We have been saving for this for 5 years. We are going ahead with the kitchen remodel and addition (garage, porch & laundry room). The aim has always been to have a nice space for the least cost. The initial cabinet estimate from Kennebec was more than $60K. I am happy with the cabinetmaker we will be using for about $25K. The design was changed to save money. For example, no glass doors on the wall cabinets. They are more expensive because the finish of the interior of the cabinet. I've designed several cabinets with punched tin (similar to a pie safe) and will do the punched tin myself. By not replacing appliances (needed it at least once since we bought them-the cooktop has been an induction hot plate for 18 months) we have saved enough to get nice appliances, but there will be no built-in or CD refrigerator, no paneled appliances, one oven rather than DOs and a cooktop rather than a gorgeous range. I have not chosen most finishes (countertop, floor, ceiling) yet. I am waiting to see how the budget holds up. Since this is our retirement home, it is worth the expense to do it now rather than waiting. We live quite frugally and will need to for a long time after this project is finished. We are fortunate that DH has a secure job (yes, I am sure). DS is graduating from college this spring and has an assistantship for grad school-yea! All our cars are at least 5 years old, paid for and hopefully have another 4-5 years use in them. This forum has been a tremendous help with design and keeping costs down. I am very thankful!

Again we were not mad at him ... but he was not allowed to wash his clothes at 11 pm. NO ONE is allowed to use the washer after 10 PM ... anymore. Bedtime is bedtime. This is the child who keeps his siblings up by attacking them and starting fights. So his bedtime sticks he cannot leave his room his body needs to rest even if he doesn't sleep. You don't see this as a way for mom to manipulate her kids ? This is perfectly acceptable behavior for a parent to call at 11pm on a school night and midnight on a saturday just to talk to her child? .... So she wasn't thinking about calling them til midnight so thats when she called? Just a different kind of person I guess .... I wouldn't be calling my ex or the kids after 10 pm unless it was an emergency (or anyone for that matter, if it was after 10PM). And wanting clothes returned is not an emergency. Guess I was just raised differently to respect others and their homes. Although court is over with now ... she won't be calling again like that ... pattern two weeks before court date she calls every day at 8 pm to say goodnight... and continues until a week after court then she doesn't bother to call anymore.

Eventually we might do just that willtv, but our entire lawn needs a lot of work ("fill" and grading and more grass vs. weeds....). No point in digging up a new section of lawn to "build" a garden until all that is addressed. I have pics of one of my KIA end of summer, tomato sauce-making marathons somewhere (prob on our old desktop computer). Your pics remind me of those. The first or second year without a garden, I broke down and purchased a big bag of luscious, ripe, farm-grown tomatoes at our local farmers market so I could make garden tomato sauce to freeze. KA-CHING!!! Made one batch of the most expensive tomato sauce ever! kellienoelle--what a wonderful looking wine and conversation set-up you put together! I'll bet your friends enjoyed themselves in your beautiful new space!

uI had been picking up my granddaughter two times a week at my daughters house in order to spend time with my granddaughter and also what I thought helping out.I would leave my house at 6;20 to get there early it was mentioned that arriving at 7 was to late so i made it more of an effort to leave earlier ,then we started noticing that when she would pick her up in the evening after work she would barely speak to us I would update her on the day what we did what her daughter ate ,naps etc...she would call ahead and say i'll be there soon have her ready,when i would n't have her ready she would let me know of her displeasure.My husband finally said ask her to drop of our grandchild on those to days because she doesn't seem grateful for your effort of that ride in the morning .So i called her and said I'm not going to be able to pick her up anymore can you drop her there's so many rules that go beyond me watching her we have a small dog and my daughter (her husbands idea)won't let me watch my granddaughter unless someone else is home with me my son or my other daughter for fear of the dog.(i was so upset that we had to make these changes it made me feel that she didn't trust me I brought up her and her sister only a year apart and later watched two other toddlers in our home so i felt i more then qualified to watch her without extra help and our dog loves her and our granddaughter loves him.I'm overly protective anyways .But one day my daughter said I can't do this she is now 4 months pregnant and I said we'll talk about later.that evening she said so what's going to happen i can't do this anymore and it's only going to get harder i said well how about you bring her one day and i'll pick her up one day no she said it's to hard .Her sister said what ever you decide well i have someone that can take care of her and they make sure she gets a nap sometimes two naps and never send her home with a dirty face she said i told my doctor my pressure was up because you called me bitching .my husband jumped up and said i'm sure your mom wasn't bitching and don't talk to her that way I said I called you to let you know I wouldn't be picking her up and the different reasons.when she started comparing me and putting my care of her daughter down i just shut down she left and and came back in saying i'm not bringing her anymore i'll find daycare.She texted her sister the whole next day saying we burned the bridge this time we really "f' everything this time . She kept away for a week and a half no call no show and then said in an e-mail that her daughter was asking for my other daughter and the dog and couldn't inderstand why i wouldn't take care of her daughter anymore and didn't want any response except would I watch her one day I wrote back saying I will watch her anytime.Even in the e-mail there was rules for me to follow and it's been that way for years even before she had children I cry all time and I'm so emotionally tired of apologizing for things in the past and try to make things better but she never gives any effort to make things better. We feel that we're foster parents to her that we're here but we really don't matter.We're always compared to her in-laws who in her eyes never do wrong. She doesn't speak to me when she drops off her daughter or when she picks her up,I try but no response.