Hello everyone. I was on this forum for a few years, then absent for a few years but I just had to comment on the Knock out roses. I grew hybrid teas and climbers. I finally gave up on the teas, tired of spraying the black spot. I still have my own-root climbers, Dortmund, Autumn Sunset, Fourth of July, and Compassion. Love these roses. I don't spray at all anymore and they do get a few black spots but they survive. Anyway, I digress, my main point here is the oh-so- wonderful Knock Outs. When I first starting reading about them on this forum, I was very skeptical about no BS, growth and bloom habits. Since I seem to live in BS city, I was very doubtful. Let me tell you. No more. I bought two of the reds year before last and I have NEVER seen one BS on them. They grew quickly, had gorgeous foliage and bloomed from early spring until cold weather started. My kind of roses!! Hello Ann. Good to see you are still hanging out here. :) Are Jean and Doc still here? Sandi

There's a large curbside planting of Knockouts at my workplace (1-2 year-old transplants that grew and flowered vigorously last year). At least half of them have produced no growth so far this spring. The rest are growing but generally have fewer shoots/progressing more slowly than last year. Apparently the hard winter has set them back and possibly killed some plants.

If you are planning to have children someday, will you stay here or move? I can see, with just two adults, why you would use the great room most of the time for your general living space. But with kids, you might want an adult living room and a child-friendly great room/kitchen combination. But if you are planning to move to a different house when you have kids, it would make sense to remodel this house to better fit your needs. Here are some questions for thought: What activities do you do in the great room? TV watching, gaming, reading, surfing the net, board games, entertaining friends, hobbies, crafts, yoga, something else? Are all the activities that you do easy to do in the great room? All supplies ready to hand, electric outlets where you need them, good lighting, table-top space if you need it, etc.? And what activities would you like to do in the great room that you can't, due to lack of resources--space, storage, electrical, table-top space, etc.? If you do have a child while living here, and the child gets your home office, where will all those activities move to? Are they compatible with the activities you currently do in that space? Then think of which of these activities could be moved to the living room or dining room, if you only had the proper support and set-up there. Are you not using the living room because of inherent flaws in the room--poor flow with the rest of the house, bad lighting, etc., or are you not using it because you haven't put in the correct furniture to let you use it the way you want? Clearly, the setup you have now isn't working for you. I think the space can be reconfigured to work better for you, but I'm doubtful that making it one big room is the best way to go. I'd look at plans that still allow you to have one room, however small, in that space where you can close the door and have privacy/quiet. That room can be your home office/computer room, or a library, or a craft space, or anything else you choose. Consider it a "swing" room that can change identities as your family's needs change.

I think a header would best describe it. Right now, according the the plan, it goes through half of the fridge, but it would be easy to move the fridge to the right a foot and problem solved. Having a kitchen flanked by an arch is actually in several of my inspiration pictures so this isn't an obstacle at all. Wow, planning a kitchen is just so full of ups and downs. It's like being on a roller coaster. I worked up a rough monitary estimate and it made me sad. Ug. Probably workable, but maybe on a different timeframe. Maybe not - the aim was October cabinet install. So hard to pay out SO much money! Then I also looked to see if they made a double oven, electric, slide in range, and they do, but it has horrible ratings and is $2300 and is the only one on the market (Electrolux). I was planning on spending $1200 on the range. Appliances are the one area I am NOT going expensive in. I have known nothing other than $300 ranges, $400 dishwashers, and $1500 fridges basically my whole life and have been perfectly happy with them. I learned to cook on them and can cook a good meal in them, and if I have to go with expensive appliances that will be what pushes this reno into absolutely not going to happen. So, now I am looking at a double wall oven and a cooktop because it looks like I might be able to swing both of them for about the same as a slide in range. Plus I am the queen of bargain hunting. When I get my heart set on something, I search relentlessly till I find ideally 30% or more off :-). I don't even know if there is room for a double oven, and then I assume there is more cabinet costs.....ah, the ups and downs continue....