samples altho fewer than 250, some quite large, that I got FREE at a store that was closing (I did buy a lot of fabric there). However mostly all I've done is washed and pressed them and occasionally taken them out to admire them! I did frame one that is a $200/yd Pierre Frey and made a French memo board from another piece. What I originally planned, and will eventually do with some of mine, is to make pillows in various sizes and shapes for my LR. Need to find some down or good quality synthetic pillow forms - must put that on my city shopping list - thanks for the reminder. In another life decades ago I made bags out of upholstery fabric and sold a few. Too labor intensive and too small a market to make it a real business but I had fun for awhile. They wear like iron and are very useful. I washed it all first so it could shrink. I serged all edges and used complementary colors/designs in some bags. Many of the bags were shopping bag style but some had zippers and I even made a large duffle bag. I also made tissue box covers and book covers with some of that fabric. Have fun with your fabric stash! As a compulsive amateur home decorator I have a lot of "must-have" purchases of accessories found at yard sales. So I am now editing my collection and have dedicated a couple of large closets to store the rest. I do use most of these and will give away those I don't.

I feel for you. We started around April with full demolition June 30. I had my kitchen usable by Thanksgiving. This week we have new hardwood floors finished. Full bathroom gutted but I am here to tell you it is really all worth it in the end. We too did an addition and knocked out the back wall of the kitchen to add a 30x16 foot addition. It added to existing bath and an upstairs laundry room. It all has surpassed my dreams. Taking a long time but so worth it in the end.

Landlord had come into the house shortly after my departure ... locked the porch door behind him, I guess. He was a bit distressed about the locked door, the cats had gone without food for a while, finally he'd climbed in through the back window ... and had moved the cat food up near the window so that he could get at it from the ground outside. I haven't asked him why he didn't open the door when he was inside the porch. He used the tiller to chew up a large number of weeds in the garden and son and friend helped, so much of the need has been met. There's a proliferation of lettuce and beans everywhere ... plus some zucchini, a few of which the weeders took home and landlord would like a couple. Got some U.S. money, so am nearly ready to go. Niece is asking for some time off. Send your best wishes for a safe journey, please. ole joyful P.S. Succeeded in avoiding political messages, this time. I think. o j