Hi everyone. Hope you are all keeping warm. I have to admit, we haven't even really seen winter at its worse, but already I am sick and tired of snow. I am seriously considering moving somewhere where there is no snow. I can always come back to visit. All the boxes are great. Love to hear what everyone has sent and the enthusiasm of the recipient. I agree Shirley, it's like Christmas. Speaking of christmas. My tree is still alive and going strong. I put it outside in the stand, of course the water is frozen solid and under a foot or two of snow. We strung berries and oranges and nuts, pinecones slathered in peanut butter and then rolled in seed, all over the tree. The birds are going insane to say the least. I haven't wintersowed a thing. i decided this year i'll just go out and sprinkle seeds everywhere. i was getting prepared but then we got hit with the first snow and then the next one and then the cold and then more snow...so i said the heck with it. It sure is another cold one tonight. I think we are going down to about 9 degrees. guess i'll take that as opposed to minus any degree. hoping i will be able to join in february's swap. love the simplicity of it, but then i can execute on that...that's what craps me up with swapping LOL just an issue i need to get over. well, that's it for now. i have an early morning tomorrow. be well everyone, stay warm and remember....Spring is on Monday, 21 March 2011...56 days, 19 hours remain. maryanne p.s. mellen, i would love that website/link as well.

Before our remodel, the DR was at the front of the house. I disliked that location because people coming up our walkway could see us in there, and (because we live in a fairly urban area) seeing traffic drove me crazy. I also disliked the fact that if we had a caller during dinnertime, they could see us seated at our table from the front door (which then opened directly into our living room). It always felt too exposed and busy. After the remodel, the old DR became a foyer, and the new dining room is situated off the terrace in the back of the house. It is private--even if people are in the foyer or the living room, they cannot see the dining room--and it's quiet and peaceful. We have a family dinner every night, and we entertain a lot, and I love that it feels like such a refuge. We also situated the dining room in such a way that while it is adjacent to the kitchen, there are few direct sight lines into the kitchen. We have an eating area in the kitchen, but we always gravitate towards the dining room.

All of this has been interesting to read and to help me put things in perspective. I also, have had many moments where I have hated my 95 year old Craftsman home. I purchased it about 1-1/2 years ago but was not able to actually move into it for several months, as the person who lived in it prior for 30 years had let it fall into quite a state of neglect. Even when we finally moved in - I had no running water in my kitchen for many weeks. I, having been working in the field of architecture for the same amount of time, saw beyond it's sad state to the good bones it has. Did all the right things; got my inspections, had the advice of good people including my old bosses on board to help with renovations. Even my main contractor was a friend from that job (I'm actually in administration in that field but have learned quite a bit about design and building practices second hand from being around them for so long). However, even with all that knowledge behind me, and even with paying a very good price for the home, I found myself spending more than twice I expected on renovations and I'm still nowhere near done. There were times were I would come home and literally cry myself to sleep in a panic of how I was ever going to pay for everything which needed to be repaired that we didn't anticipate; things that were hidden from the inspection like the near re-enactment of the bathtub scene from "The Money Pit" where it comes crashing through the floor through the ceiling below (mine, had we not had to take down the kitchen ceiling, and discovered the tub was being held in place by "tinker toys" more or less, certainly would have fell through at some point if we had filled it with water). I've spent $22,000 on new electrical and lighting and other miscellaneous repairs after the fact. $10,000 on plumbing. $15,000 for 27 new windows. I don't even know what my kitchen cost me because you have to figure in some of the costs above into it; so what? $40,000? (the kitchen was a disaster area and it had to be completely gutted). I had a jungle of weeds and ivy, cracked concrete and crap as a garden and the City was mandating I remove it (I have a TCO on the house and much of what I am doing I literally have to do to clear the TCO), landscaping cost me over $12,000 (I did put in a new paver patio, glad I did). My chimney/fireplace needs repairs - it's unsafe, that's costing $6000. I need regrading of my side yard and drainage underground - $5200. About to paint the house, another $5200 (house is stucco). New gutters $2200, Added central a/c $8000 (did get a rebate back on that). Oh and contractor payments $20,000. There's more, another $40,000 that have added up of miscellaneous stuff; emergency repairs, things necessary for the home, etc. I still don't have furniture for my guest bedroom. The interior needs painting badly. My main bathroom is falling apart - every day another tile comes off the wall. The attic needs better insulation. I have no backsplash in the kitchen yet. I have unfinished carpentry items around the house. My floors need refinishing. I 5 doors which need replacement. Water issues in the basement (contractor is pretty sure the new gutters will take care of it for the most part). I need window treatments everywhere (currently have very cheap stuff up but at least it's something). There's other furniture I need here and there. My closets could use systems in them - they were built with minimal shelving. On and on and on. And yet when people see and walk into my home, they are mesmerized. The LOVE it. Compliment me on how far it's come since I purchased it. Love it's uniqueness (well I do too - it seems to be a cross between a Craftsman and Victorian and it's made from terra cotta brick which is unusual in my area). But when I look at it, I'm depressed. It still looks dismal. All I see are all the repairs still to be done and the fact that my money isn't holding up (although since my mortgage wasn't huge to begin with, I just did a re-finance already, and took hopefully enough out to do nearly everything left to finish up - other than the bathroom, which I'll have about half of what I need). I just feel like at 52 years old, I'll be dead before I see this house done. And it isn't like I have kids to leave it to either. It truly does feel like a money pit to me. My partner and I have like no money to enjoy ourselves (he had been out of work for over 2 years, and JUST finally went back to work). I'm the one who owns the house, so every penny goes back into the house now. The only good thing, is that I have a very stable job and I feel that I can keep looking forward to increased salary over time, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the repairs. But oh my, like everyone else, it feels so daunting and overwhelming most of the time. I thought about bailing out several times and taking the (huge) loss - I still do - but I love the house too much to throw in the towel yet. Probably not ever. It's a curse, and a blessing. We're happy here, very happy.

Belle~ so sorry to hear you are sick now. You take care of yourself. Glad DGS is doing better. I meant to ask about him yesterday. He's on his way to recovery I hope. That is some nasty stuff and he may still feel a little weak even after he's over it. The good thing is that he's old enough to do for himself. Glad you liked the candy bars. They were just something simple, but it was fun dressing them up. We all have those long never ending lists of projects I think. I hope I never get thru mine. ha I have 2 sick kids myself....stuffy noses, sore throats, fever and whiny to boot. I'm here because I missed DD's game. I lost my DM at Walmart and she didn't have her cell phone so we spent a lot of time wandering around trying to find each other. Then their cash registers were having a problem so the lines were looong. Anyway, by the time we got out of there and got the groceries home her 1st game was almost over so I figured I'd just stay home and relax while I can before it gets crazy tonight. Have to get some birthday things together to give 2 of the girls tonight. I took some felt of different colors and cut out flower shapes. Hand sewed around them and stacked them with a flower shaped button on top. Then hot glued it to a magnetic clip. There is another pack of decorative magnets hanging from the clip that we are giving them for their school lockers, but I thought I'd dress up the clip a bit. Turned out cute and the girls like them. I'll try to take a pic Friday and show ya'll here. Hey Luvs~ I'm feeling very chipper today. Thought it was supposed to be snowing, but voila...the sun is out! Our weatherman is on crack. ha Poor Mr R. I bet it itches too...I've heard they do. Luckily never had to have one...have you? He doesn't have too much longer with it anyway. Did you sign it for him or better yet paint him a little something on it? Maybe have DGD draw him a little funny on it. You are really making me want chili. I bought soup and chili fixins at the store so I'll be making them both soon. I usually have to double up my recipes for this crew and then I may have enough for my lunch the next day and if I'm lucky there will be enough leftovers for everyone to have the next night so I don't have to cook. Sometimes I take the last meals ingredients and turn it into the next meal. The chicken & rice had leftover chicken that I'd baked a few nights before in it. I hate throwing out good food too. Was it you who was asking about all the cooking for the week in one day? Your DIL? Obviously I forgot to reply. I only do that for holidays and it wears me out. Can't imagine doing it every week. How is it going for her? Well, I have time to do at least one load of laundry and get the dishwasher unloaded before I have to run DS to scouts. Ya'll have a good one. ~Anj