They have a light fragrance. You sort of have to stick your nose in the flower and smell, but it is wonderful. Here are my experiences with magnolias. Relatively sheltered yard in Minneapolis. Jane--planted in late august 2004 and died over the winter. I might give Jane, or one of her siblings, another chance this year. Butterflies--rescued from being composted (a 20 gallon tree) and planted in late August of 2005. Perfectly fine so far. Late bloomer, probably by this weekend. Nice yellow flowers. Leonard Messel--Plant in late August 2004 and had 50% winter kill the first year. Has never happened since. Bloomed for the first time this year. Pink tinted flowers are gorgeous. Started blooming a week ago. Star Magnolia--Spring 2005--the earliest bloomer is mostly done. Not a long history so no guarantees. Merrill is also a good one that is quite common in the cities and seems reliable. I think spring planting is advised for best survival. If you like Magnolias I say go to the nursery this weekend and go for it.

Oh Lisa!!!! I forgot about him bringing the poop sacks.....now I am really crying!!! I thought that was so funny and I remember watching 4 him and opening the door and saying "don't u drop that here" and he would drop it in the grass. I am really gonna miss him. What a special little bird he was :( I remember ur TRES :( It is really sad the way I get attached 2 my birds....like losing a part of the family. I sure hope I get another family of blues. In the mean time...I will protect the tres. Karen

Mac, Hi, my name is Linda and I'm a bird addict (esp. bluebirds, I'll admit). LOL I started with bluebird boxes in 2004 and have gone through all the stages that you describe except the BB gun (knock on wood, I don't have problems with HOSP but don't even breathe the words 'house wren' to me...long story). You will find that you will wake early and the first thought on your mind is 'how are the birds'? And you will go to bed with the words 'hope the birds will be ok.' As far as info, besides the link to sialis.org, this board is the best place I can think to come to ask questions, the place you come when things have gone bad and you just want to cry to someone, the place where you won't be judged because you have mealies in your fridge. As Lisa so aptly put it: you have just begun. It's a long story but I was recently seen throwing a kitchen implement at a bird who was causing problems. In a past year when it was extremely hot, I put not only 1 reflective umbrella over the bluebird box but I dragged my patio umbrella from the back yard to front, along with the heavy base, and put it over the umbrella and the box. We are certifiable. But we have each other :) Hang in, enjoy what you can, accept that there will be times when things won't go the way you want them to. bluebird blessings, Linda...

Take a look here, this transformation is perfect for your son's kitchen. http://www.remodelaholic.com/update-builder-grade-cabinets/ Other suggestions- 1) find someone like Trebuchet to change out your double sink for a large single sink (perhaps the same manufacturer will have one that perfectly fits the existing cutout). 2) add pullouts to your base cabinets. Ideally change them to drawers with new drawer fronts that match. 3) change stove to slide in style with stainless hood. The counter is beautiful and likely cost at least $4k installed. Not worth changing if it is not his forever home. I love my sink on the peninsula, and do think it would work well for you if the space between the arms of your "U" is about between 5- 5 1/2 feet, but changing that is not within the possibility of your budget. I like the wood flooring but that decision can be deferred if you are not changing the cabinet layout. Also the upper cabinet opening from the center over the peninsula sometimes works in in these older kitchens because the hinges allow complete 180 degree swing. In my kitchen, I deliberately added inset pin hinges to my cabinets in that location to get the 180 degree swing, and tested my reach physically so that the contents could be easily accessed. I have hidden Euro hinges with soft close on the rest of my uppers, but they only open 135 degrees. I will bet that even here at GW, nobody has ever noticed that my hinges are different in that location (benjesbride kindly linked my reveal above, the pin hinges are on the mirrored upper cabinets over the peninsula). HTH