Thank you all for your good words. Sorry for the late reply - but I have not been near my computer on weekends. Outside in the garden was a lot of work before winter. But I want everyone to answer:) At first I would like to express my deep condolences to the loss of +oM friend. I have 9 years old irish setter, which are very similar like golden retrivers - similar in appearance, character.... This is my fifth dog - in my life. And every time this loss is unforgettable. A dog is not just a friend - it's a family member... Dax - your adwice is right - about leaf trees with berries and nuts. I have already planted 3 Quercus rubra (my acorns seedlings), 1 Acer saccharinum species and 1 'Wieri', 8 Acer platanoides along my borders (from my forest), Salix, Sambucus nigra. It is difficult with separate planted trees - the grass is very dense and aggressive. Cutting down and spacing shrubs, I left a very beautiful Corylus avellana - our native trees (shrubs?). Got a light they will be able to develop normally. But it's all going very slowly because we do it alone with my âÂÂâÂÂhusband. And all by hand, with a chainsaw. Now we have decided not to fight more with nature and leave the shrubs as they are, just try to limit them. Not within our power, and it is not necessary to extend the meadow. +oM, I use peat like mulch only in my small garden, where are very dense planting and I need frequently replant my plants. At large meadow is the only way - coarse pine bark mulch. I add peat in planting hole only and thine layer under mulch. At first we wanted to clean the river banks too, but then I understood that it would lose its beauty. Natural beauty :) Reality dictates its own rules. And they are not so bad :) I do not change the nature of the remains, but to supplement it. If you liked and it was interesting, I insert a few more pictures of the same subject.:) It's our famous Pinus sylvestris var. rigensis, which grows only in Latvian (later I will include at this forum the litle review of this magnificent tree:) A typical Latvian landscape - around my land - Picea abies cones My irish setter in the large grass Meadow in summer. The grass is growing like crazy! No wonder, when in June it rains every other day. Farmers can not gather the hay. The grass will not dry out. Ireena

Like Isamae, I like to paper piece and some of the small pieces are what you need. I have a couple of boxes I just through them in and use as needed. Have to admit I am probably a pack rat. Recently, I was working with some friends who threw some trimmings off a block into the trash. I quickly retrieved it and later made a paper pieced pillow, a duck in water, for my grandson. The fabric I retrieved was perfect for the water and plenty to finish the pillow. I think my friends were impressed. :) It is a personal decision as to what you keep. If you can't use it maybe a friend can. Sally

NaviJen, pleased to see you posting with us. Mass. is a whole different style of housing than what I'm used to in Alabama. Like lower ceilings, big basements, storm windows, dormers, angled ceilings upstairs. And I've been surprised at the absence of air conditioning (a necessity built into every home in south Alabama), and the intrusive nature of many heating systems--including radiators, baseboard heaters, boilers and oil tanks! Those things take up a lot of space and money to operate also. As older folks who married almost four years ago (second spouses), my DH has a home up there, and I have one down here. That's why I sometimes do a flip-flop from north to south, you will notice. I've been redoing his house AND mine. Jen, be sure to hang in there with us, a lot of creative ideas come from this group of folks. And Steph, you are so unique, giving your boy his own bedroom!!! I'm thinking you need to get out more? hehehehe Having huge antique furniture can be a drawback in a smaller home. Of course, ONE PIECE could fit, maybe, if it is a featured piece. Something that WORKS FOR ITS KEEP. I do hope you have room for the things you've STORED FOR 14 YEARS?!! At least, put it in place and see if it leaves enough breathing room. After all this time, you may have fantasized it into something it can never be, and you've grown out of it....so to speak. Dreams are hard to give up. If I had a good spot to put it, I'd be looking for a nice armoire...just because I like those. But I realize it won't fit my house or my lifestyle any more.

When I had the master suite created in my DH's home up north, it was crowded for bedside tables too. So I got two wooden tall plant stands, with 12x12" tops. They fit perfectly fine. Then swing arm wall mounted lamps for each side of the bed. Enough room for a book on the shelf below and a glass of water or whatever. I never just use an end table when there is an option to have a small chest beside the table. That works even in a small room with limited storage space. Every item has to WORK to make the cut when space is scarce. And, in the bedroom in Alabama, I am going to be sorry to leave it for the BACK bedroom, which will become an ensuite master, because it is beginning to look SO comfortable. It is a west-facing bedroom, on the street. It has two PAIRS of windows, and the closet and entry to the bedroom are on a third wall. That leaves one wall which has no windows and no doors or other obstructions. However, I did not want the bed to be sideways in front of the entry door, so had to put the bed first diagonally in the corner between the two pairs of windows. This worked fine for a while, with the wicker chests I use for bedside tables centered between the windows. However, it was hard to make up the bed. So I decided to center the bed in front of the windows on the street wall. I closed the blinds to block the high heat coming through those windows anyway. And then I found some floor/ceiling grommet drapes at Tuesday Mornings! That is when I got DH to install crown molding wide enough to mount the double drapery rods, and I started planning 3 layers of curtains...grommet drapes wall to wall on both window walls, sheers on the second drapery rod, and finally the top-down roman shades using 90% shade cloth and Thermasuede fabric as a liner. I am almost done with the curtain project, but even with the shade cloth pinned in place on the west wall, the difference in heat gain is significant. This room is 12 x 12 give or take an inch. We changed out sliding closet doors for 2 pair of Jeldwen bifold shutter doors which I painted to match the crown molding and base boards and other wood work. The wicker chests are on either side of a full sized bed, with lots of breathing room. There is a rocking chair near the closet. There is a third chest between the closet and the door to the hall, and a wall mount TV is above the chest. So now I've ordered the Hudson queen size storage bed from Room and Board in cherry. It should arrive this month. I can hardly wait. It is a platform bed with no footboard, and no box springs, and it measures 60 x 80. A full bed is 54 x 75, so only a few significant inches of comfort which I look forward to having. But when the contractor finally comes, and bumps out the master bath for a tub and a long walk in closet, we'll be moving this new jewel to the back bedroom. This current bedroom will convert to a nice study/guest room. Only we seldom have over night guests, and may just put desks and bookcases in there until we move the contents of the up-north house. It seems to me that we have plenty of space in the 12 x 12 bedroom. Since we've repainted and made the room so peaceful, I will now take a horizontal break to meditate or read or chat on the phone. It looks good in natural or ambient light all times of day since northern exposures give true light, and the shade cloth gives a sense of separation from the street. Keeping active pursuits out of the bedroom is conducive to rest and separation from the cares of life.