Anneliese, thank you for taking a moment to let us know what's been happening in your world. Thoughts and prayers for your husband's healing and for strength for you in caring for him are coming your way. ((((((((((Hugs to both of you.))))))))))

Greg, Thanks for the well wishes. I do feel like I have been thru quite a bit, but I just keep telling myself "There's always someone out there who has it far worse than me." I try to always have that attitude. After both surgeries I realized how much more difficult my life could be if I permanently lost the use of my legs or my back. I'll tell ya what, I have my good days and my bad days but in general I try to keep myself in a positive mood. I see that you also like the plumeria forums on Face Book! It was nice to be able to put a face with a name. I especially like being able to see all your plumeria pictures there. I need to invest in a good camera so I can take the same kind of pictures! Anyhow, when I do find myself having days when I am in a lot of pain, I like to go to Face Book(and also here!) so I can see all the great plumeria pictures. They really do cheer me up a lot. Hi Qaguy, I will be contacting you soon. I am trying to get my hands on as many cuttings as I can right now. Reason being, they give me something to enjoy and to look forward to! I really enjoy watching cuttings throw out there first roots, leaves, inflos, and BUDS! Hi Mona, The way I see it right now is that ANY day is a good day as long as I am not a patient in the hospital that is!! Hi Irun, LOL, at least there is someone who knows how I feel! I am so glad to be off of the steroids! I was getting them 3 times a day, everyday I was there! Tomorrow I have to be at my first follow up. I have mixed emotions in regards to this appointment. In one hand, I know that there going to remove all 75 staples, and that right there will make me feel much better. The reason I don't want to go is because the nuerosurgeon's office is 45 minutes away and I have to ride in a car up there and back, not including the wait in his waiting room, and then the exam room! You know it doesn't matter if you have had major back surgery or not, and in all fairness, there could be a dozen other patients waiting to be seen, and there appointment could also be a follow up after there surgery. I will try and post after my surgery so you all have some kind of idea as to what is going on. Take care, Andrew

If you're in a cold area, will you have a problem with the MBR toilet sort of "hanging" out from the rest of the footprint of the house? Will the pipes be protected? I lived in a house once with a powder room in a similar situation and the pipes on the outside wall would freeze if we weren't careful to leave the door to the room open at all times. It probably was more likely a problem with insulation and HVAC in the powder room, but it's a thought if you're in a very cold climate.

Well, I'll just come out and say it: I don't like this house. Although it's a reasonable size for an average family and is a simple, direct floorplan, a number of things just look awkward. However, having said that up front, I'll also admit that -- unlike another poster -- I do not understand winter. My lackluster reaction may be due to having lived my whole life in a very mild climate; thus, for example, I would never have considered that a north-facing garage could be bad, but I'd be concerned about west-facing windows. Keep my warm-weather knowledge bank" in mind as you read my thoughts: - Where is the main entrance? I'm assuming it's the door from the porch that opens into the great room. If so, good. But if it's the door on the other side that opens into the dining room and gives a direct view of the kitchen, I'd think again. - If that's the front porch, is it covered? In any climate, you want your guests protected as they enter the house, but it seems to me that'd be doubly-important in a cold climate. - Consider the windows on the front of the house (if I'm reading the front side correctly). They're very mismatched and will not lead to a pleasant elevation -- not "as is". As some other posters have said, the windows are disappointing. - Three hallways -- the entry way, the hallway to the master, and (to a lesser extent) the hallway to the secondary bedroom area -- seem bowling-alleyish. I fear they'll be long, dark and uncomfortable. Could you alleviate this with a bit of a niche somewhere? Just a little something for a piece of artwork /direct lighting? - I see that you've put in solar tubes in some of these spaces. I know they're popular on these boards, but I'm not a great fan. I fear they'd leak, and they won't give you any light after dark, which -- as I understand your climate -- is an awful lot of the time. Instead, I'd go with motion-detector lights. I can't tell you how much I love the ones in my pantry/laundry room. When I walk into the room with groceries or a load of laundry, light appears -- day or night -- and it goes away automatically after 10 minutes. Ours is on the ceiling (actually IN the light fixture) rather than on the doorway; thus, the lights don't stay on if someone leaves the door standing open. - Would the great room fireplace be better located on the other side of the window? I'm thinking that this is a big focal point, and as you enter the room, it'd be nice to look diagonally across the room and see it. - Okay, as I look at the last picture, the great room and the dining room are gaining on me. While I'm generally anti-skylight, I think the skylights above the dining room are a good choice. - I'm not crazy about a U-shaped kitchen with a large island. The inclination in this type of layout is to minimize the walkways so as to maximize the island (which isn't going to be particularly large in this space), and that creates a "trap" where people get stuck behind the island. I'd consider a peninsula / G-shaped kitchen instead. - OR go with an L-shaped layout and island. While this technically gives you less counter space, you have more usable space: You'd be giving up a difficult-to-utilize corner cabinet (which, at best, would've had a problematic and expensive Lazy Susan), but the payoff would be that the island could be perhaps 3' wider. - I like the large, well-located pantry. I would definitely outfit it with a motion-detector lights. - I like the secondary bedroom area and bath. Good move on switching the linen closet closer to the door. It doesn't matter so much for the linen closet, but it keeps the bath items closer together. - Good closets in the secondary bedrooms /good storage in the utility room. - Good call on going with one nice-sized secondary bath and skipping over the half-bath. In general, I think people on this board tend to over-bath, and I suspect most of those bathrooms sit unused most of the time. - Speaking of bathrooms, good switch bringing the closet "in" and moving the bathroom to the exterior wall. However, the bathroom could be so much nicer. I'd consider moving the tub to the end of the room so that you have it (and a window above) for a nice focal point as you walk into the room. And if you cut down the massive vanity, you'd have room for a nice-sized linen closet. Do you really need two sinks? Why? Does anyone ever use two sinks at once? I doubt it. Storage space is much more valuable. - OR consider going with a really big walk-in shower across the end of the room. I say this because you mentioned 36" doorways, so I suspect you're considering aging-in-place function. You have space to do a no-barrier walk-in shower. - I totally agree with moving the toilet. I'm imagining the bed under the window so it's visible /pretty as you enter the room, and that means you'd have a view of the toilet from the bed. No thanks! - Think twice about those 36" doors. They look oversized and are a little "odd" to open and close. If handicapped function is the concern, remember that you're much more likely to end up using a walker than a wheelchair, and a walker is fine with a standard sized door. A wheelchair is fine with a 32" door, especially if you use offset hinges. (Source: My grandmother's house, in which she used a wheelchair only when she was very sick /when she left the house.) Overall, the house's greatest strength is its simplicity and affordability; however, I think it has little else going for it. I think you could buy a house similar to this one and skip the headaches of building.