There is a stunning combination in Christopher Lloyd "Color for Adventurous Gardeners" page 39. In the picture are fuschia purple garden Phlox, bright orange asiatic lilies, orange/red Helenium, chrome yellow Euphorbia & some Allium seed heads. Maybe if you try bright orange lilies, something yellow and the new Helenium that Bluestone is offering......I might throw in a few Larkspur seeds as well.... :-) Gorgeous lantern, by the way. What a find.

We never freeze here, and have winter days up into the 60's, so any moisture in a pot while they are dormant makes them a real brewing ground for rot. When I was new at this, I just left them in the rain for the first 3 years I grew them and didn't worry. They did fine! Then one wet winter 1/2 my 90 pots rotted. In UT, I imagine once things get frozen they don't thaw till Spring. It is the freezing/thawing/freezing/thawing that often messes them up. The rules are just guidelines. Be happy you have conditions that allow you to grow hostas so easily. Be wary, tho, only your most prized, most expensive ones will bite the dust. -Babka

"For several years after I first moved in I had bubble wrap on the bedroom windows. In many ways it was an ideal window covering: light filtering but private, cleanable with Windex, perforated at regular intervals for a good fit. And recyclable as a packing material. I haven't been able to sell this idea to anyone else though." After a year and a half in our new house, we still have temporary blinds in the master bath. Another one that has to be breaking rules...I have one counter stool in the kitchen. We don't entertain much and there is only one of us that would be using the stool at any given time (laptop). I decided to buy one, that was really nice, instead of two or four, that were cheap.

@funkycamper, I just tried a layout with the sink centered in front of the window again. It won't work. The sink is so long, there isn't enough space to include the stove along the same exterior wall, unless I want to live with just 12 inches of countertop space on either side of the stove (I don't - I need wider storage space underneath). And I think it would look strange to have the sink off center in front of the window, which is the only way it would work. The good news is, when I walk through the doorway from the dining room, the stove would be visible right away. I wouldn't be able to see it while SITTING in the dining room, though. But I intend for everything in my kitchen to be beautiful, so I'm not particularly concerned about which piece is visible in the doorway.