Ditto Sable and Pesky. I don't like to use pesticides. We do have termite treatment every 10 years and whatever they use at the perimeter of the house must deter insects because we rarely get them in the house. We are seeing some red ants right now I think because of the heat and dry conditions, then just this past week we have had a good bit of rain. I don't like pesticides in the house because of the pup - and us too. Bumble - that is how I grew up. My parents and grandparents shared acerage and there are only about 5 other homes in their area. We are still rural here but less acreage (about 1.5). Where we are located we do still have the occasional deer, fox, etc. and plenty of rabbits, squirrels and birds. Re the hummingbirds, we are not seeing them as much this year. I wonder if it is due to our weird weather. They started coming around early but now I am hardly seeing them. Okay - in for a break, back outside! tina

I don't know how people deal with five to six month winters. Having a garden room attached to the house would be a necessity for me, to keep from going nuts. I wish I knew where I saw the pictures of a working greenhouse in really frigid climates, growing veggies like zuccini in the winter, and tomatos as well, and only a step through a doorway to reach it. They built a good foundation, of course, and oriented it properly to keep it from baking in the warmer weather, brief though it might be. I'm still a big fan of heavy duty shade cloth, much more useful in south Alabama than it would be up north. I'm once again thinking about shading my poor blueberry plants from the searing heat of this drought. The picture you show of the sunroom and the wrought iron lace chair and table remind me of old southern style. I found such a table and chairs at a salvage yard, and for now it is up in Massachusetts waiting to move south later this year. Let me see if I can find a picture of it for you. Your picture of the Sarah Richardson style kitchen is always an inspiration. For my kitchen, I've copied the way she has cabs built above the French door fridge, but not full height cabs on either side. Just low ones. I want windows on either side if at all possible. But we'll see how much storage space we have. About looking skinny, my MoccasinLanding kitchen was 11 x 17. I kept it from looking skinny by eliminating wall cabs on the long dimension, and having wall cabs on the narrow ends. I had a rolling small m/wave cart as an island with a pot rack overit, on a pulley to raise out of the way as needed, and I put a short bar in an L-shape near the cook top, enough room for 2 stools, the bar was regular counter height not the 42" height, and had no backsplash at all. I also installed on the long walls open shelving which let me store things there, but did not close in the walls as solid wall cabs would do. Those photos from 2003-4 are on another computer I believe, unless I run across the CD I transferred them to. That was the biggest kitchen I ever had, and it had its problems but I liked it.

nkkp-No idea about the title being marketable and insurable, but will make sure to ask. Not something I'm familiar with. I do plan on doing a title search and get title insurance. My parents are giving me a mortgage so not sure if that would make any difference about the title being marketable and insurable??? I appreciate you giving me a heads up about this though. sailorman, thanks for your input. A hutch type piece may be a good addition on that one wall. You mentioned putting up a fan in place of the exhaust that's there - but what about the rest of that area? I have a piece in my current house but I don't think it would go, but I'm sure I could find something. Trust me, if we make an offer on this house and get it, I'm going to be thinking good and hard about everything - it will probably be an obsession from the moment I put in the offer!!! plllog - thanks for the laugh, I too went oye! So it's not an actual pass-through - is it actually a peninsula? Personally, I like just a regular stove with the back panel - not this flat looking thing. Not sure about those posts being structural or not, someone would have to tell me. I've seen pictures of other kitchens that have those posts while others have nothing on that end, so really not sure. I'll definitely look in to Circuspeanuts post - sounds interesting. I like funky, but I think I'll probably just stick with something a bit more subdued - my mind says funky but my age would say otherwise. I think the countertops aren't in bad condition, they're just white, plain and blah! Will double check tomorrow when I go again. I thought, if I did keep the cabinets, a tan colored countertop (granite or similar) would be nice - would lighten up not only the cabinets, but the darker floor as well. Thanks for all your ideas! desertsteph, there will be a table on the other side of that "peninsula" as it will be the only place to put a table to eat. Since it's just the two of us, we'll keep it to a small table that we can expand when company comes, but this is the only "dining area" we have in this house - not sure why it was built like this (lets not mention the staircase that's in the living room going up to the attic!) I need all the cabinet space I can get. My current home has a LOT and while I want to downsize, I don't think I can downsize that much. Def. cabinets in the laundry room - can't remember how big that area is, but hoping it can be both a mudd room and a laundry room. I'm hoping they'll accept my offer if I should decide to go ahead with it - they may laugh me right out of the office though. lilyfreak, can you post pics when you're done, please??? rjr220-I too thought about possibly putting the fridge where the pantry would be, but honestly, I forgot how wide that area is and if there's a door there, or a solid wall and if there's even room to stand in front of that space and be able to open a fridge door while standing in front of it, but will look tomorrow and measure as well. I think that wall that juts out may be the garage - my age and mind aren't letting me remember - when looking at so many homes, your mind goes to pure mush! I like the idea you gave of putting the stove where the fridge was - will look at options tomorrow. Well, I'm going to see the house again tomorrow morning and then will (hopefully) make a decision on which way to go. My offer may be so low that I don't get it and all this will be for naught, but better I go in with some type of ideas than none at all. I plan on taking more pictures and measurements as well. Will definitely post an update along with more pictures when I get back and can get some computer time. What's the opinion on building a pantry along the wall where the countertop is - nothing as deep as a cabinet, maybe around 12-14" deep - I have a huge one at home that I keep my food and cookbooks in (not that I cook, mind you) Any ideas for the area where the dining table would be. That area actually leads out to the backyard, so it would also serve as a walkway, so I really can't have anything more than a table I think. The view when you walk in the front door goes through the living room straight to this eating area - the pic below shows the french doors that go to the backyard from that eating area - the doorway you see way in the background is the front door, so it's a straight beeline from the front door to these double doors right through that eating area. I don't recall the size of this area, maybe 10x11, but again, will double check tomorrow. The other side of the eating area, across from the peninsula is what we consider the den - the owners, for some reason put a big opening in the wall - makes no sense to me, and I'd definitely close it up. The 2nd pic below is this patio/sunroom that needs major help, but those are the doors from the eating area that leads out to this, again, some major help is needed in this area!!!! If anyone comes across any ideas on the web, or has/had a kitchen like this they are renovating, would LOVE to see pictures. Will be updating soon. I'm a firm believer, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be - should I not get this house there will be something else. THANKS ALL!!!!!

For three days now, I have been seeing a rather large spider crawling across the top shelf of my computer desk. I haven't tried to catch it to put it outside, because grabbing among all the stuff on the shelf would result in a disaster. It must be difficult to go through life fearful of bugs, spiders, snakes, etc. I don't have that fear, in fact for the most part I find them fascinating, and in the case of spiders, when practical, adopt a live and let live attitude. My mother was the same, as is my sister and my children. But in my husbands family, they all are more fearful. So I am wondering if a persons feelings about such things are inherited or perhaps learned.