Perhaps in the climate the link originated in, that method works. From over thirty years of actually doing it in MINE, not reducing water stress on any plant whose roots have been significantly disturbed, damaged or reduced is a sure way to severely impact the plant. Leaving the original top growth when the roots have been reduced results in loss of canes and foliage, perhaps even the failure of the plant in this climate. I would venture to suggest it might in others with the sun intensity, heat and accelerated transpiration rates similar to this one. If I transplant a four foot bush with only about a foot and a half of roots without reducing the top appropriately, this heat, sun and transpiration rate will induce the plant to wilt and begin eliminating foliage, softer growth and in many cases, harder, woodier canes until it re establishes roots to balance the tops to the bottoms. Cutting the top back to about the same mass as the root ball, keeping it well watered, even shading it with sheets, old tee shirts, cardboard boxes or soil, either as a mound over the remaining plant or held in place with a cylinder of cardboard until new growth begins showing, brings them through every time. IF transplanting can be accomplished during a period of sufficiently long rain, reducing the top growth isn't as critical. The lower temps, reduced sun intensity, higher humidity and the regular bathing by the rain maintains the moisture in the plant, tremendously reducing (even eliminating) the water stress. The provided link is from Washington State with their greater humidity, rain, reduced sun and transpiration rates. When the weather here is similar to that, I don't have to prune many roses and other plants to transplant them because of the conditions. Most of the time, it is NOT like that here and not reducing the top to match the bottom will jeopardize the plant. If the poster's conditions mimic those of Washington State's, perhaps they don't need to reduce the top to mitigate the negative effects of cutting off so many roots. But, if the conditions aren't similar to that rainy, cooler, damp, cloudy type, I personally wouldn't risk it. Kim

Can you draw a sketch of the general building area--the road, driveway, garage, outbuildings, and how you would orient your present house plan? I spent a little time this afternoon looking at your plans and trying to think of how to improve them, but I keep getting stopped at the thought of all of that hot sun in the summer. The screened porch just seems to be on the wrong side to be useful. We had a deck on our previous unshaded south side, and from about 10 a.m. to dusk it was too hot to be out there in the summer due to the heat radiating off the floor boards. We now have a patio facing NW, but we took down 4 trees to open up the back yard some more and the SW sun on the pavers makes it impossible to use the patio from about noon to 4 p.m. Now that the lower branches on the adjacent trees have space to grow, we will have shade on the patio again in the not too distant future. I think that you will use the front porch the most. Ours faces SE so it is cool at all times of the day. Also, the prevailing summer breeze is usually from the SW, so it blows across the porch. Have you had a screened porch before? We thought about whether to include one, but decided that the summer would be too short and too hot to get much use out of it, and the spring and fall would be too cool most of the time, and therefore we put our money into other parts of the house instead. Seems like a year round sunroom would be more useful. But maybe since you're home all day, things would be different for you. I know you specifically haven't asked for comments on the other half of the house, but I hope that you won't mind if I make a few. When I think of a farm, I think of dirty work boots coming in. Is the office for your husband to use to keep track of the farm, or is that elsewhere? Will he be coming in with his dirty clothes directly to the laundry, or will he be using the powder room? If any of these are true, I would not want the dirt in the hall to the MBR or main living area. I'd want the laundry, powder room and office with doors opening into the mudroom. When we were building our house (we were owner-builders), we were a mess at the end of each day. We were renting a house that had a huge mudroom/laundry with a bathroom with shower right next to it. It opened off the garage and the driveway and we were able to keep the mess there and not transfer the dirt, sawdust, etc. into the rest of the house. For layout purposes and traffic flow, I think I prefer the first plan. Since you're home with 2 children, you must be in the kitchen a lot. Do you can things in the summer/fall? Do you store a lot of things from shopping or gardening? Do you have other family members visit a lot? Could you put some measurements on the screened porch, kitchen, and dining area in the first plan? There should be enough space to improve the kitchen here. Anne

Yes I was saying to consider 2 fixtures. I would want some nice bright light for working. I might consider seeded glass fixtures also. If you always will have the table there and with all the leaves in place, then you can bring down to a lower height than if you need to be able to walk under the fixtures. Something like this below. Although I would probably look for one that offers higher wattage with more than 1 bulb. Here is a link that might be useful: pottery barn fixture

"Veering: I think Costco , SAMs, etc can be a quick trip to a fat farm, or a poor house," Yes, if you're an impulse shopper and/or haven't done your homework regarding what works and what doesn't in your family. Just like shopping anywhere, IMO. I love Costco even in a household of 1 person, but I know what I want and don't want, what I'll use and won't use, etc. I buy things that will store well and I will use up (things like dishwasher detergent, garbage bags, contact lens solution, body lotion, batteries, etc). Outsized packaging is something I figured out easily how to deal with back when I had a little kitchen with awkward shelves (2 kitchens ago), and I decant many things (from white vinegar to baking flour) into reusable jars. To each his/her own -- I'm more likely to be an impulse buyer at Home Depot than I am at Costco.