We are responsible for our pets lives & sometimes for their death. We tell people not to hold on to your pet for you when they do not have a good quality of life. They do not know a tomorrow & that what they are doing through will not last forever. How would you like to think you would be in pain forever? Animals can hurt a lot & not show it because they don't want to appear weak to something stronger. It is very hard but staying with your faithful friend at the end is one of the last kind things you can do for them. Most vets will let you stay with & hold & comfort your pet after the final shot has been administered. In most cases, they just go to quietly to sleep & don't wake up again (but there are exceptions). I have bawled & blubbered over my animals (& my vet who is a sweetie) many times. Go ahead & cry if you feel like it, it's nothing to be embarrassed about when you love your pet that much. My Newf Abby is almost 11 & I am dreading the day I will have to make a difficult decision about her. It really sucks that your sister has a whole box of her own problems to worry about too. Linda

I guess possibly the best way for you to make your decision is what is best for you personally. This is obviously one of those topics that causes people to have strong opinions one way or the other. It is definite that it is your property and it should not have been done. On the same token, it could be on your dry-wall, built-ins that you happened to not even see, or the back of a tile. I'm not making light of this, but I suspect this happens more than "we" are aware. I would also feel that it was meant as a blessing & not look into studying the words too much. I would ask yourself, is this going to bother me in the future. Is having it permanently covered up still going to cause me discontentment, hostility or anger. Are you going to feel some sort of bad karma having it there? If so, then have someone come in and have it removed. I would also advise to be very careful if you "tell-on" the person who did the writing on your cabinets. Please be aware that he may get fired and lose his and his families source of income. What he did was wrong, but I would not be able to sleep at night knowing he lost his job (probably over doing something he felt was a blessing). I would rather see the FU writers get canned once. So, if you decide you can not live with it there, please move forward. If you just want him to know that others (in the future) might not be as "tolerant or nice about his writings." Is it possible you could just contact him & give him the warning, rather than have him possibly get fired. This will nonetheless give you a story to talk about for many years. I wish you the best with your build and hope you enjoy your new home.

Shoebox! Never feel "stuck" in that lovely small kitchen! Your kitchen is actually larger than mine (Steph2000 links to my kitchen above) and perhaps you might consider (as suggested above) a galley layout as well. Looking at your sketches it might be a good option for you. (1) I would create two galley aisles on the 10 foot walls (mine are only 8.75 feet long and my kitchen is only slightly wider at 6.75 feet). (2) Walking in your entry on the left, I would consider a corner sink (search GW I remember seeing a number of ideas) - or regular sink - under the window since you mentioned you can't move the sink to far. Next to that, an 18" DW (I measured my 18" Bosch open and your walkway looks like it could be wide enough) or a DW drawer with a drawer for storage under. The rest of that side could be wall cabinets up to the ceiling with lots of drawers and prep space. By the window, you could do open shelving to the ceiling for the wall cabinets to let in some light. I love your plants so you should try to keep your windowsill plants and have some fun there! Maybe build some small shelving under the window as well since it looks like you have a small bump out. (3) On the opposite side, I would have a 30" stove/oven or range (as you mentioned, smaller is harder to work with). I would also have a tall and skinny fridge (my Leibherr is 80" high and 24" deep - truly counter-depth). Depending on how you work around the kitchen, you could move the fridge and stove/oven/range around to suit your needs. Again, I would have cabinets to the ceiling on the walls (and over the fridge), and drawers, drawers, drawers. I also have a 9" pull-out pantry and a 6" spice drawer cabinet - don't be afraid to go small on the cabinets - they are truly functional. (4) Play around with your current entryway - with a galley (or U shape), you would have to readjust the location. We chose to widen ours to match the edge of our count-top and we cut-out an arch reaching to the edge of our wall cabinets on top. Although the space to walk is small compared to large kitchens (28 inches at the entry, then 30" inside the kitchen), it doesn't feel or look small. It also let's light filter in and out of the kitchen. (5) I think with your measurements you could also do a wrap-around U kitchen plan (also mentioned above) with the sink centered on the window wall or a corner sink under the window. You would then have 2 corners to work with, but the two remaining walls would still give you plenty of cabinet/appliance space. I played around with a U shape, but my long window made it very awkward. Here are some photos of my kitchen from today. I went to the farmers market and picked up our CSA share. My husband is also prepping for our hiking/canoeing camp so there are pans on the stove (sorry, not yet washed) and the dehydrator on the counter. There is plenty of room for all of this and more! Here is our window with open shelving and I am experimenting with some windowsill herbs.

need to know where you are ... second.. ALL PLANTS WILL SUNBURN ... when going from shade to sun ... so immediately ... watch for new growth in a mnoth or so.. and all that growth should be sun acclimated ... understand that almost all shade plants.. simply tolerate shade .... and actually grow with more vigor in sun ... the downside is.. in late summer.. they start looking ratty ... hosta is the perfect example ... they multiply and clump faster in sun ... but might look bad later ... frankly .... i would increase water .. add mulch ... and find out how it all works out.. before i went and started worrying about it.. or giving away plants ... in fact.. maples being the super water hogs they are.. you might be surprised how well things end up doing ... your annual begonia are probably not going to like full sun .. i wouldnt worry about perennials ... keep in mind.. full sun ... is more of a water issue.. than a light issue ... can a given plant.. pump enough water.. during the heat of the day ... to overcome potential damage ... we could more fully talk about hosta in the very active hosta forum ... just try to drown them .. in the root zone.. not by wetting the leaves alone ... if you are in the deep south.. ignore the above.. lol ... better water that grass also ... and now that the maple is gone.. that should eventually perk up also ... the plants are severely stressed.. not hungry.. fert is not an issue ... ken