Azaleas will drop some lower leaves. The plant in the picture looks green & healthy. Azaleas like dappled shade. Feed with an azalea fertilizer product in Spring/late Spring after they flower. Also at this time, prune to a rounded shape if desired. Also work some leaf mold or peat product or compost shallowly into the soil if desired. In Fall, start to apply 0-10-10 flowering fertilizer monthly until mid-Winter. Your watering seems maybe a bit much, but not a problem if your drainage is good. If grown in pots, these plants benefit from flushing (watering, letting the water drain, then watering again). This removes any salt build-up.

If you know yourself to be a 'wood finish' cabinet person, I wouldn't force yourself to go to painted just because it would 'look right.' You want to feel at home and like it's your room, not a stranger's kitchen that looks nice from afar. Although it's not necessary, including some painted sections or pieces can be fun. DH and I are definitely wood cabinet people, but we have some painted mixed into our kitchen and I love the combination and it's a nice change for me. And although I love them, it still wouldn't have been 'me' at all to have everything painted. The funny thing for me is that my inspiration kitchens were almost all painted white or cream. I just had to find what else there was about the rooms that spoke to my heart and try to emulate the overall feeling without the white paint. I think that if you take this out of the imagining stage and go look at flooring samples with cabinet samples, you can pick 2 things that both would be considered in the medium range, but that provide enough contrast from each other. Pcjs's suggestion for red oak, I think is a good one. Birch is another that is gorgeous and not too light, while being a good base for some pretty cabinets. There are so many choices and possible combinations. Don't despair. :-) Best wishes!

Oh my. I could put myself in you shoes Patti. I guess my saving grace is not knowing that much about using my computor. I have stuff saved everywhere on my computer, don't remember where I saved it or how to get to it. I told DH a long time ago to just put "she died of stuff" on my tombstone and it would still work now, just different "stuff". Sue I like the stenographer's notebook idea. I most often grab whatever is handy whether it's an envelope or a scrap of paper. When I first got married my most used cookbook was a stenograper's notebook. I called around to various people whose cooking I liked and got their recipes. I don't use my HUNDREDS of cookbooks much anymore...it's quicker to go to the internet. Marie-ndcal, so you think "going to be eighty" is motivation? Honey, I've been there and done that and it hasn't affected me yet! So, may I join the "club"? jude

I opened all the links. 1st, I would get well known faucets and not something I've never heard of. If they fail you want excellent warranties. I noticed that these faucets have a flat top. I have one lovely faucet with a flat top and it is always getting spots on it. A rounded spout will shed the water better between hand washing. I have to always keep a microfiber towel at the faucet and clean it up after each wash. My other traditional faucet from the same company is not like this with water spotting. Both are Chrome. 2nd, if it was me, I would stick to chrome, cheaper and more durable in the long run I believe. When I finish this text I am going to link to a sight I used before, because it has a lot of info on bathroom layouts, and faucets. Look around the site for help. I have no interest in this link other than it helped me when I was choosing faucets and planning my layout. 3rd, I know nothing of that toilet but it looks interesting with that flushing system. Keep us posted on that. 4th I put in my own warming floors and had DH help with the pour of self leveling compound (SLC) to imbed the wires. I did not use the matts because of expense. I just saw at Lowes that they now have a NEW Ditra uncoupling membrane that allows the insertion of the warming wires within the Ditra waffles. This, I believe would be great, as one wouldn't need SLC. You'd install the Ditra and then the wires within the Ditra, then tile. At least that is what I think is done. Ditra is a very respected uncoupling membrane. If you have a wood subfloor you will need an uncoupling membrane of some sort. If you go to the John Bridge Tile forum, you can ask all sorts of questions there. They are VERY knowledgeable like Mongo, Bill, and Stonetech are over here. I haven't seen Stonetech so much lately. He is over on John Bridge (but goes by a different name), as is Bill. You have to know all this stuff before you buy anything else :) There is more to learn and it is fun. Just don't go too fast or you will have over bought and over spent. There is a balance to be made with information and purchases. Faucet infromation, page one of two, see link at bottom of the page.