I'm beginnin' to think I'm gettin' too old and worn out to keep waitin' for nice girls... Like Pink Floyd in "The Wall," I think "I need a dirty woman!" But if most of that dirt's under her fingernails from gardening while listening to NPR, I'll be right happy, too! :) Oh, as for bluegrass, Dianne, LOVE instrumental bluegrass... not particularly fond of MOST vocal music in most any genre, with a few exceptions, such as Enya, Pink Floyd, Yes, early Kansas and some of Mellencamp's stuff... Aerosmith... quite a few, when you break it down, BUT not nearly so much as most folks, who seem to think a song ain't a song without a singer... and I don't wanna start a war here, but I didn't think so in the 60s and 70s, and I STILL don't think Fogerty could carry a tune in a bucket. He sounds like an out-of-tune SOMETHING being played by someone in GREAT pain to me... besides, he never lived anywhere CLOSE to a bayou... Want bayou songs, listen to Jerry Reed :) I want a good-quality DVD of the Francis Ford Coppolla/Philip Glass collaboration, "Koyaanisqatsi," which is like a 90-minute minimalist classical music/hopi Indian music video, very slow moving and rythmic at times, followed by some fast-paced movements and.... well, you'd just have to see it... Takes patience to watch it if you don't like this sort of thing. I rented it on videotape way back when it was new, in the mid-80s, but the sound and picture quality weren't up to the standards I'm pretty sure I'd see on a DVD... Some of it is breathtakingly scary, such as the one tranquil beach setting that suddenly turns to something altogether different. Of course I could listen to the Philip Glass soundtrack most any time... Have yet to hear the Glass I don't like and I consider him the most important "modern" classical composer of the second half of the 20th century -- at least that I've heard... He still does interviews and such on NPR sometimes, too... and seems like just a regular guy... still teaches, composes and conducts. There's so much out there so many people don't even know if they like or not, because they never get exposure to it... Hope some of y'all will click on the link to Philip Glass' website. Musically yours, Jeff Here is a link that might be useful: Philip Glass

I am taking a year long class at my Pfaff dealer that is a block per month sampler. We are supposed to be adding the sashing, batting, backing & quilting each completed block as homework. (I am a tad behind in my homework). Sometime in the fall we will be completing this quilt from this QAYG method. In addition to the QAYG method, we learn vastly different blocks - we are currently using Marti Michell books and templates on the harder level blocks. I do not know how the actual quilt gets finished, but have googled QAYG. I do know the instructor designed this quilt for her classes, and her quilt is very nice. I will report back on this method after I finish the project. So far it appears to be a great method for making a very large quilt.

Hi Rebecca! I love Scabiosa as well, they really add to the cottage garden look! I was going to buy a few the beginning of July, but decided to pass until I see how the current residents fill out next year. The corner I'm trying to fill in is all wild bush at the moment! It's the very corner of my lot, and my little ones use the path that goes through it to get to the bus. It's backed by a tree line, and has a lot of shade except one corner, which gets full sun. I'll put a picture in, of the area :) I have a post on here somewhere asking about larger rose bushes that will do in that specific spot (lots of wind, very cold etc) ...I've been given so many wonderful ideas from members I'm having a hard time choosing now! This is the area :) it goes further along to the left, about 15-20ft Where the small sapling is on the right, is where the single rose bush will go. There's a path in there somewhere as well, although it's not visible from this angle :) The lower hanging branches and smaller saplings along the tree line will be removed in fall, along with all the weeds! (Hahaha) To the back, we're planting Annabelle Hydrangeas, Hosta, Astilbe & Ostrich Fern (there's about 4 hours of light there) Next layer in more light (5hrs) will be low growing catmint, lupine, allium, tulips, daffodils, etc. We're trying to fit in a clematis or two, but I'm not sure where yet :) I need some pinks and reds in there.

For some reason I am no longer able to add photos, nor can I edit old posts; that kind of stinks. Winter doesn't get very cold here, there is rarely some frost or a little snow, but it's not common, nor does it last long. I'm not planning to do anything to winterize this pond. A large part of its appeal is the adaptation and evolution of the system; from that perspective, the only reasonable winter plan is to let anything that can't stand the conditions die, and something else grow in to fill the niche. I think the overall oxygen level is slowly but steadily improving. It's been a long while since I've found a fish corpse. Not only that, the minnows (adults and fry both) are cruising lower in the water, they aren't skimming just below the surface all the time anymore. I suspect adding the sand and gravel is helping that, in two ways: the decomposition cycle is starting to find a stable balance point, no longer robbing oxygen in big bursts; and some of the anacharis has anchored itself to the bottom, where any oxygen produced by photosynthesis must be exchanged into the water, not the air.