Good morning to you, Jason and Emagineer -- and thanks so much for the greetings! Oh, I'm afraid Ralph Lauren's small space is much fancier than our small space, but it sure was fun to look. You see, it really tickled me to find this forum after reading that the newest trend is toward smaller dwellings and after years of observing the huge homes which have been being built in new subdivisions along and off our main road for so long now. They have mainly been bought by rather young families, and I feel that so many are going to discover they made such big (pun) mistakes. The cost of heating and cooling our small home, though rising as costs rise everywhere, is so much lower. The taxes are so different. Hubby and I both came from small homes and consider it normal; perhaps backgrounds have much to do with the kinds of homes we all choose. But it is also our culture and media to want more, more more. We have no mortgage! Oh, please excuse me, but it's so sweet to speak to folks who are a little more humble in their choices. LOL! I could go on and on, so you'd better not encourage me. Linda

Hi Parma! Haven't been around much lately so I scanned a few pages to see what I missed. So glad I caught this! Your house has such a quiet, serene elegance! You should be very proud of what you have accomplished. I think you're ready for a holiday open house! Your dh must love returning home from his travels. He has such a nice environment to retreat to (not to mention being w/ you & Miss Arwen!) All areas "down south," btw, do not necessarily provide a lot of bang for the buck. I live in VA & bought around the same time you did, spent about the same amount you spent, & got far less for my money than you. My house is 22 yrs. old w/dated baths, small kitchen w/mismatched appliances, aging heating & cooling system & windows. I'm not whining, it is what it is, but just wanted you to know that I often think of you as getting a simply fantastic deal, & have been amazed at the great real estate prices in Chicago from your example! It's all relative. I know we're in better straits here than many in other parts of the country due to the large military presence in my area. While home values have fallen, they haven't plummeted as they have in some states. We are doing a re-fi too! What interest rate are you getting, if you don't mind sharing?

On the weather forecast at the end of the national news they said it was 28 degrees in Sydney today. One day last week it was 35, which is 10 above average for this time of year. Missed the local news but we've been in the high 20's to low 30's lately. I've seen composting toilets a few times. I think there's one at Orroral Valley, just outside Canberra. It was the site of a tracking station. Kind of amazing that in the sixties and seventies there were three tracking stations in the Canberra region. Tidbinbilla is still operating. It has four active dishes and several other ones. One of them was transferred from Honeysuckle Creek, where it had received the first pictures of Armstrong walking on the moon (the movie The Dish wasn't entirely accurate, although the Parkes dish featured in it was used to receive pictures also). Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley were closed years ago and eventually the buildings were pulled down because they were getting vandalised. The foundations were left and signs put up to indicate what had been there. And Orroral Valley got a composting toilet fot the hikers and picnickers who visit. I don't know if they'd allow them in the suburbs. Then again the drought has been changing attitudes. Water tanks will soon be compulsory for new homes. Energy ratings were introduced a few years ago. New homes have to be built to a minimum of four stars. Advertisements for houses for sale must include the energy rating. One new suburb is going to have a requirement that households with cats keep them in cat runs or indoors. One thing Canberra has always had is a ban on front fences! It was intended to encourage Canberra to develop into a garden city. The government nursery which grows plants for parks and public areas also gave each new block that was built on a free allocation of plants. I'm determined to reduce my collection of potted plants by next summer. Most aren't potplants as such, they're just waiting for a permanent home. Some are cuttings, some are bought, sometimes I have some sitting in pots awaiting relocation. Do you think if a plant has been waiting for about twenty years it qualifies as a real potplant? Can plants have dual citizenship? It spent a while unhappily in a garden bed, was put in a pot to recover while we decided on a better location, then we moved house so it came with us, then we moved again, and again. It has moved around this garden and seems reasonably happy where it is now, but where it is now is not a garden bed, and we have enough to do without expanding the garden bed over there. We're halfway through expanding a couple of other garden beds, the purpose being to reduce the lumpy crunchy yellow stuff we used to call lawn. As I write, The Amazing Race is on tv. Everyone is gathering at a sports stadium. Acres of green. Mmmm.

Welcome Danny!! Sounds like a great property, life style, and family. Best of luck in all regards. I grew up near Belvidere/Rockford and still have most of my family nearby.