Oh my gosh, what a surprise to see my old thread pop up! It was, all in all, a great trip for them all. What worked? Just about everything . . . and thanks to everyone for the wonderful advice! ~ Sleeping arrangements: DD and 2 of the girls fit nicely in DD's room (bed, window seat bed and single mattress on floor). The two other girls slept out on our living room sofas. That room closes off with 3 sets of French doors, so they had a bit of privacy, at least. The 2 guys slept in our guest room. Bathrooms: I decided before anyone arrived that, with seven 18 & 19 year olds in one house, there would be no long baths; only quick showers. So, I put 2 wood tv tables in the bathtub with a laundry basket on each. One held big stacks of folded bath towels and washcloths. The other was for the used ones. I told them not to hang the damp ones. The nightmare of many wet towels hanging everywhere inspired that decision. Great one on my part!!! I just washed and replaced the towels every afternoon while they were out sightseeing. I also had stocked both guest bathrooms with a box of essentials: from travel-size tubes of toothpaste, deodorants, Kleenex; small combs, Tylenol, Tums, Chapstick, toothbrushes, girl essentials, sunscreen. Thank goodness, as they were pretty much all used! ~ I put a supply of local postcards, stamps and pens in each bedroom for them to send postcards quickly and easily. Also a supply of local travel books to inspire their daily outings. ~Food/Meals: as I expected, they ate like they were all starving. They loved my meals . . . even the vegetarian. I'd stocked up on enough snacks to keep them all happy. Thank goodness! ~Sightseeing: LOL LOL LOL!!! None of them had been to New Mexico before and their expectations were funny, to say the least. We have small herds of wild horses, but they're wild, not kept in pens. Our visitors wanted DD to drive them , wherever they were so that they could "pet them" and take pics! That didn't happen (LOL), but they did see some occasionally here and there. Same with coyotes. DD had to warn them not to make a big deal about any Native Americans they saw. They tried to speak Spanish to people here, which was met with patience and kindness (thank goodness!). Our chile was "too hot", but they loved exploring Santa Fe and Albuquerque. And Madrid, NM, where the movie "Wild Hogs" was filmed. What didn't work? Well, getting 7 college freshmen to agree on anything, such as where to go exploring next or what movie to watch, was a PIA for DD. One gal turned out to be a hypochondriac, which frustrated the rest. And, DS & his girlfriend decided at the last minute to cancel their hotel reservations and sleep on a queen-size air mattress in our foyer (the only place left!), as they stopped by for a few days on their way to his new job in Tucson, AZ. So, we ended up with a real houseful . . . but it was a lot of fun. Would we do it again? Yes, if DD asked. Would DD do it again? Absolutely not. She said it was fun but exhausting. This Spring Break she's bringing (just) two of her close friends/sorority sisters here to celebrate her 21st birthday. They'll dance at some of the higher end (read: safe) clubs. Shop Santa Fe and ABQ Uptown. Visit Madrid and The Tram. Eat out at some favorite spots and generally spend all the money their parents promised them for this year's Spring Break on themselves instead of an expensive hotel room. Their first choice, Austin, TX, was pretty much already booked up, as South by Southwest will be there at the same time. They were looking at $500/night for modest hotel rooms and super-inflated SbSW ticket prices! So, we'll be entertaining again, but on a much more sane level! Lynn

Regarding window treatment(s) -- Your window is an odd size and I notice from your photos that the top of your refrigerator, doorways, cabinets and top of window all are about the same level around the room. If it were me, I would break up that pattern by doing some sort of simple inside mounted shade for privacy and mount a classy valance up close to the ceiling so that the bottom of the valance comes just below the top of window frame. It will break up the line running around your room and give the illusion that your window is taller. Check out your fabric store for easy valance patterns that can be adjusted for your window size. An easy one I've seen if you don't want to sew is to purchase square napkins, then drape them over a rod, with points downward, overlapping each napkin across the rod. Make a few stitches to tack in place, and voila, you are done.

Hi Susan - Yes, I had the surgery on Tuesday. And by then I'd gotten pricked with another thorn, this one at the tip of my right index finger. I removed it, but a tiny piece remained behind. So the surgeon removed the first one from the back of my hand and the second one as well. Strange as it seems, the surgery required an operating room and anesthesia. All for one careless move (okay, two careless moves) in the garden. I get the stitches out on Friday. Meanwhile, I have to say my hand feels worse than it did pre-surgery. I suppose I need to be patient--at least that's what my daughter says. But as you can imagine the tip of my index finger is . . . um . . . rather sensitive at the moment. Parts of it are also numb. I certainly hope the nerves regenerate. Thanks for asking.

Regarding moving the cats, i too have been involved in trap and release for 10 years. I have a great group of friends and we all do it. I've probably trapped and spayed/neutered over 100 cats on my own and then add in what my friends did and that's several hundred cats we've had fixed. The two particular cats in my card were fixed 2 1/2 years ago and I love them very much. They love and trust my husband and me as well, but just don't want to be touched. Sometimes i think it's best when outdoor cats don't let you touch them because there are mean people out there who want to cause them harm. A single man purchased our house and my best friend actually knows him. While he's a nice guy, my friend says he's not an animal person. One of our neighbors recently moved so the house is empty and the other closest go out of town all the time so leaving them behind wasn't an option. Also, I love these cats and would worry they wouldn't be cared for like I would care for them. I literally shovel them out in winter and don't think many others would. The thought of trapping and bringing these two cats with me was tearing me apart because inknownthey love their yard etc but I had to bring them. I had a custom shed made that is half fenced in and half enclosed. I trapped one yesterday and one today. There are no words how hard it was. My heart was breaking as the one just cried and cried. They are both as secure as I can make them, have warm beds and food but I know they are stressed and unhappy. The shed was quite costly and was the best i could think of. I did not want to stress my indoor cats out as they hate and will not accept the one outdoor cat. I have been praying hard that they adjust soon and forgive me and learn to trust me again. I will wait awhile before I let them out to roam free as I don't want them to run away. That will take awhile so they realize this is where they get fed. Any other suggestions on how to make them happy are welcome. I am actually feeling a little better as far as the home sickness. I think the anticipation of trapping those two kitties was getting the better of my nerves.