Yep, we built twice, still working on finishing the 2nd one. Both times we were the GC, and that worked really well for us. We hired the same contractor to provide the labor for both houses, same electrician, carpenters, plumbers, tile guy - great crew! First one we hired an architect and pretty much sat on his shoulders to make sure we got exactly what we wanted. Which we did, and loved it. It was a contemporary South American style house with a large central courtyard and two long wings. It had solar hot water, solar heat for the pool, lots of energy-saving bells and whistles, and many cool features (like a secret door to a secret room, the entry to the master bedroom was by walking through a greenhouse, 2-storey sunken circular library, etc.). But after about 6 years we decided the house (about 7000 sq ft) and garden (2 acres) were both larger than we wanted. Soooooo... we decided to get rid of the parts of the house that we didn't use (like a huge family room that was almost always empty and a too-large living room). In San Diego County you can be your own architect if you also get an engineer to sign off on your plans and if your plans meet certain other requirements. The good news is that we were really pleased with almost all the features of the previous house, so we didn't have much trouble picking out wood (same cherry as we'd used before for all the woodwork), granite countertops, slate flooring (for about 80% of the floors), appliances, etc. That saved a lot of major decisions. My hubby, a wanna be architect from way back), designed a very simple house which is basically a square 80' on a side with a 40' x 40' courtyard in the middle. It is 1 room deep all around the courtyard, and every room has terrific cross ventilation. It was the first house in this county to be built of Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (AAC), a kind of concrete block that is both fireproof and terrific insulation. We have solar electric, solar hot water, 14 solar tubes and skylights, grey water system, lots of other "green" features. Conditioned space is 2400 sq ft, plus there is another 1600 sq ft of unconditioned space (garage/workshop and also storage/potting room). The new house should be done in another year or so (we're finishing it ourselves), but we've been living in it for 2-1/2 years and love it. We don't miss the larger house at all, and this will definitely be our last house. One major change is that the previous house was very modern, with lots and lots of floor-to-ceiling windows and doors and almost all white paint inside. The new house is more Mexican traditional, with 8" thick walls that resemble adobe somewhat, and very brightly painted walls inside and outside (deep violet, hot pink, turquoise, mustard, rust... you get the idea). It would be right at home in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico and elsewhere in So. America, and it also fits well in our neighborhood, too, where there are many custom homes. Best things about our house: 1) Kitchen counter on my side of the kitchen and the 4' x 8' central island are both about 3" lower than standard 'cause I'm only 5'1'' (on a good hair day). 2) All the house, including all bathrooms and showers, are fully handicap accessible. My sweet MIL is living with us at the moment and this is enormously helpful for her limited mobility, as it'll likely be for ours some day. 3) Our AAC masonry is so well-insulated that we don't use much heat - we have 2 natural gas fireplaces as our only heat source, only run them a short time a day here in winter (okay, so it rarely gets below 45 degrees here, but we DO have winter). 4) With all the skylights and solar tubes we use almost no lights inside during daylight hours. 5) Solar electric meant an electric bill last year of about $200. It should pay for itself in about 10 more years. 6) Altho the house shrunk by a lot, the kitchen is still about 18' x 18', bigger than in our last house, which is good 'cause we have a lot of cooks in the family. 7) All the bright colors are very cheerful. The barrel-vaulted ceiling in our bedroom also has a mural of the night sky, with stars that glow under black light, which we love. 8) Hubby has 2 jumbo clean-up sinks on his side of the kitchen, plus one of those tall gadgets with a sprayer attachment you could have water fights with someone across the street. Hey, he does the dishes and if it makes him happy it's fine with me. 9) We never enjoyed the jetted tub we had in the last house, so this time hubby got a whole bunch of sprayers and attachments for his side of our 2-person shower. Again, he's happy as a pig in mud (and a whole lot cleaner).

I have read the post about the charges, but I still don't see anything about how the thief used her number. How could that happen, or did I miss something? Years ago, so long ago I had forgotten about it til now that I'm reading this. I was in a different state from where I lived at the time; visiting family and Christmas shopping. I bought a gift, took it home and put it away until Christmas time. Later there was a charge on my bill that I didn't recognize so I questioned it and it was immediately removed. Yikes, Christmas came and I remembered that gift, still in the closet. I notified the card holder and explained what had happened and told them to add it back to the account. I received a wonderful note of gratitude from them, and yes, they did add it back. I don't remember if I was using Discover then or not, but I am now and have never had a problem with them. I lost my card a couple years ago, notified them and in a flash had a new card with a new number. Like Lily 316, I do love my Discover card!!

Annegreit, I’m sorry you’re uncomfortable. I may be able to help you. Not medical advice, but experience with bouts of dry eye over the years. I have experienced a situation very similar to what you describe. In the past 20 years, along with an aging (drying) population, there has been a lot of progress made toward treating the common symptoms of dry eye and related issues such as blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelid). Lots of excellent products as well. I was on the squeamish side too, but now could be walking down a hallway and drop a few preservative-free eye drops into my eyes without skipping a beat or looking. Oh, and erase that image of a tube of ointment (tip) touching your eyelid. IMO, way too much and you don’t want to be touching any tip to your eye (conjunctiva) or eyelid. You could scratch yourself. Ouch. I have some simple, safe, things for you to try. But first, let me say that it is unlikely that your dry stuck morning eye (lid) to be anything serious. There are a few common, relatively benign, causes for the symptoms you describe. As to going to an ophthalmologist, it depends on where you live — LA area or northern Maine. I need to get a few eye appointments squared away, but will likely wait until spring or summer. Here are some simple, largely regarded as safe, commonly suggested by doctors and ophthalmologists as a first line, pre appointment “try and see if this helps” approach. There are various situations that can cause dry eye or stuck eyelids. Often the condition is easily addressed. FIRST: some caveats. Please do not put any of those get-the-red-out drops into your eye. Always wash your hands well before and after touching your eyes. Educate yourself about dry eyes, itchy eyes and eyelid hygiene by going to reputable sights if looking online. Be gentle when touching your eyelid areas. With clean hands and a clean folded facecloth, make a warm water (not hot) compress (wring out excess water) for your eyes — apply gently over your eyes for a few seconds. Turn the facecloth to a clean, unused side and repeat. I usually hold mine gently over closed eyes for perhaps a minute. You can rinse in warm water and repeat. I have my own favorite brands of preservative-free, un-medicated, single use moisturizing eyedrops. There are several excellent brands. I use preservative free because when my eyes were very very dry (much better now), I could not tolerate the commonly used preservative. You do not touch your eye with any ampule tip — instead, just lean or lie back, hold the dropper above your eye and gently squeeze a drop (“distill” a drop) into your opened eye. The unmediated drops are buffered and have the correct pH and salinity to match normal tears, so there is no stinging or odor. It feels great! Gently close your eye and perhaps just let the moisture of the neutral, unmedicated eye drop sit there a few seconds. Optional. Here is what the single use ampule looks like: You just snap the top off, and use. Single use == single time use. I’ve been told that I can use more than once, but don’t keep for a day. Because there is no preservative, there is nothing to check any growth of bacteria once opened. And, again, you don’t need to or want to touch the dispensing tip to your eye. I always have then in my purse, toilet try bag and cupboard, and at bedside stand. So, because I don’t like to run out, I buy large box. But you can but in smaller amounts ;) There are several good eyelid cleaners. One that I use (when needed) is just a simple, balanced solution that is pumped out onto clean hands from a small bottle. Directions on box and inside. I apply this to clean hand and just gently massage around the area from where my eyelashes emerge. There are oil glads there that sometimes become inflamed or irritated or need a bit more cleaning than a morning shower. Feels great. No odor, but something faint, clean smelling. Great product. These products are over the counter and manufactured by companies that have been in the medical eye comfort/hygiene business for decades. They enjoy the confidence of many patients and physicians. I have no relationship to them. Oh, and over the years, I have had pets (cats, dogs) with dry eyes. I have used the eyedrops on them as well. (Pets and people with dry eyes can tear or get accumulations of goop in the corners of their eyes. Sterile ophthalmic ointment (as mdln offered, above). I used to use this before bedtime. With clean hands, I’d put a bit of the ointment on my finger tip, then apply to the inside of the lower lid. It kept my eyes moist overnight and prevented them from sticking shut by morning. I hope you find eye comfort soon, Annegreit.

Maifleor, I've seen people throw away things I would still consider safe, but some of these people were out of power for 36 hours to four days. I would think most of us have coolers, but some people probably didn't consider using them. Some folks lost water early on too. They may have decided to go straight to convenience foods. I'm not sure. I was pretty surprised to learn that people had thrown out uncooked eggs. I'll cut out bad parts of an apple, potato or tomato. A lot of people don't. I'm not sure if they don't know they can or just think it is a waste of their time. Usually, food is pretty easy to find. People were posting that the stores had milk, eggs and bananas today so we ended up at Kroger. It was kind of sad, the freezers were blocked off. It was apparent that they had to throw away a lot of food... I'm assuming for lack of electricity. They must not have back up generators. I had gone to HEB yesterday. They didn't have milk, eggs and bread because everyone had bought it. Their trucks are running and they have a great supply chain for emergencies. I've been really impressed by how they have handled the hurricanes, pandemic and now this horrible ice storm.