A 12 foot piece of that fence fabric will give you a circle about 4 feet in diameter and that is a good size. What little bit of material that will fall out of that fence will not make any difference to what happens inside. If you have enough manure you want to plunk down 6 inches of vegetative waste and put 2 inches of manure on top of that, or a mixture of about 3 parts vegetative waste to 1 part manure. Adding "dirt", soil, is not essential. Back in Sir Albert Howards day that was thought to supply the microorganisms that would digest the material but today we know that is not needed since the vegetative waste already has those microorganisms growing on them. Some of us add material to our compost over time while others build up the compost pile all at once. It really makes little difference except that piling stuff up all at once probably gets finished compost sooner. Of course, that also means you need all of your material there when you build the pile.

I disagree with Emily_mb. In my home growing up in the '60's, we had stainless wall ovens and cooktop. Stainless has been classic for the kitchen for decades, and isn't going anywhere. She didn't specify what "first signs" she is referring to, but you can open any Architectural Digest, which typically shows $100K kitchens, and find stainless appliances. You will also see panelled appliances there, but panelling appliances is more costly. You have not mentioned a budget, which it would be helpful to this thread if you did. Anyway, things that go "out" quickly, usually have also come "in" quickly, such as avocado green appliances, which burst on the scene in the '70's, and then were gone just as quickly. Having said that, I myself have white cabinets and a mix of stainless and white appliances in my kitchen. The combination is a little more "homey" than all stainless would be. I also have my dishwasher panelled, because that appliance is the most prone to water drips down the front.

Well, OSU has one of the finest undergraduate architectural and architectural engineering programs in the nation. As a former student, faculty member and Head of the School, I'm completely unbiased about the program! They would never consider your project for an educational project for the students, but many of the faculty practice architecture and do residential and small commercial projects on a regular basis. OKC and Tulsa also have many talented and experienced architects. As for phasing the work, I caution against doing anything and anymore than you immediately are ready to do and have to do to occupy the land. That's because as time goes by your thinking will change and modify (humans do this a lot). You run the risk of making your early investments and improvements outmoded or obsolete. That said, it's a good practice to master plan your site and project, exploring and deciding on building envelope location, how that will be accessed, general orientation. solar energy strategies, views and usable outdoor areas, utility access, well and septic locations, etc.--at least in general terms. An architect experienced in these things will be an invaluable ally early on and when you are finally ready to design and build. Until your house is designed (and it should be designed based on a sound understanding of your site characteristics), you will want to keep all of your site improvement options open. As to the options of RV living or over garage living, etc., you will have to sort that strategy out as best fits your lifestyle, schedule and budget. Good luck--exciting times ahead. PS: Ron Walker (Walker Construction) is an OSU architecture graduate and retired home builder in the Stillwater area who may be helpful. You can tell him I recommended you contact him. He built my home when my family and I lived in Stillwater.

Lauriescreams - Thank you! I felt like I was just getting into my groove with my last garden when the decision was made to move. We did not take anything with us, our house closed a month before our new house was done being built and we stayed in a hotel for half of that with everything in storage. I am slowly getting a feel for what the plan will be with this one, my first inclination was to remove the sod on the back slope and plant on it but now I am leaning more towards trying to convince the husband that we need to terrace it with a retaining wall. I have had a few different companies out here to measure and give me quotes but so far none of the quotes have come in yet. So far the plan for the roses is to plant them in sort of an ombre' effect pattern, with the deepest colors(Young Lycidas, Darcy Brussel) in the middle going out to the lavenders(Plum Perfect, Angel Face, Heirloom, Love Song) and whites(Earth Angel, PJPII, Winchester Cathedral).