Karen, yep, DGD knows Nana to well already. I'm always up to makin' a mess if it means having fun. Jane, your so right. Some of the best times aren't planned. We talked about how lucky the girls are that the guys jumped in to carve for them. If there would of been more time I can only imagine what they would of come up with. I was pretty impressed when DS cut a little bit off to be able to get them to sit up right and use the stems as noses. He even made me put candles in them so he could see how they would look lit up. Luvs, the popcorn balls were enjoyed by all we shared with and we shared with several. I really like my recipe and if anyone needs an easy one would be more than happy to share. Don't need a candy thermometer to make these. NanaK, sometimes I do better when events aren't planned. Is this known as flying by the seat of our pants?LOL Frou, I'll let the guys know you commented on the teeth. To bad I didn't bring all of them in so they would be orange but I kinda like having the different colors. I offered to paint them but they didn't think it was necessary and I think they were right. J, glad you enjoyed these. I'm not always sure what to share but since we don't have a discussion post guess this was just fine here. Jeanne, that is such a neat picture of GGS on that big scarecrow. Kids are pretty lucky now days when it comes to entertainment. We went out to mom's garden to pick pumpkins when I was growing up.LOL Luvs, glad to hear you and DGD had a fun time at the "punkin patch". Some times us Gramma's need to look the other way and not be over protective. Easier said than done huh? So glad you all enjoyed seeing the carved pumpkins. I'm thinking it may become an annual event for a few years and I'm sure it will take place at our HOME. DM was always game for messes at her place and I laugh when I think about it. She was also one who always fixed to much food for our dinners and I do the same. We live what we learn in so many ways. Punk

Yes, Luvs, I've been adding a few witch things to my Halloween stuff. I'm really not into all the usual stuff like ghosts n goblins, jack o' lanterns, etc. but I do love witches and ravens. And of course witches have kitties. LOL. How neat, Kathleen, that you (and Candy) also got married in 1970. And Jane, you ate at the Outback too. ;o) Plus, Nana, some of us really like Dancing with the Stars. I think Candy previously nailed it about our Holiday gang having so many little things in common outside of just holiday decorating. Even the same furniture, or same figurines. Maybe this is why we seem more of a family, or a group of really long-time friends. Time, and distance, matters little it seems, some people are just meant to come into your life and make you feel like kindred spirits. I am always in awe of our group here, and the closeness/caring we share so easily with one another. I doubt any of us expected this when we found this Forum, we just wanted to share some Holiday decorating! ;o) By the way, here's the flowers Jas and Suz sent...and the two dolls I kept from my Mom's collection. These dolls come named, so that is Victoria on the left and Rebecca on the right. The photo is my Mom when she was in her early 20's, and the cat pair are very old figurines I found at an antique show about 25 yrs ago. (My mom loved cats) hugs, Karen

Your cabinetry looks great as is. I'd be really tempted to keep them, live with the floor, perhaps try a different countertop, and use the money saved to retire a year earlier or take a round the world tour. A short rant, not directed primarily at the OP: "Dated" is such a tiresome concept, purely a ploy to get people to tear out perfectly good, functional stuff and replace it, often with lesser quality stuff. If it's broken or really doesn't work from a design point of view, fix it. If it was junk to start with and is falling apart, by all means, take it out and make it better. If it doesn't fit the style whim of the hour, hold your breath for a while and the style will change. There's lots of more productive, more fun, or more generous things that can be done with the money you save. It's certainly possible to remove and replace a kitchen. We bought a nearly new, used kitchen when we built our new place. A few parts were damaged in the removal process (done by others who had no vested interest in keeling the cabinets pristine), some cabinets needed to be re-engineered a bit to fit our plan, and I had to make two new matching cabinets to fit the new layout, but it was all pretty readily doable. If you are going to go with paint that makes the matching process quite straightforward. You'll want to employ someone to do the work who has the skills and willingness to re-make any parts that get damaged during the take out/reinstall process. If the people doing it are careful and good that damage may be little to none.

Have you had the sectional too long for the store to maybe let you swap it out for something else? This type sectional with the built-in cup holders, etc. are likely hard to make work in most rooms. We’ve had a sectional that we’ve LOVED (just regular sofa looking thing in some sort of microfiber) for the past eight years of raising our kids and we’ve loved the fact that we could all pile onto it with their various toys. But we’ve had it in big rooms that could accommodate a huge piece of furniture. If you don’t think that you could swap this out, I absolutely think that you can improve the feel of the room by following the suggestions above. Good luck and report back!