In zone 8, I would put it in the ground and mulch it heavily. If it was growing in your area I'll assume that its hardy there. Let the cold kill the leaves back and then use them as natural insulation around the trunk (bend them after they freeze back) then wrap frost cloth or a blanket around the trunk if there is going to be a freeze. If the trunk gets hit by a freeze (turns to mush) cut the mushy part off and continue wrapping. Your main goal is to protect the trunk as much as possible, if you don't cut the mushy part of the trunk off it will spread down and rot more of the trunk. I have photos I could email you of mine and what I'm doing with them (I have about 50 in the ground) I am in the same zone as you.

I'm not necessarily good in the poem department but I have an idea for your ornaments. That is, print out pics of your family members, your folks' friends, etc. and glue them onto cardstock with a few embellishments, and punch a hole in the top for a piece of yarn, etc. as a hanger. Another idea is, you and your sibblings and especially the grandchildren write something on the back of the cardstock with their pic on it in gold/silver magic marker and I'm sure your folks would just be thrilled with joy that they can decorate their new tree with familiar faces and writings from the heart! You could make the topper star out of thicker cardstock and write in glitter or just plain marker, something like ".... Family Christmas Tree." Walmart has a great selection of cardstock/scrapbooking stuff at reasonable prices. Buy a "booklet" of Christmas cardstock (Joann's Fabric & Craft store carries these and their on sale right now). There'd be enough cardstock in one of those books for everyone to get enough for all their family members. They'd coordinate on the tree also. Cut the cardstock in winter shapes - trees, glass ornaments, ice skates, sleds, snowballs, etc. Trace the hands of the grandchildren onto colored construction paper, cut them out and take digital photos of them, upload them to your computer and then downsize them to fit on the cardstock when you cut them out. A good size for the pics to fit onto premade hang tags is 2.25 width by 3.75 height. You don't need an expensive computer photo program to do this, just use your Word program. When you paste a pic on a piece of paper in word, click on the photo and a black lined box will appear around it. From there, click on the little "moveable" edges and downsize it to the correct height and width. Make your "ruler" appear on the page for easy sizing. Regular tacky glue like Elmer's glue is watery and runny for paper crafts (the pic will buckle), get a glue stick or use double-sided tape to put on the back of the pics to attach to the cardstock. Here are pics of some Christmas cards I made recently to give you an idea of what you can do. Hope this helps you. Sal

I mentioned the borders to dh this morning and he likes the idea. Each of the long sides is about 14'. The shot side is about 10'. The other short side is there the 'bridge' is. I'll look at it tonight with dh and see what we can work out. As far as the layout of the living room. As the furniture is now. Looking at the back of the chairs, you are stading by the dining table and behind you, the kitchen. That opening is about 10' wide. Still looking at the back of the chairs, next to the chairs is the couch. And in front of it is the fireplace and the stairs that lead to the upstairs. The couch is about 12 feet long. I would love if it could put the couch where you could see the back, but it is just too big. We did every arrangement we could think of when we first got it so that we wouldn't have to close off the door way (the blank wall that is now behind the couch). Just to give you a little background of the house. When you stand looking at the back of the chairs, you are standing where the carport used to be. We added about 40' to the end of the house about 6 years ago, doing most of the work ourselves. So that is why the layouts ended up a little strange. The now TV area used to be the dining room and kitchen.

Since you want a home in this neighborhood pretty badly, that means your demand is high. And right now, this home in the only one in this neighborhood, plus it's the only one on your list that has a layout that's particularly good for you, which means your supply is low. That means a higher price--but maybe not $270k. I'd say do this: Get them your appraisal number in a way that is credible (not just you on the phone). Suggest that if this number troubles them, that they ask an appraiser of their own choosing to give them his/her opinion; if they balk, offer to pitch in toward the price. Then put together your rationale for the price, much the way marys1000 suggested, to show that the $240k mark is fair. Give them the most recent comps you can find, etc. Then, also point out why they'd benefit from a sale now (market is slow most places, and not near the bottom yet from a national point of view; no broker fee, no advertising, no showings, whatever closing length you're willing to give them, etc.). And, if they invest the cash they walk away with, how much would they make between now and March? But don't make the offer yet--ask them to ponder those issues for a day. THEN offer them $250k, *IF* you can swing the mortgage/downpayment combo w/ the bank. Because, as I said, your individual supply/demand relationship is not the same as the rest of the world's, and they KNOW this. Plus, you said in your letter "top dollar"--not "fair market value." Your initial offer being slightly higher than the appraisal will hopefully take the sting off the lower appraisal and maybe prevent them from seeing you, suddenly, as "those folks out to take advantage of us." And paying over the appraisal can certainly be viewed as "top dollar." if you're willing to go up to $270k, keep that in abeyance until you need it.