I'm concerned about the final size, although it's possible that by the time they outgrow the space the house will be sold to better neighbors (and we may not be here, anyway!) I wouldn't take that mentality. Look at the mistakes the previous owner/s made and now you have to deal with it. Instead of a beautiful mature landscape you are dealing with the mishaps. I'll admit I didn't spend much time on your design post but I'll offer my quick two cents regarding selection. Drainage is critical for conifers. Pines will suffer but some spruces will be ok. You may need to plant high to aid in drainage. Generally speaking Picea abies and mariana tolerate moist soils more so than others. You'll also want to note that many grafted spruce are on Picea abies root stock so you get that adaptability. There are many narrower cultivars you can select. For example Picea abies 'Cupressina' is a very popular and narrow selection. There are many nice selections of Thuja that you can look into as well. Perhaps give us more info on spacing (what you have to work with) and direct location directly in this post to get more solid feedback. Those are hemlocks are doing poorly due to their placement. Not sure what the person was smoking when they put them there. From a size and adaptability perspective.

We've owned a Panasonic VCR/DVD recorder and now have a Toshiba unit with same the same functions. The Panasonic worked well in general, but was finicky about which blank disks it liked to record on. The Toshiba seems to work pretty well; it's a little slower about some things (rewinding VHS tapes; loading disks) than the Panasonic. But we haven't had a problems recording on disks. I'm afraid that someone in your household will have to read the manual and also deal with on-screen menus. That just seems to be the way these machines are. Also be aware that your connections will depend on the age and sophistication of your TV and any other equipement that you are connecting to. I'm pretty good at hooking up electronics in general, but getting this machine properly connected took some time for me to figure out. There are about 5 types of video cables/connections in use now, for example. Good luck.

It really depends on the child's study style. My older son has ADHD. When he first started doing homework in kindergarten he found the kitchen really distracting. I tried moving him to the dining room but he found the noise from the kitchen to be too much even though he couldn't see it. I ended up buying him a desk that had lots of storage space and stocked it with everything he needed for homework including an electric pencil sharpener. He's now and the third grade and gets him homework done without me having to ride him. I go over his assignments downstairs before he does them and then he shows me that he's done them afterward. If he needs help then he brings his work downstairs and I help him. My younger son starts kindergarten and I suspect he will need for me to be more hands on with him. I plan to make a space downstairs for him to do his work. Basically, I believe that there's no one size fits all answer and you won't really know until your child has homework. Furthermore, their needs can change as they get older. For example, when my older son started school he didn't have any homework on the computer and now he has school work to do on the computer almost everyday. We've had to make accommodations for that.

I live in the same climate zone, in Oakland, and have several fruit trees, so I know that the following have a proven track record. Someone else suggested Feijoa Sellowiana, also called pineapple guava. The variety "Coolidge" grows well, fairly upright, has beautiful flowers and is self fruitful. The following 2 suggestions could work with thoughtful pruning, and love our climate, Santa Rosa plum or black mission fig. Or a dwarf Meyer lemon tree. And now is a great time to plant with the winter rains to help get the tree established. I recommend East Bay Nursery in Berkeley, they have a great selection of healthy fruit trees and a knowledgeable staff.