Cpartist, the entrance(s) are here in the center between the garage and the house; I'll probably have the house painted this spring because the current color is really faded in bits. Palimpsest, thank you for the advice. It didn't occur to me to paint the garage and siding all one color, but I get what you're saying about the two masses and I like the idea of doing that until I can figure out an overall exterior plan (garage door style, different type of siding, etc.) Most of the exterior remodels I've seen in my area somehow end up looking worse than before--they remind me of those kid's activity books where you can flip page sections to, say, put a firefighter's head on a body with a tutu and then give it duck legs. So I definitely worry that I'll spend a ton of money and end up with something that doesn't "go." Learning a lot on these forums...

You are both right. I drove by her house again today because dh and I are having water heater issues, and I needed to run out and get a heating element. I saw her walking one of her beautiful horses and I slowed my car down and through the window i told her I loved what she planted, and she smiled and said they're sun chokes, and that they produce beautiful yellow flowers. She's a very nice person. She said some people refer to them as Jerusalem chokes. They provide a nice screen for her property right now, but knowing that they die back to the ground each year makes them less desirable for me, for that particular use, but I may plant them somewhere else in the yard. Thank you both for responding. I've never heard of sun chokes before.

The oceans and all the wonderful, amazing creatures living in them. During my single years living one short block from the Atlantic ocean in Florida, I spent countless hours snorkeling, swimming and scuba diving there . . . and down in the Keys. My family knows that if there's a Discovery show on any ocean creature, we are watching it (LOL)! So, how did I end up living at 6,000 feet above sea level in the dry Northern New Mexico mountains, you ask? Love, that's it ;~)

Please post a picture showing the triptych and some other views of the room.