Oh, cupshaped, you are such a help and encouragement. It sure has been a mixed bag today, got up dead tired, fooled around on the computer a bit and went back to bed for awhile. Then I felt perkier. So, first I put those clematis in the ground toward the fronts of the arbor in front (so it will leave me more room to dig a larger hole for the roses for each side. That went ok, watered and mulched them. Then while I was waiting for my cereal to cool, I went and moved Artemesia, was a snap, think it will be ok, it looks a lot better to me, and I feel better about it. So I CAN try an Arctic Queen! That was what I wanted when I first started looking at clematis and mixing them with roses. Amazing that clematis on your shed! They must be pretty versatile. Only a couple hours of sun! That can wait until next year. I may not have the trellis done and painted until next season either, the temp one may have to do or I can pick up a bigger one if I have to or improvise something if it starts getting too big this year, maybe a chain link fence section or something from Habitat Restore or somebody's trash. Thank you for looking some more up on C. Roo. Doesn't it sound heavenly? I sure hope it grows for me. That place was expensive, but I can't find that exotic stuff in the nurseries around here. If you want something different, you have to pay the price. Second year in a row now, can I find a true blue columbine without running and calling all the different places? Nooooooo. I'm not a PS expert, but I can certainly make your sketch darker, not to worry about that. And thank you again for it. I'm kind of excited about it now that I finally have a good plan. I can grow something else on my Victorian door trellis. It's huge for a screen door. A big downer. I planted the big clay pots, wish they were bigger yet but I can't carry them when full, hardly, as it is. Dusty miller went in ok, too big for the pot, the odd grass stuff went in ok, bigger than I wanted. Then I cram my marigolds and salvia I started in the house. It doesn't look so good, and the salvia is wilting already. The potting soil is good quality but too wet this year, so I tried to pack it in as best I could and threw in some lobelia seeds I'd saved around the edges and just misted. It will take them forever to sprout and catch up. Next year I'll put something simpler in them. It's so darn frustrating. But I feel better about the whole business than I was last night. Six more roses to plant, one I rooted and 5 ordered, and that's it for this year. Then start some cuttings for my pepsi bottle ghetto. My family will help if I beg, my one daughter is especially good. But she has a fussy baby now, and that means I have to babysit while she works which I don't like to do any more, my nerves have been shot for several years and I have no patience with little kids, except the neighbor ones, they go home after they find out what I'm doing, etc. My son just does not like to help, he's got his own place looking like a palace, and between that and his gf and job, he doesn't want to take much time for me. I'll be lucky if I can get him to spray the lawn. Last year I was in tears over their not helping after all I went through for them raising them, so my sister is wealthy and that's where I'm getting some of the extra money to hire people to help me. My other daughter I paid last fall, and she did a good job, but her husband I don't want around, spooks me and let me down bigtime when he quit in the middle of tilling the front. And I paid him for what he did anyway, so it's not that I was expecting it all free. Bless my sister! She understands, says I'm not alone with adult children who don't want to help their parents.

I believe some of the posters are not clear on what the sale of quilts is all about. To clarify, we make quilts for Mission Arlington and give them "FREE" to Mission Arlington to be distributed to people in need. We have a quilt show for church members (about 5,000) and others (not citywide published) for the purpose of selling some of the quilts in order to replenish our funds. Money is needed to purchase supplies to make quilts next year for the mission. We are a self supporting group, no funds from the church. We display all quilts and those interested in purchasing will have a greater variety to choose from. Quilts not sold are "GIVEN" to Mission Arlington "FREE". Many of the quilts would be considered simple quilts and others are more detailed. Even simple quilts cost money to make even with donated fabric and many hours of work. We do not charge charity people for quilts, we do not handle that aspect, Mission Arlington does the giveaway "FREE" to those in need of help. My concern is how "cheap" a lady wants to price the quilts church members or others purchase. It is a fund raising event, that is, money is needed to support our efforts to make quilts next year for Mission Arlington. The "cost" of quilts does not include hours of labor to make the quilt tops. As volunteers we do not expect to be paid for our time, that is our gift to the cause. The four of us making quilt tops use our own money to purchase items needed to work with at home making the quilt tops, such as rotary blades, thread, etc. Therefore, $10 above cost of batting, fabric, sheet, crochet thread is not reflective of the true cost of making the quilts. This is why I needed to vent! I am appalled at the suggested pricing. I have already priced quilts I made and if no one wants to pay the price then the quilts will be given to Mission Arlington. I am not willing to give my time/labor to church members because they want a bargain. Most can afford what they want. Thanks for your help, I feel better about "my" pricing and will stick to it. I priced double of cost and that is too cheap. Last year I was ill with pneumonia and not there for the sale. I have learned since that many of "my" quilts were sold for $10.00, that hurts. Apparently sold by others who do not make the quilt tops. That price did not cover cost of making the quilt much less any thought to how many hours I spent making them. We do need to get organized and set some rules. Due to lack of appreciation of my time/efforts next year I will be spending more time with my family and less on the quilt project.

My goodness, your situation sounds exactly like ours! We were paying $250 on average in 2002 and decided it was time to take action! We are in Central CA, just south of SF Bay Area. Same conditions as your place. High enough on a slope that regularly has to 60-MPH gusts in Winter. During the last storm, warning in our area was for 75-MPH wind. In the summer, the exposed slope can heat outside to 115-F easily. Burning heat. Expecting snow the first part of this week. We are planning our retirement as well and setting up our place to hopefully last 20+ years with no more big improvements. I strongly suggest using windows with the following qualities: 1. In sun exposed location, consider using fiberglass or aluminum clad. In shaded location or less exposed location, vinyl may be OK. 2. In Wild fire zone, forget vinyl and stick with aluminum clad. 3. Have at least double-pane. 4. Make sure the window has Low-Solar-Heat-Gain Low-E II (or even III) coating. 5. If your elevation allows, consider buying those with argon gas filled in between the glass panes. 6. Sites that help determine best measurements for our locations. Main link: http://www.efficientwindows.org/ I did a search for windows appropriate for CA - San Diego and this link takes you there: http://www.efficientwindows.org/city_all.cfm?id=6 You can change the search by changing it to "All glass types" instead of "Double Low-Solar....." just to see. You can also look at CA-Daggett if that more closely approximate your location. 7. If you are in Wild Fire zones, be sure to use tempered glass. It will buy an extra safety margin. Low-E II (or III) is a coat of material applied to the glass so that it reflects solar heat away from the house in the summer and yet able to reflect the interior heat back into the house in the winter. We have them on ours and it is absolutely fantastic. THis is a must. Some will certainly argue that vinyl windows are cheaper and do as well. We still have two Milgard vinyl windows left in our house. As a home owner who wants to live peacefully through retirement, I will not use vinyl. Vinyl is inherently weak chemically so other chemicals must be added for it to survive heat and cold and so on. Why bother? If you are willing to spend for long term satisfaction, go straight for fiberglass or aluminum-clad wood interior windows. Fiberglass and aluminum are both stronger than vinyl and require no special additive to stiffen them against heat and cold. As for Argon gas, it can only be used up to a certain elevation. Reputable windows dealers will know this and know whether they can order the gas for you. The gas fills the airspace between the glass panes so that solar heat cannot easily travel by convection from the outer glass to the inner glass. It can cook outside up to 115-F and the inside remains a cool 75. It is wonderful! As for brands, we used Marvin Windows (bought 4 years ago now). They make a fiberglass version too. Andersen windows is a good brand as long as you buy the higher end versions that meet your requirements. My relatives use Andersen in SF East Bay Hills area, one lives on Santa Cruz mountains facing the sea. We last shop for windows 4+ years ago so I can say nothing about other brands now. Our experience is that we paid for what we got most of the time. Go cheap, for sure it will have cheaper performance. Do research carefully before signing anything. Be very picky and let the shop know you are "picky". A bit of hard work now up front will save a lot of angst later. For contractors, make sure they know what they are doing. Some charge extravagant prices if they think they can fool ya. Some charge too low because they cut corners. You will need to get good recommendations and learn a bit about how windows are installed and then quiz the contractors. Then watch them like a hawk. They will need access inside and outside. For ease of access, we basically cleared everything away from our windows so they could move safely and swiftly without hurting themselves or slowing the job. Better we give them lots of room than hurting them or having them accidentally break something. Finally, a side note. We installed a 10KW Grid-Tied PV Solar system on our property and have paid nothing to PG&E since. It cost $75K at the time, state paid $25K rebate so we ended up with $50K. At current PG&E rate, we would be paying close to $300 a month even with new windows. We will "recoup" our $50K in 14 years. With PG&E rate about to go up again this year, it has been a blessing. You do not need a 10KW system to save. Most families use a 5KW to reduce energy cost. It is worth considering for your location. Good luck and Happy Retirement!!!

AFTER All That... we are thinking much more about selling. We have ripped half out (sink cabinet had to go). The island is staying “as is”. The back “U” section with four Lazy Susan’s is staying “as is”. Same appliances but a big single bowl sink will be added. Using same faucet. My drawing isn’t to scale (sink is centered). However, I have my estimate order ready with the details. I’ll be using Conestoga RTA’s as I’m experienced with them. Some replace and some reface. I’m blending this combo. New long run cabinets area and all the way into the “U” will get a new top in Silestone Coral Clay * see sample on painted sample board. I’m going to do a 2” backsplash in the Coral Clay and call it a day! Like the look of the 2”.