Thanks, Phil and Anita. Can you believe, it's actually zone 4 here, bordering on 5 (most z5 plants will grow fine due to the heavy snow cover in the winter) but there's that much difference in the seasons! And thank you too, Ken. I think you're right. Would you be more likely to believe it's montana Aureomarginata rather than Paradigm? Somehow, I think the tags may have gotten mixed.

Oh my..... It is beautiful there! Great quilts, ladies! I so want to go to one of these some day.... I am thinking about attempting a 'stained glass' quilt. Several years ago, I drew up & cross stitched nine different flowers that were growing in my gardens for a lap quilt. I think I will do the same for this one. Tutorials on that and the fabric boxes would be wonderful! With all I have to finish this weekend, they will just have to go to my 'want to do' list. :) Hope everyone has a great time and thanks so much for sharing your experience with us! Marie PS Those mice snack's are adorable!

Joan, your pictures are beautiful, as usual! I just read that sunspot activity is about as low as it has ever been so there's not much chance for northern lights right now. In more active years we used to see them often in August and September over Minnesota lakes. I'm in Florida now and miss them so much! Kate

Our local PBS Animal Health store sells them, very sleek gray colored ones. I happened to be in the store one day when a couple came in with two dogs. One dog is very scared of storms plus extremely insecure anywhere public and the owners thought perhaps a Thundershirt would help. The staff put a Thundershirt on the dog, and it was like magic. The dog stopped shaking, hesitant at first, but then began walking up and down the aisles with confidence. The owners stood with mouths agape. The dog didn't appear uncomfortable with the tight fitting shirt, I thought it made her walk a little stiffly but that could have been just because she was still unsure.