I thought it would be fun, since Trish is coming today, to talk about decorating styles.

When I first married, as a child of 20, I liked the country style. My mother and I pored over country magazines, everyone we could find. I collected teddy bears and tried every handcraft there was, which I shamelessly displayed in our first loft apartment. My poor honey, 21 and with teddy bears all over the house. At least they weren't pink. But everything that I could find in country blue, I bought. Remember the wooden ducks with the bent heads looking down? Had those. Scherenschnitte was displayed in cheap frames from Michael's. Every weekend Mom and I would go shopping, and something else was added. In the fall, there were arts and crafts shows, and my favorite purchase was a pair of Amish dolls. So I had a collection of things Amish, too.

You can imagine how cluttered, and what fun to clean.

We moved into a second apartment, smaller than the first, and I had to cut out the teddy bears.

Then we moved into a house that we rented. Around this time I decided I liked the southwest style. I had a cactus cookie jar, southwestern print curtains, everything in peach and dusty green. Wooden coyotes, strings of jalapenos, you name it, I had it.

When we moved into this house, I was tired of dusting. Plus, we have a sun room off the back. Perfect for garden decorating. So, currently, I have glass terrariums, gazing balls, watering cans, garden statues, bird houses, etc. I probably have more of these than the other stuff, but at least now it's all spread out.

Before I go, I have to tell you the dream I had. I dreamed Monique Patterson (St. Martin's Press, right? That's the spotlight I listened to yesterday) called me at work and was talking to me about DLB, and how excited she was to read it. Now, meanwhile, my kids are on their own, and a group of people from main office come in and are making notes on my class, and I'm not in there because I'm on the phone with an editor who might buy my book, and I just knew I was going to get in trouble, but what could I say? Then Monique kind of disappeared (I think she was reading the book when she was talking to me) so I hung up and prayed she'd call back, and went into my class. I didn't get in trouble, but I knew I was going to. What a way to wake up!

Okay, I've got to go. It's almost 6:30, I'm not dressed, haven't made lunch or done one last straighten, and I have duty today!