Its a big world and everybody on it has a different viewpoint - all of them valid. When I take a deep view of the issue it has parallels to other nature/environmental conflicts and the ethics of ownership of art and artifacts. When I was younger I collected a lot in the wild, both plants and animals. Over time my poor track record for success calmed down my wish to grow everything. Now I only collect something that I really think I can grow. I prefer to take cuttings and whereas in the past I would take an obscene amount of cuttings, now I only take a few (you could call this pruning!). I try not to tell other people what they should do or not do, because I believe they will eventually slow down on the collecting. It is rare for a person to be a rabid collector for years on years. Another aspect of it to consider - the only people that will care enough to step in and do the work involved with saving an endagered species of plant will be gardeners. Those gardeners will have to gain those skills somewhere. When disaster is looming, it will be a gardener that saves the rare plants in his/her neighborhood - other people will be busy saving something else. Way back when I worked at the zoo I used to work in the bird department taking care of a large walk through aviary filled with South American birds. One day while out at lunch with some ex-staff I ran across my old highschool biology teacher who told me about her teenage son's pet parrot that he had recieved from the zoo. Immediately my group figured out that the kid had stolen the parrot but I kept my cool and let her tell me the false story he had told her. Later they were furious that I did nothing or said nothing to her but in my mind that parrot was in a much better place being cared for by this kid. Everyone thinks that because its the "zoo" that all the animals are expertly cared for but this was an orphaned bird that lived in isolation and neglect in windowless shed for years before someone stepped forward and suggested we re-introduce it to the parent flock. By then it was heavily imprinted on people and would fly up to anyone walking through the aviary. The flock treated it poorly, it was never going to fit in. The zoo didn't have the time to take adequate care of it. Allowing it to be kept by the teenager was actually better for the bird - even though the kid was a thief. So it all depends on how you want to look at it.

I received my wonderful box from Margaret this week having received my red shrimp plant a couple weeks before. Poor box - he was in "priority" mail for 6-7 days! All arrived well though, here is what I received: Six big beautiful succulents Spring Pot Percher Snail Pot Hanger Pruning Shears Bag of GREAT seeds that I wanted and the cutest garden turtle ever Thanks so much Margaret I love everything! Sue G

Deedles, I really like the placement of your prep sink. I think it gives you two great areas to prep next to it. I bet you'll end up prepping on the peninsula most of the time and the placement of the sink gives you a nice big area. I like it. I've gotta agree with the visual of the arch over the fridge not really working. I'd square it off so it fits with the rest of the cabinets. Your kitchen is going to be set up a lot like mine. I have a major traffic pattern through mine too. The fridge is in the traffic pattern, while my work area is on the other side of the kitchen. My prep sink makes a nice triangle between the fridge and the microwave and I love it. I find traffic tends to stay completely out of my way while I'm cooking and they stay in that zone between the prep sink, fridge and microwave. With what you've described, and from what I see of your space, I think you'll spend most of your time in the u of your kitchen while traffic stays outside. I really like that part of your plan. This is going to be a great kitchen to work in.

Cosmetic stuff is easy and fun and totally within the bounds of DIY. You don't have to "gut" things to necessarily achieve big style improvements. Just paint, tile, new doors, ripping out nasty carpet, etc. can make a HUGE difference in the feel of the home. Don't think structural, think color, texture, etc. for the look and feel you like. A couple of thoughts: If the kitchen is melamine, it isn't all that great aesthetically, but it does clean up well. White kitchens are "in" right now and you could change out the pulls for wrought iron ones or less modern, more cozy silver ones, and do something warm and cozy with the backsplash color and and paint the walls and island, and curtains and appliances, etc. just for starters. Google "white farmhouse kitchens" or "white country kitchens" or "white cottage kitchens" for some inspiration about small appliances, patterns, dishware, linens, colors, etc. Consider the cabinets neutral for now. As for the bathroom, you can get many elements of the look you like by tiling the shower enclosure, ripping out the door and replacing it with a curtain, and painting or tiling the walls of the rest of the room, or even putting up beadboard. I agree with others though about thinking a lot about how it will clean up when considering bathroom finishes. Barnboard is lovely in small doses but a dust magnet. I know, I had barnboard paneling in a house I lived in once, it does NOT grow on you!! Use it as an accent. As for the bedroom with the tub, you can redo the surround and also put up a wooden screen around it for now. At the very least, you could build a half wall around the tub, like the photos Nosoccermom posted. I love the Scandanavian country/cottage look, that's the way I would go.