We'll be in Boston the week of Dec 17 to meet up with my 19 yo son who is currently out of the country but will be in Boston that week. That's the reason we've picked the dead of winter to visit Boston which otherwise I know would be crazy! It will be me, my husband, my 16 yo son and my 19yo son. Most of the tourist attractions I've been finding on the internet (other than museums) will be closed and I was hoping to get some good indoor ideas of alternative things to do. We will do a couple of museums but can't do six days of that! We'll be staying at the Mariott Copely, and don't plan to rent a car if we can avoid it. Also looking for restaurant ideas which will accomodate my vegetarian son. Thanks for any and all ideas, suggestions, etc!

Wow, thanks for all the kind words! We tried to get some sort of reaction out of our kids and the workers but no one was saying much ;-) I should have known I could count on gardenweb! linb007, the floors are common 1 and 2 random width (3-5-7) american black walnut. I fell in love with some I saw at 32 dollars a sq foot (of course) and hunted them like prey until I found them for less than a quarter of that. We got them from Blackford & Sons out of Tennessee, unfinished with hand scrapped edges. My contact there is Luke Blackford. They are sweethearts there. I can send you his email if you want. kitchenkrazed, I am going to post this seperately (cabinet issue), I need the GW advice! The firm is a very reputable firm, HOWEVER, our designer left a week before we placed the order. So we are in a sort of odd situation and they never gave us a list of exact cabinets (I wasnt liking that but that is how they said it worked), they gave us 100 drawings and elevations and the cabinet type and finish, etc. but not a detailed BOM. So we are discussing it with them right now but I dont like that I dont have my original designer to clearly state that this is not what we discussed. honorbilkit, yes, we are surprised to find out that we are doing ok without the first floor. Esp since we always say the house is too small for us (we love our neighborhood though). My 6 year old said today he doesnt want to move back into the first floor. I thought he liked the closeness of all of us. Turns out he liked being able to watch TV while eating (basement set up, not allowed in real life upstairs). Rascal. Dinalo, yes that is stenciling, or as we like to say: entertainment for the onsite crew. Its one of my "Projects" where i experiment and stress out my husband. We had rich blue walls (faux sky) before so to cover it, I laid a TON of primer and ceiling white, and I COULD STILL SEE THE BLUE! So then I lugged 50 lbs of joint compound in (this is where the workers perked up wondering what the heck I was up to) and slathered it on. Then I color washed it with acrylics. Then I did a dimensional damask stencil with some of the bottom metallic paint mixed in. Since this photo I have added metallic highlighting to match under chair rail and then started distressed it with sandpaper (not done) b/c my highlighting was too "new" looking. Its like an 18 layer wall. I think I need to be committed if I make any starts towards 19. It's been sort of fun, Ive been cranking the ipod and putting movies on for the kids, but I think most people could skip 80% of my steps and get a similar effect! Lol.

I may be there myself in a week depending on many things. Lancaster County in PA is full of covered bridges. All over the US, these wooden structures are disappearing and most that are standing today have been extensively rebuilt or are replicas. That's to be expected of a wood structure that's been sitting outside for over hundred years. But what is important is, was the repair faithful to the original design? Reboarding the superstructure and flooring might be considered minor, or maintence repair. However, tinkering with the support frame is major. When you find a truly old bridge, photogaph it! It may not be there next year. I know of two bridges that I have photographed that are now destroyed: One in Madison Co, IA and another in Parke Co, IN. I found several brides in upper Vermont and New Hampshire that were for show only. They looked great and still carried traffic, but when I examined underneath the bridge, the full story emerged. The small towns in the northern part of these two states do not have sufficient budget to repair these bridges to bring them up to today's required loads, yet at the same time they desired to retain the "look and feel" of the bridge. Tourist trade is a factor. I found how they solved this problem. Under the old bridge was another bridge, the one supporting the loads. The highway department had installed the load bearing parts of a modern bridge made of steel H-beams. The wood bridge became merely decoration sitting on steel beams - sort of took away the nostalga. So, take your cameras and document the bridges. In my opinion, there are two times in the year when these old bridges have the most photo appeal, and that is in the fall when the leaves turn and after a fresh snowfall in the winter. The lousiest time is late winter and early spring with no greenry of snow cover. Summer pictures can be great too; You have to be more selective and creatiive with composition.

I am a step-mom of a now-26 year old, whom I "got" at 8 years old and was also abandoned by his mother (but raised by his father), and I say go to the party, but DEFINITELY talk with your husband about it first and let him know how you feel. He needs to step up here and stick by you a little more during the get together. Stop being a bystander with this family you willingly married into - interact with them and you just might find you enjoy their company. Even if you don't enjoy their company, unless something really egregious happens, you really should attend the big events. (I always attend holidays, birthdays, the random visit, etc., but don't go every visit time my husband does.) On the matter of this child being introduced specifically as DH's son, I'm sure they all assume that it's understood. I mean, you know he is DH's son, and they all know you know, correct? It's super hard - I know that first hand - but you married into the situation and I think you need to make more of an effort.