These are the things we love: cooking, being with friends, being with our dog. Things we don't like: the current kitchen. The current kitchen has: -limited counterspace -- we now have a kitchen cart that lives in the living room taking up space there. Regular use items are on top of fridge because of lack of counterspace. -microwave on the bottom shelf of cart so older family member can't use it and it is back-breaking to use/clean for everyone else, too (no counter space for it, no room for a second cart). -oven that is too close to the floor (the door actually lies on the floor when open) and opens directly into the main kitchen entrance. -Kitchen table with 2.5 foot clearance to counter -- we sit in this space and it is also a walkway (including use by person with walker). -People frequently have to exit kitchen to allow access to fridge doors or for other people to pass through. -26+ cu.ft fridge is packed to gills (plus we have a fridge and two freezers in the garage (a full height and a chest). -coffee grinder won't fit under current low cabinets so takes up a great deal of the prep space beside the sink. -When we grind grain, roast green coffee beans, dehydrate kale, or do the sausage making, folks are banished from the kitchen table interrupting meals. -We have a lot of fruit trees (orange, lemon, lime, pomegranite, apple ...). During each season, more implements compete for limited space. The pomegranite press juicer eats up more sink prep space, the apple mead sits out in the very limited stove area for months. Exasperated with friends? No -- their presence makes dealing with the kitchen oddities more than tolerable. The cramped space has never stopped the parade of fun cooking stuff like buying whole pigs and parting out to friends or making our own bacon and sausage (though it has sometimes been quite the circus: juggling the meat grinder, sausage stuffer, keeping lots of ice handy to keep everything icycold, shuffling people as trays of sausage are sent out to the garage fridges/freezers after being stuffed, etc). We love visiting the farms where we buy our food, learning how to kill and prep live chickens and I even once camped out at a Tenn farm for a week learning various fermentation methods (including making soy sauce). It's a pretty major part of our lives. Now, I was having trouble explaining to the master chef/homeowner front entry into kitchen was a bad idea. "It just isn't done" wasn't cutting it, and "it'll hurt resale" elicited a response of "well, can we get an estimate from a realtor as to how much it would devalue the house? Maybe it's worth it anyway". And there are financial and family connection reasons that the house will probably be his for the rest of his life. But I let him read your responses so he knows it's not just my opinion. :-) Cooking is a really big deal for us and is way fun. It will go on, no matter the size and layout of the kitchen. That said, the side south window may be on the chopping block and center hallway options are back.

Wishing your DD the best and hoping she is able to recover a lot. We had a big storm with lots of lightening strikes. One hit an apt complex with 10 units that caught on fire. Sad. Good luck on the insurance. I live in a condo, and at every association meeting, we are reminded how important it is to have insurance coverage. I do.

I hope it does get that far.... Our town in the last year has gotten a new Koles, JCPenney's , Hobby Lobby, Bed and Bath and Beyond, Google, Pet Smart, Quaker State resturant, Hooters (lol), ShopKo is building,Lane Bryant is a new one that just opened. There are several more that are in the process of building..These are all in one area called Metro Crossing. Lots of new jobs...(Not big paying ones I imagine) All about 5-6 mins from our home. But we are still out in country sort of. Everyone out here has at least three acres. I'm hoping it will make our property worth more... A girl can hope... patti

Hi! We live in Brisbane, and I would like to plant something all the way along our western fence, which is in shade most of the day. I am looking for advice for what to plant that will provide some privacy. The morning shade is fairly light (with some patchy bits of direct sunlight) due to nearby taller trees. It is in heavier shade all of the afternoon. We have a 3 story block of units on our western boundary, and so the sun disappears behind this building. The soil is well drained, and deeper down has some clay. But the plants will most likely be in a raised bed in fresh soil, as we are going to build a retaining wall. We have planted Lilly pilly resilience along the back fence and about 3 metres down the western side, but then it starts to get shadey and I have noticed these few trees are already slower to grow so was contemplating a different variety of plant for the rest of the wall. Something fast growing would be ideal. Photo taken was at 12.30pm April 19. Do you think I should persist will Lilly Pilly? What about Camellias? What about Summerscent? Im not really a big fan of bamboo. Thanks!!! Lou