Nandina, thank you. And thank you for your previous comments and insights. This was very difficult for me. I simply could NOT visualize how it would look when done, so I spent many weeks agonizing over what it would look like. I love the result! We are mostly DIYers, but yes, this was a project that we did not even consider doing ourselves. To clarify - the engineer was used for consultation, he recommended a wall of this sort. The wall was actually done by a landscaping company (with experience in flood protection). A few points that are not apparent from the pictures I posted - there are two places, in addition to the front walk and the back yard patio where they put steps in. This provides us access to the other regions of the yard, and looks very nice. The other point is that in one back corner, the wall is about four feet high. This was astonishing to us that it needed to be that high! Now we are protected from any flood up to one foot less than the biggest flood in the valley (1997). If we have one of 1997's magnitude, we would have to sandbag BUT a wall two sandbags high would be sufficient. Prior to this wall, we would have had to build a dike that came up to where we are not PLUS the two more sandbags! What a difference. We just pray that we don't have a flood of that size again. Of course, now they are saying we are heading into a drought .... Brent, thank you. Like you, I was very unsure how it would look. No I don't have picture of during, and I really can't say how much dirt except a lot. And a lot of big equipment driving around tearing up our lawn. In addition to the wall, we had our propane tank and our electrical panel moved to higher ground - more big equipment. At one point I said to DH, let's just tear out ALL the lawn and start over! We did sod the areas that were destroyed (seeding large areas of lawn with three dogs doesn't work particularly well). laceyvail, thank you for the compliments. Two matched trees does make it look more formal I agree. The crabapples, however, were chosen very carefully. I am very familiar with the trees that do well in our area and chose these not soley for their spring blossoms (which I do adore). This variety (Red Splendor) has burgundy leaves, thus providing interest throughout the summer. It is also somewhat resistant to foliar disease, which is not really a major problem for us anyway. In the 11 years I've lived in the area, only one summer did the crabs have serious problems. And then of course the red berried provide interest in the late summer, fall, and into winter and are the primary reason these trees were chosen. Red Splendor holds its fruit into the winter, providing food for birds. The waxwings and pileated woodpeckers love the fruit and they provide ample winter interest in those trees until the fruit is gone! Most of my plant choices (not all, but most) are made with consideration of bird/butterfly/hummingbird food or shelter. Ah well, others definitely would have made different choices there!

I've done the slide thing on each side of my house over the 3 years I've lived here. I feel your pain. One slide resulted in a nasty sprain that took months to heal. I learned to stay off of the grass when wet and to stay off the leaves completely. Both conditions are hazardous. I live on the side of a mountain, really steep. And I'm on the north side so there is a fair amount of shade. I am slowly replacing the weeds with flowers. I use a lot of ground covers. Along side the driveway I've put fruit trees on one side and the veggie bed on the other side using 6 inch logs to create the tiers. Then I haul the compost up to them. That's been quite a job lately. The hill is clay and rocks so I dig a hole (hard work) place the compost and clay mixture in the hole use the stones from the hole to build a little edging and then plant my plants. Over all I have a ten year plan for getting the property to the place I want it. So far I'm not doing to badly at staying on schedule. I love the look of the uphill view from my livingroom. And it gets better every year. I'm no where near where others are but I'm enjoying the journey.

LOL, well, I aim to please :p Thought of you the other day....there's an art gallery nearby the shop that has pix of Morocco on display. Of course nothing compares to that shot of you on the camel, brave girl that you are :o Maybe you can continue your room transformation on the site once it's in full swing again (hint). Love the maps btw. Oh, and I really do think your dad is quite the hottie. ;)

Hi Lukki- I know what you mean about opening it up. We lived in this house for 23 years before we did the MAJOR kitchen remodel. We went down to the studs, knocked out our living room wall, took out a window & put in the skylights. We did this the beginning of last year, and sometimes I still think I'm in someone elses house! I give you a lot of credit, I would never attempt a DIY!! Back to the topic. I think the baoding cream would look good with what you have right now. You have a lot of wall space still showing, so that will lighten it up. I don't think it looks dark at all, you've got the window above your sink and the patio door. Are you keeping the yellow? Funny that you have the same colors as I do! I would go with the larger tiles like I have. You can decide after they're in if you want to enhance or not. I spent a LOT of time spraying my slate with water. One minute I wanted to enhance them, the next minute I didn't. I am glad that I did, and I think for my kitchen I made the right choice. You will just have to see what looks best in your lighting. I'm not sure if the beige tile info I gave you would go, I think you'll have to bring in your door and granite to tell. If you can, paint a foamboard with your paint color & bring that in too. I had all 3 in tow when I picked out my backsplash. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make about my kitchen. Best of luck tomorrow, and let me know what you choose. Who knows, you may find something completely different that you like! Patti