loribee, I finally got a chance to snap and upload some living room photos. Here is the after, which I just love: In the second photo, the Pier One table has the small lamp and Jerusalem Pottery on it. That, and the sofa pillows and rug are the only purchase I made. (sorry I didn't straighten up the throw pillows before taking the picture,) I am not going to "stick" something on the wall over the table. I am going to look over the next year or 2 and try to find something, maybe on vacation next year. Good news is the old boiler thermostat was there. Last year we put in new AC, and they moved all the controls upstairs. So I finally got to yank off and patch the wall where that was. It drove me crazy trying to hide it with something. I couldn't find any good pictures of the before. But before the TV was where the Pier One table is now. So the sofa was between the 2 french doors (and it was too long to look good there). And the leather club chairs and ottomon were on the front window wall. Very awkward to watch TV, because you were not facing it, and had to turn your head. It was hard to see the fireplace, and the room was lined up like a bowling alley. And it had a very large very burgundy rug that just sucked up the light from the north-facing room with 1 window. I honestly can't believe that this looks and feels and functions so much better just by making these small changes. And in case anyones is wondering, the cabinet holding the TV is a sideboard. We removed the lower drawer, drilled a hole through the back for cords, and put the cable box and internet through there.

I'm 54 and I feel old. It's my attitude and I know it's not a good one. I used to look a lot younger than my age. Ever since I went Hypothyroid I have noticed I'm aging a lot faster. I have an appointment with an eye doctor on Monday. Just in the last few months my upper lids have drooped. My eyes seem swollen and watery and they are always red. I'm hoping it's allergies but this just came about recently. It could be Thyroid. I saw Christie Brinkly on T.V. the other day. She is 55 and looks like she's 30. I try to keep a mental picture of her in my mind. Whenever I'm feeling old I think of her and tell myself, "If Christie can look young so can I". Yesterday I was shopping for a face primer in Sephora. A young salesgirl tells me, "here try this, my mom uses it and loves that it covers fine lines and wrinkles". That didn't help at all. Donna

3z3z3 - a separate post on kitchens would get you more help. if you want to set things up more for handicap/injury use be sure to post that. any of us can get an injury that will cause mobility problems at any time. about 14 yrs ago now (wow... that long ago?) I broke my knee cap. that was painful... and painful to move around. and I'll tell you it was painful to get down/up on/from the toilet. horrible pain. we don't normally realize how much weight / use we need from our hips, thighs, legs to do these normally simple normal life things. when I moved to my new place I did what I could to make things easier for me now and in the future. it started with it having a tubless shower. no more climbing over a tub edge! that's made a world of difference for me! I put in levers on doors and changed a floor (nice one too) that had a too high lip on it from the hallway and DR area. and have plans to change out the bathroom / kit faucets to 1 lever handle. I had some vinyl plank flooring put in cause I do fall frequently (more than normal people) and wanted a softer landing. also, if there's a leak, it'll be easier for me to pull up so subfloor doesn't stay soaked. no cabinet handles with sharp ends and at least a 1.25" projection - also at least 5" long. plenty of room for getting my fingers in/around the handle. the no sharp ends is in case I do fall, nothing sharp to hurt me. I also made sure the place was big enough that I could get around with a walker or wc. I have plans to have 1 lower cabinet changed to drawers in the kitchen (it doesn't have many cabs anyway). I do have a good sized pantry off the side of the kitchen where I could keep more things if necessary. and a ramp is in the back of my mind. unless something rushes it, it'll probably be 2 yrs or so down the road. I have 4 steps in/out any ext doors. I recently bought an AF to use instead of the oven (mostly). some of that is that I'm single and what I use the oven for is usually very little. I also bought a 1 pot cooker (3.5 qt) so I could hopefully use less 'pots' for cooking and not use the stove. this pot will cook something for the time set and then go to 'warm'. if I doze off or forget about it, it won't burn anything up like the stove burner would. I'm also considering an induction hot plate for when I do want/need an actual burner. I think it's less likely to cause a fire than my electric coil stove top burner. I can't remember when I ever had need of more than 1 burner. I lived in the old place 14 yrs with a 1 burner hot plate and survived nicely. Then i'll probably just detach the coils and cover the top - maybe with a piece of SS.

@Kathy Harrington No one with the HOA was ever given a proposal with the driveway aprons combined like this into one large one. To be fair, this neighbor has done a few, less in your face things, without asking and the HOA has not done anything about it so "why not try one more thing and see if the HOA cares" might have been thought. I don't know. I've reached out to them, but they have not replied yet. We knew they were going to be close and that they might have to touch near the road, but not all the way down the apron. That was never proposed to the HOA or to me. It was a surprise for me when I came home from vacation. Concrete was still wet then. I couldn't get in the driveway or see what was under what was covering it. I had agreed to pay the concrete man to re-pour my apron and lift it where it was sunken. I was never asked if I wanted anything like this. That would have been a fast no. When I came home and saw the concrete man I told him then that the HOA would never allow this. He said he would come back if needed.