Can't have Jessy getting to impatient,lol. I think Cathy missed your post. Anyways I went through my book, and I think this is the recipe she was referring too. Salt lovers canapes (from Orgasmic Appetizers) 2 small red peppers 1 small yellow pepper vegetable oil as needed Anchovy butter 1 tbsp sweet fennel seeds 1/2 c unsalted butter softened 6-9 flat anchovy fillets, patted dry and minced 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice fresh ground black pepper to taste 24 diagonal slices or rounds of whole wheat baguette, 1/4 inch thick Preheat oven 450F. Cut peppers in half and place on well oiled baking sheet. Coat the peppers with oil. Roast for 25-30 min until blackened. Place them in a paper bag and let stand for twenty minutes. Peel and seed them. Cut them lengthwise into 1/8" wide strips and set aside. Toast the fennel seeds in a dry skillet over med heat, shaking pan until fennel is golden, about 3-4 min. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Grind the fennel seeds. Mix in the butter, anchovies, lemon juice and pepper. Combine the mixture well. Preheat the broiler. Broil the baguette slice until golden about 1 - 2 min, on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Turn slices over and spread generously with the anchovy butter. Broil until the butter is golden and bubbling, about 1 min. Transfer toasts to serving platter and top each toast with a strip each of red an dyellow peppers. Serve warm or at room temp. serves 4-6 makes 24 canapes. Shelley S.

Have you tried scoring the paint between the upper sash and casing on both sides? Alternatively, how about clamping the sash rail weatherstripping flat to the window--then it will slide past the middle of the parting bead if the paint is freed. My attic windows all have the upper sashes fixed, whether by accident or not, and I generally didn't think the effort was worth it there--other rooms, yes. The two largest windows in my house are about 46" wide, the upper sash is diamond paned, the lower, one big sheet about three times the height of the upper: both are fixed in place, but flanked by narrower operable windows. For energy conservation reasons, I don't intend to free up either of those big monsters! :) Should you break a bead, you can get replacements at a lumberyard.

Wow! Lots of great responses. I'm sorry I didn't get back to the thread sooner, but I had some sort of wicked stomach bug yesterday and lay semi-conscious on the sofa most of the afternoon and evening. Much better today, thanks! Let me clarify the guest room use a bit. It will get used for 6-8 days over Christmas for dad and stepmom. The other stays would be a stepson who is stopping through, or my mom if she comes out for the weekend (she lives here, just on the other side of town and doesn't like to drive in the dark). In other words, no fancy guests! Several have mentioned that we need to make more use of the living room. I don't disagree. But having thought about it, there isn't really a good way to do so. Our living room is part of a large room that includes dining room, kitchen and a garden area, so it cannot be closed off in any way. Here is a shot of the room -- LR is at the far end: I really don't want all the flotsam and jetsam that computers and paperwork, etc. entail taking over the living room. I would say we are in the office 75% of the time we are home together (and awake). We hang out in the office because it is where the computers are (PCs rather than laptops), with desks, good chairs and good light. Then I saw the idea of DH getting his things together in one room so that could clear up the old music/workout room for me without losing the guest room. This is not altogether a bad idea. DH could have the current office as it is the biggest room. But I don't know that it would all fit very well. And then poor DH would have his office area in the industrial zone with the workout equipment and instrument storage. He really likes how we got the music/workout room set up, and I have to say I do, too. It keeps all the ugly stuff in one place. (Also, a lot of the instruments are mine, so it's not really fair for him to take the brunt of the ugly factor). Here is the room. so you can see the enormity of said horn rack (roughly 6+' x 6+' x 2' deep): Also, I'm not sure then where my personal PC would be. DH and I like to hang out together even if we are both on our PCs. This arrangement would have us in different rooms. I think the new Murphy beds are very cool. I saw an ad in the new Metropolitan Home and showed it to DH. But I'm not sure we want to invest that kind of money in the solution at this time (looks to be a minimum of $2,000, not including installation costs). Using the current set-up to include work in the current office: This would be the easiest solution and is what I am doing right now. But this is only my first week, so I am making do. It would mean two computers on the same desk. It would also mean that if DH is between contracts (He is an IT consultant) that he would be home in the same room with me while I am trying to work. And it wouldn't allow for that psychological separation of "work" space from "living" space. I think after all of that discussion it brings me back to sacrificing the guest room. That way I'll have a nice clean, distraction-free environment in which to work. I will look at sofa beds though, as an alternative to the aerobed. Or, now that I have a job again, I can use the income to put guests up in a hotel!

You know, in general, people still respect your privacy when you live in an exposed home. We've never had people leave the sidewalk and peek in the windows or anything of that sort. We did get lots of people coming up on the porch to the doors before we took the sign down (it was a B&B) but now that's rare as well. I guess you find your own privacy whereever you live :) For me, the views posted here would be my escape. Believe it or not you do look past the heads and into the sunset! The only area I was having trouble with privacy in was the yard because it's so exposed. People stand in front of it to take pics of the house so while pausing they'll often chat. We don't mind, but the dumb dog goes bonkers and DS is too friendly (offers tours of his room LOL) so we put in a fence that suits the house but sort of blocks the tourists heads from our relaxation area (we're outside a lot). It's heaven and we still see the view because the yard is on a slope. To me, looking up at a farm or out at land is actually not relaxing. I love the water and can mentally escape the world while enjoying a view of it from lake, stream or ocean. I've lived in remote areas, and I'd never trade them for this location. Besides that...our walls are a foot thick LOL So if I want to ignore the world, it's not hard to do so. Ohhh and Lynn, I have SO MUCH difficulty with that door problem. I have 9 outside enterances....that's probably 7 too many LOL. I get Fedex out of one, UPS out of the other, the post office likes another, and the tourists another. Only one of which is the actual front door LOL