Lol Carol! Sorry, I was not there when they came, so no photos: ( Sassy, Thanks. I'm glad you are feeling better! Try to not do too much and stay healthy. Moonphase, I wintersowed the seeds for the osteospermum from a trade last winter. It is blooming pretty late, and I'm worried about seeds. They are in a big pot so though it would be a pain, I may bring the pot in and out until I get some seeds. I don't think I can overwinter inside, hmmm...maybe I'll google that! Marie, Thanks! It took me awhile to find seeds in trade. I saw them as potted plants last year in a nursery, and wanted seeds. This year I saw more of them for sale out and about, so I think next year they may be even more available. Remy

Not having personal experience, but in general, I would really think you want to be very aware of water damage... was the fire put out by the fire department, etc... not only the actual fire damage, but I imagine you might find water damage anyplace below.. If you have an estimate needed to fix, I would at least calculate a worst case scenario and price out how much it would be to demo. the place and build new. Better to do this now than halfway through your renovation, IMO. Good luck! Jay

Epressler - all I did to figure out which hardwood to get was learn which floors were the hardest (on the Janka scale), decide which colors I liked best, and then ask the owner of the hardwood store which brand he loved the best. He said that all the installers LOVE Owens Flooring, and it has a really thick face to it, so it can be re-sanded three times. It was a good choice, because out of 24 boxes, only two smallish pieces were not straight. Anyway, you asked about how many samples I looked at to get the right color - just two. Brazilian cherry has so many colors to it anyway, that the samples you get may be vastly different than what will be in the boxes. It's hard to believe that one type of tree can produce all those colors! But my goal wasn't to match the cabs to the floor - it was just how it happened, because I guess I really love that color of wood! Chitown_remodel - here is a picture of the backsplash without flash, and the mother of pearl tile is made by Olympia. Dianalo - your idea is brilliant. That is EXACTLY what we will do. Now here's a question, if you happen to ever read this (or anyone who has an opinion) - we already have a very pretty mirror above the fireplace in the great room. Should we move that to the mudroom and put a painting above the fireplace, or is it OK to have two mirrors? Msmagoo - I designed the kitchen myself, and I was helped out quite a bit because I used ideas I learned here on the kitchen forum. For instance, we have a cell phone charging drawer. It's nothing fancy, but it wouldn't have occurred to make one - I read about them on this forum. My ceilings are eight feet... and you might get sick if I told you how much we spent. I will say that I got great prices on the appliances and wood floor, and fair prices on other stuff. Here is a link that might be useful: Olympia's Boutique Collection, which includes the Mother of Pearl tile I used

Thank you all, dear friends, you're so kind. Nik, I'm glad you had a good storm. I just read the latest forecast for our region here, and it's predicted to be hotter and drier than normal, which is very bad news. However, we'll muddle through. Marlorena, the fact that I'm still able to water normally helps a lot, and all my pictures lately were taken when temps were low. I won't be whipping out my camera until this hot spell is over, that is for sure. Lisa, I know you're miserable in the heat and I hope you don't set foot outside. So sorry about your DdB, which seems very persnickety. No mildew on my DdB, and she's in a lot of shade. Something seems to be up with yours, although at least it's covered with blooms. Carol, I'm blushing, but at the same time so happy that my pictures give you pleasure. I'm afraid that showing the same few roses over and over will get boring, and I'll be happy when my youngsters have some blooms that are different. I always nip off the buds for at least the first year in the hope that this will hasten growth, but I know not everyone agrees it's necessary. I may give that a pass just to be able to enjoy different blooms.