We are finishing our basement this winter also. We are only finishing 1/2 of the basement the other 1/2 will be for storage, washer and dryer furnace and oil tank and work shop. I don't want a bathroom. 2 full baths in the house for a family of 4 is enough for us to keep clean. We have a refrigerator in the basement now so we are going make a mini kitchen with just enouth room for a sink, microwave, and coffee maker. I am looking into Ikea cabinets for this. We are adding closets/pantry for storage of bulk items from cosco and BJ's. We will be using dry wall , ceramic tile for the floor, recessed lighting (cans) , and a suspended ceiling. I want to be able to get to any wires or pipes if I have to without having to break through drywall. The lights will be able to be turned on or off at the top of the stairs, as well as in the basement. The basement will also be on a separate heating zone to conserve oil during the winter. The room will be one open space and not divided into smaller rooms. This room is goning to be used mostly by my sons who are ages 14 and 11. I don't think that I would put much money into a basement if it's just for resale. I would just stick to the basics of four walls, ceiling, floor, heat and some closet space. The new owner will have their own idea on how to decorate and use the space. Keep it simple.

Vala55: I donâÂÂt think interesting lives are the point. To me, this is all about your personal experiences, ordinary though they might be. How others influenced you . . . how you influenced others . . . the world around you and your place in it . . . what you thought . . . what you felt. That sort of thing. Of course, such a project is highly individual, and some might approach it differently. Travel journals would be great! Not for me, though, because IâÂÂve hardly been anywhere. :-) Joyfulguy: Excellent idea about finding the book at the library--thanks! What you write would undoubtedly be interesting and useful to some of those people who come after you, even if theyâÂÂre not related to you. Sherrmann: A fear of mine is that I will have written so much in my lifetime that my children will never want to read it. ItâÂÂs a valid fear! IâÂÂve kept journals for years and written lots of personal essays and letters to my children. IâÂÂm motivated by two things. One is an inborn desire to communicate, to tell. As for the other, when I was seven years old my mother started a diary with the intention of giving me the gift of knowing her as a woman, not just my mother (her own mother had died young, and she never had this experience herself), and also to show me that I had a happy childhood. Like most diaries, the entries were sparse. Two years later, she died. This left me with a compulsion to give my own children what she tried to give me. I think IâÂÂve more than succeeded already, but IâÂÂm not done. :-) That is quite a remarkable quote from your great-great uncleâÂÂs letter. So hard for us to imagine living like that today. Beeohio: Yes, the writing forum was wonderful. ItâÂÂs been years, but I still miss it. Lois DanielâÂÂs book is based on a course she taught. In that class, she assigned a topic, and the following week her students shared what theyâÂÂd written. The book is full of examples from her students. On the KT, I would say sharing is not required. (Actually, nothing is âÂÂrequired.âÂÂ) IâÂÂll probably share parts of what IâÂÂm writing if I think an example would be useful, but IâÂÂm talking short passages, not lengthy chapters. I figure IâÂÂll post an assignment thread every week, and members can post responses (questions and/or excerpts from their own writings) in the thread. WeâÂÂll see if once a week works for most people as a good time frame. IâÂÂll post in a separate thread today.

OK. I admit it. I am a secret wannabe moveaholic. I am an Air Force brat who moved every two years while growing up and came to love it. I crave change just for the sake of it. New views, fresh perspectives, wide-open opportunities. Alas. I am married to (and in love with) a content-where-he-hangs-his-hat man. So... I paint rooms, make drapes, work on many projects at once, refinish furniture, create oil paintings. But, I do not feel totally satisfied with where we live. I want to move. The house we are living in is 10 feet away from our neighbor's house---we live in a historic district in a small, Southern city. I CRAVE a view and a lot more privacy. So, yes, cricket0828, I think it is fine to move if you are bored, if you can afford the move and your DH is in agreement. paint chips, you came very close to how I feel when you said, "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that sometimes you just have to let life pull you along for a ride."

Larry, I have to agree with you about The Far Pavillions. My sister in law kept telling me how wonderful it was and how much I would like it. I'd take it out of the library, look at it and end up taking it back, unread, a few weeks later. She even gave me a paperback copy for my birthday (she was persistant) that sat on my bookshelf for months. Finally, one day I picked it up and started reading it. I couldn't put it down. I read all but the last 3 or 4 chapters in one sitting. I'd have finished it that night except I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.