Yep, those are all common mistakes of newer growers. Most of us on this list have dealt with the same issues at some point. However, it seems growers need to actually makes these mistakes before they learn from them. But it is all part of the experience and hopefully, when we do experience these problems, they do not result in a complete loss off a growing season but maybe just a minor setback that we are able to recover from and still have a productive season. I am entering my third full season growing peppers and I know that I will wind up dealing with several new and different problems that I didn't experience in years past but I also know that some of the old problems will crop up too. And some of those will be self inflicted problems that I should have learned to avoid by now. Never-the-less, I am certainly looking forward to getting started with this coming season which is a month or so away for me still. I have a couple overwinter plants to keep me busy in the mean time. Bruce

I can't answer all your questions, but I can offer some advice based on my own experience. First, from what I can see in the pics, your roof doesn't look that bad. Nothing against the knowledgable neighbor, but if he isn't a contractor, appreciate what he has to say and seek professional advice. Don't give contractors the impression that you're worried about your roof falling in, because SOME may feed into your 'paranoia' for lack of a better term, and no offense intended by that comment. I'm saying this because I've had situations where we obtained quotes on tuckpointing our chimney, and of course there's one contractor out there who tries to scare us into thinking our chimney is going to fall down tomorrow and it better be rebuilt for a whopping $25k. We got it tuckpointed by another contractor for $300 who laughed when we told them about the other quote. I'm not implying that ALL contractors are dishonest, I'm just saying this was my experience with this particular contractor. If roofs weren't designed to support three layers of shingles, there wouldn't be an ordinance allowing this many layers on your roof in the first place. Three layers are the maximum allowable. I would also go around the neighborhood and ask for recommendations for a roofing contractor rather than just pulling out of the phone book. Go to your local church and ask them. Word of mouth, in my opinion, is best, and sometimes contractors who don't spend money on advertising costs have more reasonable, lower rates. Get several quotes, and compare them. The more you do your homework, you'll get a good feel for what the job is worth. ASK your contractor for references, and contact prior customers and ask them questions - would they have done anything differently, is there anything they could recommend that you wouldn't have thought to ask at the very beginning, etc. Submit all change requests in writing. Similarly, our roof was a three-layer complete tear-off, which of course is going to be pricier than just adding another layer of shingles. Be sure EVERYTHING they're replacing is written in the contract - flashing, gutters, etc. I'd recommend a 'ridge vent' for proper ventilation, not sure if this is standard these days?? I'm not sure what you mean by, 'You may as well open up the main ceiling to be vaulted as well'?? This could be a simple matter of adding more vents in your attic when the roof is replaced. Problem solved. If you need gutters replaced, now's the time to do it - you'll get a better 'package' deal, at least we did. I had some ill-placed gutters re-routed. Since our entire roof was a tear-off, we added a master bath rough-in for just maybe $800 extra, as we were only paying for lumber - the roof was already being torn off, so all they had to do was expand the frame. Can you expand the roof anywhere? Now's the time to do it! You can probably inspect the underlayment from inside your home yourself. Go around with a flashlight to check for signs of leaking. We were told our roof needed to be replaced as well, but we also saw signs of leaking and later found carpenter ants in our attic on the underlayer of original cedar roof shingles that were covered over. Not good. Also, for this reason, if there are any tree branches near your roof line, cut them away as carpenter ants will use this as a conduit to your roofline. They love moisture. Be sure to replace any rotting wood. We also used a pesticide in this area of our attic for the next two years just to be safe. From a financial standpoint, I would look into taking out a home equity loan for the roof fund, if feasible. Even if you don't do the roof now, you know that the funds are available in an emergency if necessary. When the time comes, be prepared that when the roof comes off, there will be less weight on your house, the house may have minor shifting due to less weight on the support beams, and you may or may not have very minor surface cracks in the walls afterwards (we have an old 1920's home), but nothing major that simple patching won't cover over. If you use your attic for personal storage, competely cover your belongings with tarps or remove EVERYTHING and store elsewhere until the roof is done, and plan on using a shop vac when the job is done - nails, dust, etc. Prior to the start of the job, clear areas in your attic so the contractor can properly inspect the roof from the interior as a precaution to locate potential weak spots. They'll appreciate that and I'd imagine they recommend it for their own safety. Cover ALL plantings outside. The contractors will do their best to discard all materials on tarps, but it's inevitable that you will find nails and refuse on your lawn and in your plantings. Don't let them talk you into storing a dumpster on your driveway. It will become so heavy you risk cracking your driveway, and residential driveways aren't designed to hold all that weight. You may have to pay a little extra to have a dumpster on the city street, and of course a permit may be required depending on your municipality, but I'd insist on it and pay the extra $. Lastly, be good to your contractors and they'll be good to you. We supplied them with a cooler of refreshments (they were on the roof on the hottest days of the summer - talk about hard workers). They don't like to be watched over, it makes them nervous and you don't want a nervous contractor trying to balance their footing on your roof. Our contractors didn't like the fact that our neighbor plopped himself out there everyday on a lawn chair and watched them from dawn to dusk. Ugh. That's another story! Very important - you should obtain a lien waiver from your contractor when final payment is submitted. This is especially important if you are working with a company who subcontracts their work. THEY are responsible for paying the subcontractor as part of your original contract agreement, not you. Good luck!

This is probably not what you want to hear, but speaking as someone else with puny digs who is going through this myself, you may need to work a wee bit on adjusting your thinking process. With the average tiny little house usually about the only way you're going to get "airy and spacious" is with major construction. :-) This is a big problem we small-house folks have to tackle because the rooms in the magazines and TV shows are almost always large and usually very open simply to make it easier to film/photograph, but the usual advice to look at these resources for inspiration often puts this unconscious bee in our bonnets that that's what WE'RE supposed to want and it fosters dissatisfaction and frustration. This is exasperating, to say the least! So maybe you can review those photographs and try to pick out exactly what the specific elements are that you're getting the biggest charge from - is it pale colors, is it fluttery lightweight window treatments, is it slipcovered furniture? - and see how you can incorporate those elements into the space you have rather than trying to make it into something it physically cannot be. Oddly enough, I have the absolute opposite reaction to the "mega-mirror" practice as bronwynsmom does - instead of visually expanding the space, I think it makes a small room look even MORE cluttered and too-much-enough-already, since what's already there has now become twice as much stuff! Although she's 100% right about using fewer, somewhat larger items (but still in scale to the room - we had to relocate a couch and chair we already had and really liked when we moved in here because they are out of proportion with the small space, too massy and squatty, and we're probably going to have to get rid of them when we can afford to replace them) instead of a whole slew of small things. This is especially important IMO when it comes to artwork. So many people are afraid of putting a big piece of art in a small room so they put up some weenie little bits and bobs around instead "so it doesn't overpower the room", which ends up looking very timid. One of my biggest decorating pet peeves is a wall with one little 8x10" framed something-or-other stuck in the middle of it - argh! I like framing several smaller things in one biiiig frame using mats with multiple openings so it has more oomph, but doesn't look as cluttery as just hanging a bunch of separately-framed little things together (which takes a knack to do right).

Laurie, how big is your room? Our living room is long and narrow, 23 x 12 and the sliding door and window are at opposite ends of the room. We put a double rod up to test different drapes with and the thin rod & small sized finials, were so small they looked out of proportion in our room. The larger sized rod is 1 1/4 inch and the larger round finial is about the size of a baseball. They give more presence over all and look like they'll be more proportionate for our room. My DH is putting them up as we speak, so tomorrow I can post a photo for you. Btw, I also brought home that adjustable rod from BB&B, it was junk and we opted not to go that route. In regards to the extenders if I remember correctly your windows were smaller than ours which is 57 inches across. If you buy a rod meant for the size of your window you won't need to worry about extenders as everything you'll need should already be provided in box.