Debbie, FWIW, I was going to mention chinaberry (Melia azedarach), but I did a little research and found a lot of negative information, the tree being considered invasive in many areas of the US (not California, though, as far as I could see). Anyway, I just wanted to mention the name and you might do some specific research for your area. Melias are one of the most common shade trees here (the others being sycamores, but they're probably too big for your yard) and they do wonderfully in our dry warm Summers. They are a multi-season interest tree and I especially love them in Winter when the fruits hang in golden clusters from the naked branches. They are also fast growing, which means the wood may be brittle, but if you need shade fast you might consider them, even though I suspect you would still need some additional shade gadget to cover your shade plants in the meantime. Not sure how much of a shade tree this would be, as I'm not sure of the adult format of the plant, but I love scarlet oak (quercus coccinea) and I believe this is one of the smaller oaks. Slow growing of course. With trees, the quicker they grow, the more likely they are to be weak and brittle, so you should decide first whether you want (sort of) instant gratification or you're planting for the future, in which case you would need additional measures to provide shade now. Eduarda

We bought our 1964 house last year with its original electrical. When we moved in, we replaced all of the old switches with decoras and dimmers, and we replaced the outlets (which were all 2-prong) with grounded 3-prong. When we redo the kitchen, we plan to upgrade the circuit box to a 200 amp (or possibly larger to leave room for later additions). To be honest, we did not realize that the outlets were all 2-prong, but we would not have let that deter us, since we had a fairly specific wish list. Things like outlets/outlet covers are simple to replace as long as the electrical is in otherwise good condition. The things that would have been deal breakers for us were: old asbestos duct work; asbestos cottage cheese stuff on the ceiling; no a/c original pipes roof in need of replacement too much wallpaper throughout the house (I HATE stripping wallpaper) Signs that the house had been neglected Things we didn't really care about: Needing new paint or carpet/decorating issues An old kitchen or bathrooms, as long as they were in working order The old electrical outlets and switches Things that I wanted to change, but which were relatively simple to fix

LOL, I thought it was a foosball table in a game room, who knows. I think it was a house built by someone who was heavily involved with youth perhaps through a church or a sports club. I have known such people who yes, do have considerable money and this is how they want to spend it, sharing their good fortune. This isn't the first house I've seen with a basketball court in it. I also knew a family who were very much into square dancing and they had a facility added to their house to host square dancing practice for their club. It's nice to see people who can enjoy their home and not have to worry about resale value. So back to aprilycummings' original question about the house that she stated is "perfect for family and in a great school district." If you aren't scared away by all these opinions, hope the pros and cons have been helpful. All the best to you! I'm curious to know what you decide.

@Jim Mat - What a stupid insulting post. I didn't do "everything right" but thank god I took advice from posters and exercised common sense in terms of hiring excellent work people. I was smart enough to know what I didn't know although I did a lot of reading and research so that at least I could ask intelligent questions and have some sense that the people I hired knew what they were doing. My doing "everything right" was essentially at the front end when I chose my designer and GC prudently. If my procedures which I think were right were in fact "wrong" in your opinion, then the appropriate way to do that would be to challenge my "right" opinion. At any rate, I think there is a tacit kind of etiquette on the Board in which people don't insult other's end products in terms of taste which most forum participants adhere to. If someone solicits an opinion on matters of taste, it's open season but pretty stupid to just add an "I don't like - it's hideous" when that isn't the subject matter. And I am not "insulted" by what anonymous people post on forums. I just am writing this because I think posts like yours and the one insulting my finished product make this forum less productive because it creates a potentially hostile environment for those either seeking input or those offering input. I like my bathroom tile work a lot which is all that matters AND I know that the behind the scenes stuff like waterproofing was done properly - that was a combination of my reading lots of threads on showers on this forum - reading other stuff - questioning my GC, designer about how they were going to proceed. So yes, I did feel I did something "right" in terms of proceeding. If someone thinks the slivers in the OP's picture represent attractive high level of workmanship, then so be it - that's their opinion. My experience and those of others is that a high qualified tile setter spends a lot of time before laying a single tile to determine the optimum way to configure the tiles. If the tiles have some kind of variegation, they also spend time laying out the tiles so colors and patterns aren't clumped unattractively. My bathrooms had layouts posted showing exactly how the tiles were going to be laid before a single tile was placed. I write this "manifesto" because down the line, perhaps some person will then realize that SOMEONE needs to discuss actual layout with the tile setter or the end result might not be what they want or the optimum aesthetic end result.