This is our first year to host the bluebirds. I think it is because we've trimmed out the pine trees and there is a bit more open space. I'm also thinking the nesting pair of bluebirds might be very young, and nest sites are at a premium. The morning they arrived looking for a nestbox, I had a fake box hanging on the yew stump (I cut things tall to use not short to get in my way) and they tried very diligently to enter the hole and could not. That's when I called my friend, who has a big property right on the river, and asked for help with any box she might provide. Sure enough, she had two new boxes about to go up, and she brought one over right away. Within an hour or two, I had it up (a little clumsy but up)and they were sitting on top of it. Whew, that was a close call! I moved into this white stucco cottage the spring after Katrina destroyed our new house on the river--only lived there a month--and while this smaller house was not perfect for us, we've grown tired of relocating, and I'm eager to stay put where I can garden to my heart's content, and keep in touch with all the wildlife frequenting the area. Just last week, I got the NWF to certify my property as a BACKYARD HABITAT and the sign for it is on its way here now. Grandma's rock!! Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Habitat Certification

I'm sorry for the loss of your mom. I lost mine the day after Thanksgiving (alzheimer's -- the cousin of ALS) and my dad at the end of April I know my mom would not have wanted to keep me from a trip. In fact, she waited until I left her room. My dad also passed after I went home to get a little sleep and before I could get back. One of the hospice nurses told me that happens in a majority of cases. They may not want you to witness their last breath. Your photos are beautiful and it looks like a wonderful way to reconnect with life, reflect and recharge. I hope you felt your mom's presence and her blessings while you were there. I know she was in your heart. The memorial service sounds perfect for her, you and your sister.

Thank you for the compliments athomesewing! All the drawer runners in the kitchen are from Blum, with self closing soft closing features. The only exception is the dog bowl drawer because as you know, the dogs like to push their bowls around especially when they eat wet food. I have contacted Blum and they told me they don't make any runners with lock out features. I was able to find two other manufacturers that make the type of runners I want. One is Acurride model 3607. It has full extension and lock out feature. This will allow you to open the door all the way out and it will stay open. But to close it, you have to press in a little tab on the side. I don't want to bend down every time I feed her. So I went with another brand: Knope & Vogt model number 8414 hold out drawer guide (it comes in length of 2" increments). It also has full extension feature. When you open the drawer all the way out, you can feel it locks at that position. You have to push it a little (harder than when you close a self closing drawer) and then it will close half way, where it will stop at another lock out position. To close it fully, you just have to push it again. And I can do all the pushing with my foot without bending down. Now, just this runner itself only takes care of the lock out feature. As you noticed, there is no knob or pull for that drawer. I want it to open when i push the drawer face with my foot (this feature is called "press on" in the Blum family). I have to ask my cabinet installer to add an ejector inside the door to make this happen. So basically I have to use 2 different maneuvers for that drawer. Even though my kitchen is obviously catered to my dog, I also want to make it universal enough that if I ever have to sell my house and the new owner has no pet, that dog bowl drawer can still be useable to him/her. So the piece of wood holding the two bowl (basically it is a rectangular piece of wood with two round holes to drop the metal bowls in) can be removed. Once that is gone, it is just a regular drawer. The dog decal is also removable if I ever want to get rid of the dog theme. Yup, I have spent weeks and weeks before coming up with all these. The Amish cabinet makers are really top notch. The cabinets are made of hard maple in factory painted colors. I could not say enough good things about them. They have 50 yr warranty in their product. I know the owner of the (reseller) store travels all over the country for business. If you email me I can provide you with his contact info. Just click my screen name and it will bring you to a page to email me.

I just saw this thread...so here is how it went for me.... I see the hood and that wood: "WOWZER!!, wiping a little drool off my chin." Then I scroll down, and see the windows: "GORGEOUS view and the window frames of my dreams" Then I see the doors: "I'm picking up my chin off the table" And of course the tropical plant--that would make me very jealous, in the winter--it's so hot and humid here right now that all I can dream about is Alaska. And of course, you must know I love a good cardboard mock-up. That one is pretty special! I think it ranks right up there with the one mocked up over an island a couple of years ago here on GW. I cannot wait to see your place come together! How exciting! Keep posting. And yes, you should use Photobucket or Flickr to get more than one photo in a post. Bee