As for the treasure hunt, we've done that including finding Miss Ethel, our best find. At 99 years old she is our best resource. Our county did not exist as such when the farm was built and where the records were kept - of course it burned at some point....We talk to Miss E often and record all conversations to help OUR memory! This was once a dairy farm where the barn and milk house were the priority. The house has a symmetrical Georgian layout and is large for the time, 3500 Square feet. As in the sexist thread: the floorplan resembles male parts- 2 turrets with a rectangle porch between and a rectangle going straight back...!!Funny though, like true to form farmers, the upstairs had flat plain molding and lower ceilings. Anyway, it was a working farm without slaves so it may never have had much in the way of formal plantings but I want to be repectful. DH is ordering Saypoints reccomendations as we speak!! They sound wonderful. I know the trees may not have been the right decisions, but the 'tree hugger' in me as the DH refers too, just can't cut something down that old unless it is diseased....plus it's 75' away from the house! This is a learning process and I thank you for letting me 'guinea pig' you. Now I'll be more prepared!! So I call it a *base plan*-guess that does make more sense. Here's a picture. The Georgian floor plans has Victorian details. The Big addition was done by one of the area's freed slaves around turn of the century. Here is a link that might be useful:

Oh yes, I am a toiletries thief. And pens and pads of paper. All types of businesses give away pads and pens to advertise themselves, I think that is unquestionable. My DH disagrees with me in re toiletries. I travel with my own preferred toiletries (travel tip, if you are really tight for space and it's a short trip, squeeze your products into a little ziploc snack bag, one for shampoo, one for conditioner, etc ... that'll keep your ounces under limit!). But I do collect hotel toiletries. I have some fabulous ones from over the years. I have a little wooden box of soaps from Le Toiny in St Barts, these things that remind me of medicine bottles from a BnB outside Barcelona, a bar of soap in a shiny emerald green plastic box that says "Hermes". I love these mementos. One disappointment is that hotels used to have their names on the soaps and bottles. In the last few years, Four Seasons for example, has gone to a combo of milk soaps and verbena soaps, all from L'Occitane in most of their properties. Lucky them, I don't take those home anymore. And I do draw the line at one set. I don't put them in my luggage to have the maid replenish to put them in again. I caught 9yo DD doing that ... apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. At home, I use them for guests, and let the kids pick a favorite to use once in a while. Some of my stuff must be 15 years old by now (am thinking of a handmade soap from a Belizean spa). I guess they have become scalps of a sort. Same thing with the airline amenity kits. I love some of the bags they come in (BA used to give one cool b/w vintage photos). Oh and tote bags, too! They are all hard earned. When we moved I finally gave up several dozen amenity kits. They are actually very useful for shelters.

This brand's laundry applicances come with a philosophy that I'm sure we can all get behind, whatever it means. http://www.moffatappliances.ca/jsp/ge_Listing.jsp?product_id=24 http://www.moffatappliances.ca/jsp/ge_Listing.jsp?product_id=19

I don't care to spend more on a pricey brand IF it's going to make a difference. But on the other hand, I have no problems with a drug store brand IF it works. Such as Cetaphil and Cerevave, i love both of their cleansers and I have a Cerevave moisturizer I use in winter (it's thicker, more moisture). But for some reason, Neutrogena does nothing for me. Oh I mean it's fine but I tried the hydroboost moisturizer and eye cream (I used a whole jar/tube of each) and no improvement. Right now I need to find a good eye cream. Sue, I need to start my brush back up too. I mentioned exfoliater, well I use AHA in the mornings and an AHA moisturizer. But my forehead has been feeling dry, so I'm thinking exfoliate. The AHA is an exfoliater! Maybe the brush will get rid of flakiness. Our weather has been up and down so maybe that has something to do with it. I'm generally drier in the winter. PS I used to love the neutrogena soap!