I'm in PA also and lenders in my region of the state are still only considering giving mortgages to those who can cough up 20% cash against the cost of the house constuction IN ADDITION TO the value of the land being fully paid for completely. Example: If one owns a free-and-clear-paid-for $40,000 lot and wants to build a 300,000 house, the lenders are STILL requiring 20% of $300,000 or $60,000 cash down PLUS the FULL LOT VALUE ($40,000) as collateral against the mortgage. Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants and other professionals are having a hard time qualifying for mortgages under these terms and few builders are building because their clients can't qualify because of the tight banking regulations. If you are NOT in this exclusive club and can NOT afford more than 20% down and have a free-and-clear lot....then you don't stand any chance right now of getting a mortgage in Pennsylvania under most circumstances.... Sorry.

Second time around for me in 5 years so I have the benefit of hindsight also popping in and out here and reading. What's most interesting is how much is new. OTOH new isn't always better because, in the end, the service issues can be very affecting. I'm still having them with a built in fridge f.ex. 5 years later. Physical restrictions helped this time. Things had to fit in certain spaces, space is tight and certain things will and won't work. I spent 2 weeks looking and researching. I've got quotes and made my decision, which won't change. I did drawings of the new plan and had a virtual rendering done as well to see how the new color and tile and counters looked with the appliances. I'm very pleased with choices. What helps is knowing what you want and being able to budget around that. What I didn't find helpful was info/judgments given to me by salespeople. I spent time emailing folks here on old threads to see what their experiences have been over time. They all answered quickly and were incredibly generous in their comments. Having the same input from 2 or 3 people you don't know but who say the same thing more or less based on their every day experience was the most helpful to me in my decisions.

nobody said sperm banks are the only option however if a lesbian couple wants ANONYMOUS sperm donor, that's when they go to sperm bank. IF anonymous sperm bank still exists. Finding a man to have children with is ENTIRELY different issue/solution. But back to the original question: "I think all genetic and physical/mental information should be released to the child upon request regarding their parent. Not names, locations, etc." That's how it is in the US. In countries where anonymous sperm banks are not in existence identifying info such as name and location must be released upon request. "any individual conceived with donor sperm has the right to request non-identifying information from the age of 16 and identifying information from the age of 18." this law is in place for the last about 5 years. I personally kind of understand this, people have rights to know who their parents are, not just their medical info. But at the same time...who knows. Seems like this new law created sperm donation shortage, plus people find loopholes like traveling elsewhere, Denmark appears to be popular. So there is a need for ANONYMOUS sperm banks no matter what the law says or what other options are, people look for what works for them. Once again I appreciate those who expressed opinion on anonymous sperm banks. I think it is an interesting ethical/philosophical dilemma.

Doods, it is satisfying to know where the bougies have been, and where they'll be again. If they don't freeze, there'll come a period soon where they'll be fuller and nearly solid magenta. Then they'll look great. That's right, Christopher, that flame vine is P. venusta. This is the first year I seriously slacked off on fertilizing everything and the first year that the vine has not bloomed great. It seems, though, that the wild ones growing here and there are blooming lighter than in previous times. So I don't know whether to think it is my slacking, or just coincidence that caused them to be light this year. We're in the same boat -- aging with aging mothers. (Mine is 99.5!) Acres is too much to take care of as soon as arthritis gets hold of you! (I feel for you if you suffer from that.) While the bougies are made of limber wood, it does become very rigid over time, as it becomes thick. What's working against it is that when its development is split into so many trunks, the thickening process of each takes longer. The support post should be good for twenty years, though, and I think that would be plenty for the trunks to stand on their own. Pretty sure I'll be remaking the basket portion of it though, in a few years. If all that mess of thorny canopy was at ground level, it wouldn't work for me, and then I'd hate it, too ... unless it was in someone else's yard. Caring for it now is actually very easy, since I only cut low-hanging bottom stuff. I can't say how the asparagus worked out because I sold the house not all that much later. If I ever come across a picture of that pyramid, I will post. It was almost like a giant stone square spear head. Was great fun to build. That's how I cleaned the yard of rocks.