ah! this breaks my heart! i moved from corvallis to tucson last september and i am remembering and missing all the great gardening in the area! 1. nurseries: try ginhart's (8 miles down peoria road, a mile or less outside of peoria proper) off of hwy 34. they are a mom 'n pop place with exceptionally reasonable plants. Garland's on hwy 20 is fantastic and a great place to visit and sip some free hot tea/coffee while drooling over their selection. a bit more expensive but they are well stocked for gardening supplies. 2. don't forget the national clonal germplasm repository! this one specializes in fruit trees. the greenhouse manager's name is jim and you can set up to visit their greenhouses with him. he's exceptionally knowledgable in native plants, and he's been in the process of developing the most fabulous woodland garden in the neighborhood! he is also a fantastic orchid grower and will fill you in on any club events if you have those inclinations, too. 3. robnett's hardware on sw 2nd street is also very well stocked with quality gardening supplies. you can visit them after you stroll the saturday market, where there are a lot of local plant sellers vending heirloom roses, PNW natives and other woodland plants. even some succulents, too. 4. walk through the OSU campus. they have an online guide to their plants. i got a lot of ideas on what to plant outside from them. i especially like the small patch to the side of Cordley hall. they have lewisias, an established passionflower and other woodlands. rhodies and azaleas should be blooming and there are a few daphne plants around campus that should be just finishing up but still smelling wonderful. 5. if you want to amend your soil, you can drive your pickup out to the OSU dairy farm and they will give you a load of aged manure for free and load it up for you, too. there are a ton of mint farms in the area and many of them will either sell very cheaply or just plain give you a load of mint hay compost for your garden. there are bark and mulch places in almost any direction you radiate out from corvallis. i would recommend amending with a load of one of their mixes if you plan to put in vegetable/flower beds. this time of year there should be coupons out in the democrat herald for soils. 6. invest in mud and rain gear. good, waterproof shoes are invaluable. good gloves! consider lightweight summer gloves and heavy duty (kidskin or other) for winter and for digging. 7. i also hit up rite-aid and bi-mart. rite aid, especially, has huge plant displays seasonally. this time of year their gardening supplies are starting to come in and you never know what to find. plus, they're right accross the street from one another. i don't know if that really helps. just some gardening habits i have from corvallis that i thought i'd share. i guess a good thing to do would be to survey what you have to work with, decide what sorts of plants/what look you like in general and explore around that. or, you could be like me and just buy what you like and find a spot for it somewhere! living in the PNW is one of the most rewarding gardening experiences possible. the variety of plants you can grow and the ease at which you can grow them will be really rewarding. -ming

My Mama passed almost seven years ago, and I am still working on her fabric stash, but with materials used for quilting and also every other type of material one could need. I started quilting about a year before she died, and my first quilt was a Christmas gift for her, I finished in February. I kept company with her as I was quilting and she watched it come together, not knowing it was for her. She had always wanted to make a quilt, and had started the blocks for a Cathedral Windows, inspired by a friend when we lived in Missouri, as state just famous for it's cottage quilt industry. When one drove through the Ozarks, it was commonplace to see them hung out on clotheslines, to catch the eye of passers-by. She had also made some yo-yos but they disappeared sometime and I've never found them. I wish you much enjoyment with your new hobby. I think you'll find yourself close to her spirit as you work, as I find myself close to my mother when I am in my sewing room, handling the fabrics she had saved over the years. I have made about thirty quilts since then, really surprising myself since making ONE quilt was on my bucket list. LOL. Welcome to the forum, and my condolences as well on your mother's passing. BTW, that is one beautiful design you will be finishing. I also have a quilt cat who loves to lay on my blocks and scatter them too. He keeps me company each morning as I sew, and prefers my sewing room to all the others in this house.

interior - that's a lovely thing you did sending that note! I also think about how we are a sum of all of those who have touched our lives thru out the yrs. What a great thing for that guy to have received at this devastating time in his life! A number of yrs back I sent a note to an old friend (and former bf - my first serious one). He was one that I wanted to know that tho things didn't work out for us he was a wonderful and important part of the 'making' of me. I had no idea tho that he was married (I knew he'd divorced) and it turned out he remarried to a girl from our old neighborhood who was tremendously jealous of me - and I think he took it that I wanted some type of future communication. Which i didn't expect, nor did I mean to cause any problems in his current life. I had heard (thru my sister) that he'd had a bout with cancer a few yrs previous which made me think about how we'd aged and that none of us had a guarantee of time here on earth and should let those who had meaning in our lives know that while they are still alive. I am glad I let him know what a very special person he has been in my life. the Apple dishes - my roommate was a young girl - about my dd's age! Her kitchen/dining room had apple decor. I had an enormous set of those dishes and used them for about 30 yrs! I was so tired of them. My kids were gone by then so i bought myself a corelle set for 4 that i love. I still have my MIL's good china and a set of dessert dishes. I thought those dishes should go to someone who would love and use them. It gave her plenty for when she had company to dinner - or the girls broke one or 2 - or 3 - lol! The silver serving pieces would be well used by her and i still have lots of them to leave to my kids. She is like a dd to me anyway. Her and her girls are on my list of those who will inherit. I'm already planning to send some of my jewelry their way since i no longer wear much of it. my youngest son has interest in our family history - he'll get those things. I already sent him my wedding band and his ggranddaddy's pocket watch. He said those were the best gifts he'd ever received.

You seem to know what you want to do with the fur coat. As long as you're comfortable with how you're using it, that is all it matters. As for myself, I feel creepy wearing real fur. I'm not comfortable wearing one at all. However, I am fine wearing certain type of leather such as cow or sheep leather. At an earlier post, someone posted that's all in the food chain. I disagree, we eat beef, pork, chicken, lamb, etc. but we normally don't eat beaver, chinchilla, etc.. So, if it's snake skin, leopard leather, etc.., those too I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it. That's just me though.