I usually get about 5 bloom flushes in a year. True , we have a much longer and hotter summer than you guys. It is an old plant. You might find that it is more apt to rebloom as it gets more mature.I had 35 blooms on it night before last, 5 last night and there are buds forming for another bloom. I always fertilize it after the bloom. I imagine that doing 30 blooms is exhausting for the plant. It is a lot of energy.

The white markings look normal to me. I don't see anything I can identify as a disease, just some normal blemishes. Let us know how it goes. Jim

I like how you took the extra doors out of the mudroom because I think it allows for more usable space. I would leave the door through the garage for access to the mudroom because you are taking a little bit from unheated space rather than the heated space of the mudroom. I think if you added a door to the mudroom you would just take out valuable space with no upside. I can't help you with your chimney and architectural style other than to direct you to the book linked below which I was referred to by MacV(renovator). Some things you may consider but are just my opinion. 1. Think about making a view through your home from the front door. In other words try to line up the front and back door so that if a guest was standing at the front door they could see through the back door. This will attract guests to your great room area and it will look better than the coat closet. I think you have a enough room in the area to arrange the space for this to occur. It would also give you more space in your family room for furniture arrangements. 2. Have you considered combining your library with your dining room? You could add a door to the connection with your kitchen and add bookshelves which would give you an away room which would be private and quiet. This would open up the library space for a guest room and then you could make one of the bedrooms upstairs a playroom or you could make the library a playroom for the kids. 3. Is there any way you could decrease the mass of the garage? If the first slot is just for a golf cart or your lawn mower then perhaps you could add it to the back with the door coming off the side. this would simplify the roofline and decrease the width of your home. Overall I really like the plan. The natural light will give it a lot of character. Here is a link that might be useful: Get Your Home Right

Wow! That's a really beautiful shower! Thank you for posting the photo...it looks very elegant! I seem to have a mental block as far as design goes with the larger tile - a bit afraid as I regret a tile decision I made 10 years ago and have lived with it ever since, but I love the look in the photo and just need to figure out the best design. The reason I wanted to switch back to diagonal was to tie it back in with the diagonal on the floor, but that may not be necessary. With the 20" tile on the bottom, should I use 13" or 7" above? My shower won't go all the way to the ceiling - about 7 feet high I believe. Another question: My tile is Emser Coliseum Athens. I can use their matching mini-versaille pattern on the floor and some sort of decorative band up higher, or I can use a darker walnut-colored 2x2 on the floor and run a band of the same 2x2 about eye level. What do you think? Thank you!