/David Too funny that you don't like the taste of papaya fruit and grew one anyway. I guess that's the mark of a true lover of plants. Try eating papaya with some fresh lime juice squirted on top - it's key! Thanks for sharing your tips for growing papaya and mango from seed. I really like all the brown tones in the surigaoensis, especially when there are still closed buds nearby. What a cluster! I keep chopping my padangensis, so I'm probably never going to see flowers, but this is one of my favorite Hoya blooms - like tiny water lilies. /Mike I like to use the papaya seeds in salad dressings, although I'm not above simply crunching them beneath my teeth either. A bit bitter that way, not exactly what I'd eat a whole bowlful of, but it's hard not to interact with such pretty seeds. I guess I don't have to worry about worms! My birthday was Monday (May 30 - Memorial Day) and today is my sister's birthday, but I just love the birthday wishes. Thanks everyone! I always feel like people should get to celebrate their birthdays all month. Pug, I'm so impressed that you noticed when my birthday was! :O /dance

Thanks Holly! I hadn't quite thought of it that way. Initially, I was thinking that the painting and floors could be carved off and I wouldn't have to pay an additional % to the GC. However, now I have a better appreciation of the timing issues and how it would be nice to just have one person in charge. The other contractor has very good quality too. Will see what their final #s are. I was hoping to get them today but looks like it might be tomorrow.

Having enough room to move large things in and out of a basement is a biggie, glad you realized this before you committed to a plan. Does that requirement mean that 12" deep cabs and a banquette bench on that wall are also a no-go? If not, then a variation of Plan H is an option. (edited to add correct floor plan.) It keeps the room's footprint as is so it won't look odd to have a different flooring in the kitchen. To keep it budget friendly, look at the upscale vinyl tile options. A friend used Armstrong Alterna tiles in her 2 bathrooms and it wasn't until I bent down to touch the tiles that I realized they were vinyl not porcelain. They are also comfy on the feet and back, more so than real tile. We're using this tile in our laundry room, transitioning to wood in the hallway. If you still prefer to keep walls and slider where they are as well as a breakfast nook but are willing to widen the entry between DR-used-as-LR, then consider this plan and its variation: I moved the fridge to the far left and widened the doorway so that there's only a 30" wall next to the fridge. This will allow the fridge door to open fully. Placing it in a corner visually minimizes the fridge's bulk, IMO, making your kitchen appear larger. It's a 33" wide fridge but it's standard depth so you'd get at least as much, if not slightly more, fridge storage as a 36" w counter depth model. It's also cheaper to purchase than a counter depth model. The base cab and upper cabs are deeper, giving you more storage and deeper counters. Be sure to request longer drawer guides for the deeper base cab. I kept the sink and DW on the exterior wall. I opted for the DW at the end to avoid door conflicts between fridge and DW but as long as you're mindful of this possibility, you can swap the base cab and DW placement. I added a prep sink to the long run of counter next to the range. This run could be flipped with the prep sink next to the wall; it will depend on how much flexibility you have based on the vent ducts in that area. Many GWers like to have a water source near the range or cook top because it helps a kitchen accommodate multiple cooks, makes for efficient prep (most like to prep between sink and range) and it shortens the path between range and sink to drain a pot of spaghetti. However, you can opt to forgo the prep sink in favor of more counter and storage. Weigh the pros and cons and make the decision that makes sense for you. Plan K-1 is the same as above but with deeper cab bases and uppers on the range wall. I increased the wall depth from 28" (existing opening) to 34" but you don't have to do this. You can have the base cab and counter extend into the opening. Here are images of a shallow shelf behind a range. Most of these show the shelf wider than the range but there's no reason you can't do it just behind the range. I *did not* extend the range wall cab and counter the full length of the wall as you and others have suggested in plans above. I did the math and you'd have only about 25" between table and counter; that's a severe pinch point, especially for the busy path to the slider and deck. And that's with a bench, which takes up even less room than a chair (chairs need room behind them to slide back from the table). I understand wanting to squeeze every available fraction of an inch to gain more counter and storage (I'm doing it on my sink wall) but short-changing aisles to do so isn't the right way to achieve that, IMO. It will affect function and it will make your kitchen feel smaller than it is. NKBA recommends 44" aisles behind seating for walk-behind space; 36" aisles are "edge past" seated diners" aisles.

Diane - Thank you for nice comments - especially from such a great gardener! Just wanted to say a bit more about Leander's size. I often refer to the book below by Clair G. Martin who was the curator of the Huntington Gardens in San Marino, CA as a helpful guide to many of the older Austins. Martin has been very accurate in his descriptions of the size and character of roses like Brother Cadfael, Happy Child, The Prince, and Prospero to name a few. His guide distinguishes between warm and cool climates, and offered a more realistic idea of what a warm climate grower of Austin roses could expect given how different the climate of most of England is compared to most of California. Here's what he says about Leander's size: Stature and Habit: 6 feet x 8 feet (warm climate); 6 feet x 5 feet (cool climate) "Like 'Cymbeline', 'Leander' shares a problem with others of the same habit: It grows much wider than tall, and unless self-pegged, it flowers only at the ends of the long, sinuous canes. Self-pegging will help to control the size and encourage more flower production. Otherwise, this is definitely a rose for a low wall or fence where the arching canes can be trained to display the charming flowers to their utmost." He says a lot of nice things about this rose and he clearly likes it, but wishes the growth habit was different. Here's a collage I made of photos I took of Leander today using my weed bucket as a reference point for size. After six months, he's about 18" high and about 2.5 ft wide. The lower right corner shows how the blooms are sitting on top of the canes, which corresponds to Clair Martin's description. Leander and Brother Cadfael (which I've had for 5 years), share Charles Austin as a parent. My expectation is that Leander will be wider, about 5ft compared to Brother Cadfael's 3ft or so, but about the same height, 6ft as the tag from DA says. I'm sure there's someone out there who grew a 14' Leander but I'm going with Clair Martin's experience, and my experience with BC in my climate. Here's a lovely arrangement from the Celebration of Old Roses earlier this spring which was aspirational! I had already planted my Leander but was happy to see and smell this beautiful bouquet. I wish I could have talked to the grower; many people kept coming back to Leander to check it out and smell it. My Madame Ernst Calvat is a sport of Madame Issac Periere which is a darker pink version of MEC. Both are beautiful and fragrant, but typically I prefer a medium pink over dark pink. MEC is a bourbon rose and not a once bloomer; she has bloomed sporadically since the spring flush but she's still so young, and not too developed yet. I've heard that if she's "well grown", she'll do very well in terms of re-bloom, but we'll see. Recently a bird dumped a huge amount of poop all over her and I had to clean all the leaves after it had dried for awhile. So if well grown means poop cleaning, I guess I've done my part. :)) I have considered Chianti, but I'm afraid I don't have room for once bloomers. It's a lovely rose though! Ann