I know the event has come and gone and hope it was okay. But I did want to point out that people really don't "have" to attend family events that will distress them. There is nothing wrong with passing on the wedding with a sincere apology that you are simply not able to do such things yet. There's nothing wrong with their going ahead with their plans, either. If it is ok for them to have the wedding because that is the best course of action for them, why wasnt it ok for you not to attend, if that would have been better for you? Sometimes I wish we still had the custom of not going to social events for a set mourning period after the death of a close relative. Just think--- no invitations to have to decline, no well meaning friends urging you to get out and have a good time or move on, etc. and at the end of mourning the social restrictions would be over. ....much less chance of breaking down in public, etc., and those inclined to dwell on sadness would have a sort of built in mechanism and set point at which to stop mourning and come back out socially. I think that would be a useful custom to revive, at least for a three months period and preferably for six months. People would still have to go back to work during that period, but imagine how nice it would be not to be asked to take on extra volunteer responsibilities during that time, like company-sponsored Habitat events or teams running 10k's for charity, etc.

jane ny: "I was not impressed with these inspectors. They seemed to push further inspections on the things they could offer referrals. I saw him hand the buyer a card and state he would highly recommend a particular chimney man. He explained that the cracks could cause the house to burn down and implied that the buyers children would be in danger. He spoke about the septic system explaining how it worked and if it failed could cost the buyer $30-35,000 to replace. I thought the buyer would faint! Poor man gasped. He then handed a card and recommended the buyer call this company for follow-up inspection." It does sound as if these inspectors may be getting some sort of compenstion from the companies to which they are referring further inspections. If so, they are in violation of the NYS COE. You can of course file a complaint and ask that they be investgated for such...as being made aware of possible violations is the only way thay the licensing board would be able to enforce the regs. Below are the COE's pertaining to this issue: (b) Home inspectors shall not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one party for services on the same project or for services pertaining to the same project unless the circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed upon by all involved and interested parties. (c) Home inspectors shall not solicit or accept financial or other consideration, directly or indirectly from persons other than the home inspectors client. (j) Home inspectors shall not accept commissions, fees or other consideration directly or indirectly from contractors or other persons or entities dealing with clients or employers of the home inspector in connection with work for which the inspector is responsible for, or has reported upon. (a) Home inspectors are prohibited from sharing any portion of the fee collected for home inspection services to any person other than: another licensed home inspector, employee or associate of the home inspector including a legally authorized trainee practicing under the direct supervision of the home inspector

You will never be satisfied unless you move the dining room doorway and the sunroom door. Sorry, but it's true - I have similar AWFUL doors / doorways in corners - they SUCK! Really, the solution is simple: close up the dining room and sunroom doors to create a solid wall for cabinets in that corner. Put in a 4 ft wide doorway next to your fireplace (where those tall cabs are now) - this is an EASY build! I did it all by myself to fix an old doorway - anything shorter than 6 ft is an easy DIY header - either use 2x6's with blocking above or 2x10's or 2x12's without blocking - 4 ft. is a short run. Then, put the door to the sunroom next to your laundry closet - enter from the DEN, NOT the kitchen! You can put a pass-thru over the sink if you want to, but WHY should you have to go through the kitchen to get to the sunroom? SO ANNOYING! Seriously, HAVING to walk ALL THE WAY through either the living room or dining room to get from the front door to the kitchen just DOES NOT WORK! If the doorway is next to the fireplace it is a straight run from the front door, it is still accessible to bring food into the dining room from the kitchen, AND you can even make the current mini-peninsula you have 2 feet longer so that your husband can comfortably sit there with his laptop. You can keep the sink and dishwasher in the same location (less cost for new plumbing). The new 4 ft. doorway will end approximately where your range currently meets the cabinets that will be gone, so shift the range 2 feet in towards the corner and put a 2 ft. cabinet next to the new doorway. Then you can use the existing hole in your roof for the vent by simply getting a new flexible duct and angling it from the new hood position through the attic to the roof at an angle. Framing costs - approx. $200 to frame out the new 4 ft. doorway, and a new 3 ft. door next to the laundry into the sunroom, add a few new studs to fill in the old dining room and sunroom doors in the kitchen for drywall. Use the old sunroom door in the new frame and you save more money. Cost of trim and other finishes is totally up to you. Seriously, as far as construction costs go, you can VASTLY improve the flow of your ENTIRE HOUSE by moving these two doorways for less than $500 (and that would be with really nice wood trim). I'd put a new window on the back wall of the now U-shaped kitchen, simply because you will get great light from all the south-facing windows in the sunroom. Again, a cheap and easy frame job. You can use stock off-the-shelf Anderson windows from Home Depot to save money. Your back wall is 128" wide so I'd run a blind corner cab (42" gives good play) opening along the range wall, then put the fridge on the back wall next to it with with a 3" filler space between them and a 27" corner upper cab and 27" corner appliance garage beneath it. This allows you to open the blind cabinet door and the fridge door without interference, and you can use that counter space when you pull things from the fridge. You can run a matching panel from floor to ceiling along the fridge with a deep cabinet above the fridge if you want. This means that your fridge will end about 63" (24"+3"+36") off the range wall. Your window can start about 6" from the fridge - this allows space for trim. You can fit a 30" wide window with trim starting 30" off the sink wall and install a 24" or 27" corner upper there as well (no appliance garage here - leave counterspace clear for prep). You can even install a small prep sink under this window as well (but that will add cost due to new plumbing). Get an over-the-range microwave / hood combo to save counter space. The sink wall will stay basically the same, and the range wall would go something like this: 4 ft. doorway to living room, 24" cabinet, 30" range, 18" or 21" cabinet (depending on size of trim around doorway), 45" space for 42" blind cabinet. Now you have plenty of counter space on each side of your range and next to your fridge. The new peninsula jetting out from the sink wall can be 5-6 ft. long and still allow 5 ft. walking space between it and the doorway (you save space by putting the doorway across from the peninsula instead of 24" deep cabs as exist now). At that length it might actually see more use than the small one you have now. Also, I'd actually change the height / counter material of the peninsula by extending the cabinets along the sink wall 12" into where the peninsula now is, then use 39" or 42" high wall cabs (12" deep) facing into your office area as the peninsula base and top it with 24" deep butcher block. That gives the cook 12" extra prep space on the D/W side of the sink (and avoids another corner cab), and allows people to dump their crap on the peninsula without it interfering with the cook. If you use two 24" wide wall cabinets as the base you can have 3 4" wide support pillars with brackets (one each end, one in center) to support the 10" counter overhang (butcher block should have a 2" lip on kitchen side of cabinets) and then curve the end that jets into the kitchen = 5 ft. base, 5-1/2 - 6 ft. counter. This is the cheapest and easiest way to go - you get a LOT more prep space in the kitchen and you don't lose any of your office space. It looks like you just have a table sitting in the space next to the laundry closet now, so it only makes sense to turn that into the sunroom entrance.

Oh, so many helpful replies that my mind is reeling. Thank you all so much! Blfenton, yes, there are 53" between the sink and the island, and 38" between the range and the island. I'll post pics in a few minutes. I'm having a hard time picturing the triangular island, but I like the idea. Between the end of the sink run cabinet and the sliding door is 32" of wall with an electrical outlet and light switches. That is where the cat fountain and feeding dish are at present. It is unlovely. Davidrol, lol! Yes, I am practical. I want the kitchen to be pretty, but first I want it to function without smoke alarms going off and smells lingering. I don't want to keep opening and closing those annoying bifold doors in the garage entry. Note to self: Look into replacing those with different doors. Herbflavor, aha! I seem to have an acute lack of vision, which is why I came here in the first place. Okay, I will try to commit that to paper. Thank you for opening these possibilities for me. Rosie, I am trying to get my head around moving the doorway, mostly because I don't know what you mean by "bottom wall." The sink wall? Yes, a good counter and storage. Island or perimeter, I have no preference. I'll just have to play around and see what will feel the best. The thought of reorienting the island has just made my jaw gape open. I honestly hadn't considered it. Doh! More soon.