Hi, Susan! #1: If you look up the zones for your plants, anything hardy to zone 4 or colder will survive in a container. Plunking it into a compost pile or pile of mulch would probably be enough for zone 5 stuff, too. That way you don't even have to dig at the new place. Can you have a compost pile at the new place? You could easily make a huge one at this time of year, with all the leaves put to the curb in bags. #2: The plants will put down roots until the ground freezes, so they do have a decent amount of time. Putting hot caps on them would help, too. If you really want to be sure these guys will survive: can you have a greenhouse? Those plastic zip-up ones could protect a LOT of plants, and give them more time to get established (in the ground). They're not all that expensive, either. #3: I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing this weekend, but it will be in Lombard. Do you need help digging things up? I can help for a few hours! Maybe Scott can, too. I have tons of containers.

Amanda, I think the heart pine will give you enough contrast with your other woods that it would be fine for the floor, if you want a wood floor, and it'll certainly go with the Colonial house. If you want tile, which will be colder, though very easy to care for, consider 1'x2' French pavers. They're a light terra cotta, and very traditional in kitchens. The antique ones are very expensive, but there are new ones of the type being made now. For authentic Colonial, I think a gray slate kind of look would be more on point, but it would make your kitchen look dreary, whereas the light clay look of the French pavers would be cheery and should go with your big brick hulk. :) Even though you've spec'd a lot of wood, with the painted section, and the windows, and the brick fire surround, and the flow into the dining room, I think you have enough relief that you can go a bit wild in the kitchen with the woods and get away with it. Especially with all the different kinds and colors you've chosen, which provide you with contrast and interest. You have the whole warm side of the color wheel (i.e., analogous colors) -- to throw some logic at you. :) Floor: yellow-brown (I'd go natural on them. They'll age to a really nice honey color.) Cabinets: red-brown Island top: dark red-brown Beams: charcoal-brown Hood: orange-brown For hue and brightness contrast you have the silver-gray stainless counters and the white cabinets. You can do window treatments whose main job is to bling up your black hole windows at night. There are slat blinds that have art painted on them, for instance. You could do a lacy shade. Or something baroque and flocked. Shades are pretty inexpensive, and can be changed out when you get tired of them. And they don't get into the soup, and hide pretty well when they're up. You can even do clear vinyl and let your kids paint on them for each season, then wash them off and start over. One of the great things about all of your colorblocking is that you don't really need a lot of bling to make the kitchen lively. Add in the detritus of family life and you're there. Plus, you also have hardware (i.e., jewelry) to choose. You can go simple and demure, in a silvery color to go with the stainless counters, but you could do art glass or wild granite knobs, colored resin bar pulls, Anne At Home theme hardware, or whatever suits your fancy. Some hardware looks dumb in some settings, but I think your kitchen can take a lot of interest without feeling overdone. I mean, how much bling do you want?

MizGG so sorry for your loss. The best advice I once got when in nursing school was there are periods of time in our lives that we need to lower our expectations. The devastating loss of your husband must have been so hard and it is expected that other things in life took a back seat. For my house- We take our shoes off in the breezeway. We keep our dogs groomed and their nails trimmed. I am a neat freak so everything gets cleaned and dusted quite often. After that it is just updating in my current house and every house I have owned. Fresh paint every few years, and replace things that show signs of wear and tear. I usually do not replace things that do not need replacing unless I have the urge. For example my kitchen cabinets are over 60 years old. We refinished them instead of replacing them because they were in freakish amazing condition and we had other things that needed our attention and money such as refinishing floors, replacing floors, ceilings, doors and garage doors and openers. My next big expense is new windows for the house because I cannot find anyone in my area competent to refinish my old windows. Then within the next 10 years I expect to replace the roof, furnace and AC as well as have the house paid off.

1. Salt-free water "softeners" do not soften water. They are pretty good at separating folks from their money, but that is all. That Clack system is too small. If you were only using the place for a few weeks total it would probably be fine, but since you are there half the year, you want one twice that size - 2 cubic ft or resin. Kinetico is different for a whole bunch of reasons, so the units will be smaller, if space is a premium. For a place that sits idle, they are a nice option. However, they will be way more expensive. An RO will remove the GenX toxin. Without knowing the specific chemistry of the chemical, it is difficult to say exactly what percentage will be removed. However, given its origin, removal efficiency should be quite high. There are certain things to look for when purchasing a softener (these don't apply to Kinetico): High quality American or German made resin. This will provide a tight size distribution for optimal flow within the resin, longer resin life, and more reliable, predicable water softening. If you have WELL WATER: 8% crosslinked resin. If you have CITY WATER: 10% crosslinked resin. The oxidizers that city water treatment plants use, such as chlorine or chloramine, are harmful to softener resins. Higher crosslinking will resist chemical attack longer. 3. Top basket (nice to have for well water, required for city water). This serves two purposes. It sets up a proper water distribution during normal operation and prevents resin loss during backwash. Gravel underbed. The gravel underbed is there to set up proper flow patterns, improve backwash, keep the bottom basket in place, prevent basket failure, and prevent channeling. Many softener sales companies like to leave this out or sell softeners with a vortex system instead. Vortex systems weigh less than gravel so they cost less to ship. In addition, they are a more expensive item that adds profit for the softener salesperson, but provides no additional benefit to the homeowner . It simply adds another piece of equipment that can break. Fleck or Clack valves. These set the industry standard. Be aware that you will not be able to purchase Clack valves online. This is not a problem if you purchase locally. The valve should regen based on water usage, not time. Install the softener with a three-valve bypass. This will make it much easier if you ever need to remove the softener for repairs or wish to take it with you when you move. Use full-port, quarter-turn valves. Noryl bypass. Most softeners are available with either Noryl or stainless bypass valves. Both are good valves, but the noryl tends to be more reliable when not used for long periods of time. This is a redundancy if you install with a proper three-valve bypass. I prefer a bit of redundancy but it is your call. Brine tank: Although either round or square will work, round brine tanks are more structurally sound and will not deform like a square tank will. Additionally, if you need a softener 1.5 cuft or larger, a square tank will most likely be too small. If you live in a cold climate, ensure equipment is stored in a climate-controlled environment. Frozen softener resin is damaged softener resin. Purchase a Hach 5-B test kit. You will want to periodically check to ensure your softener is working correctly and this kit is your best option. Additionally, you should purchase a Hach 5-B test kit. You will want to periodically check to ensure your softener is working correctly and this kit is your best option.