Thank you all for your comments and information. I should have added that we most certainly will be living in this house, if it were to all go smoothly. We would have no interest in selling the property. Someone else forwarded me the following information. I'd be grateful for opinions and comments. ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ Please, please talk to a tax accountant about how you can inherit the house without a tax problem. Specifically, ask about a "transfer on death." A TOD is not the same as joint ownership with right of survivorship. Your friend would need to retitle the deed on her house from this ownership: "Jane A. Doe, a single woman" to this: "Jane A. Doe, Transfer on Death to Harold and Maude Greenleaf, husband and wife." To change the title on a deed, Jane Doe just needs to fill out a form and pay a processing fee at the county tax office. You don't really need a lawyer to do that for you--it also does not put Jane Doe in any danger of losing her property because the transfer does not happen until she passes away. At her death, the house ownership slides over to Harold and Maude upon the presentation of the death certificate to the county assessor's office or whatever office keeps records of home ownership and real estate taxes. The value of the house to you is the value at the date of her death. Legally, this method is NOT an inheritance and avoids some of tax crapola that surrounds inheritance. it is also not a gift, so gift taxes do not apply either. She can also retitle her car and any of her bank accounts, including brokerage, in the same manner so that the property goes immediately to the other owner, not into probate, upon her death. The property needs to be re-registered to the TOD owner, but all it takes is a death certificate to prove that the transfer of ownership has taken place.

The bed and the armoire are fabulous. The dresser needs major rehab. The market for old, broken furniture is not great. As far as I can see, the everything visible about the bed is fine. You can strengthen it by nailing additional wood to the bottom. We beefed up the support of one of our beds. If you look under the bed, you can see the pale pine additions to the dark wood frame. But who crawls under the bed to look at the framing?

Rouge21, Looks to me like you have come by an very nice inheritance. Your new Phalaenopsis appears to have been well cared for, and is in great shape. You are correct in saying the plant is in a cheap thin clear plastic pot. That is probably the pot it has been growing since it was a tiny baby plant. These plants are grown overseas (in the tropics, to save heating and cooling costs), and for the most part are grown using automated culture. When the plant is blooming and ready for sale, the plastic pots are removed from the growing racks and placed in decorative ceramic pots much like the one you show with the plant in the photo. These decorative cover pots are to protect the plants while in shipment, and make them look more attractive to sell better. The decorative cover pots usually do not have drainage holes in them, and in my opinion are one of the main reason many people have so much difficulty growing orchids. The clerks in the “big box” stores are told to water the plants when they get dry, but no one knows how important it is to pour the standing water out of the outer pots after watering. Roots in standing water = root rot. Orchids grow very slowly, so it can sometimes take as much as a month for root rot to become apparent in a plant, and the first signs are a limp dehydrated plant which is exactly what root rot is. No roots, no water intake, so the inexperienced grower starts watering the plant more, when in fact the best remedy is to take the plant out of the pot and dry it out and try to save any remaining roots, and grow new ones. Does the pot you show beside the plant have drainage holes (hole) in the bottom? If not, don’t even consider putting your plant in it. Try to find a clay (orchid) pot. Orchid pots have slits cut in the side of the pot in addition to the hole in the bottom. These allow excellent drainage and air to circulate around the roots. If you can’t find clay, then a plastic “azalea” pot is next best. The azalea pots are not as deep as a “standard” pot, so are easier to dry out between watering. I personally would remove the bloom spike from the plant. It might branch and produce a few more blooms, but in my opinion the previous owner got their money’s worth out of that one, and its time for you to encourage the plant to produce a new spike for you. Use a sterile sharp razor knife, and cut the stem leaving a stump about an inch long. You can put fungicide on the cut if you want to- lots do, lots don’t. South facing window is ok, no direct (hot) sunlight, and 55-60 degrees F. minimum night temp. Use orchid bark mix with fir bark as the primary ingredient. Wet the bark before potting. Take the plant out of the pot and remove any dead roots. (dried papery looking, usually covering a hard dried stick like central stem.) If you cut into live tissue, same procedure as for cutting the bloom spike. Fungicide is more important here since most folks won’t let the roots get really dry before potting. I usually unpot the plant today, and trim it up and repot tomorrow to let the plant get really dry before I start working on it. Cover the roots well with the wet bark mix and make sure to fill in all air pockets. When potted, put the plant in a warm shady spot and let it dry out thoroughly – several days before beginning its regular watering schedule. Let it get almost completely dry before watering it normally. You do not have to use “orchid fertilizer”, the numbers are what count. 30-10-10 high nitrogen (first number) makes the plant grow. Before I expect blooming, I shift to a balanced fertilizer, 10-10-10, etc. all numbers the same. There are almost as many theories on fertilizer usage as there are orchid growers, so use what works. Hope this helps. Just remember, orchids are “tough old birds”, I suggest getting a culture book and use that as a guideline. The American Orchid Society is a good source. Come back here if you want to talk through a problem, just remember, here you get all levels of experience, and folks living all over the world telling you how they do it. All solutions won’t work for your growing situation. Have fun. Bill

Agree with primer. The current wall colors will reflect on samples and skew your color assessment. And taking out carpet. Even if you plan to go with more carpet, you can find a better color in something that’s not too expensive and have a great fresh start. Do you have a collection of favorite bedroom decor pictures— color themes especially. What bedding, as noted above, is your favorite look? All white & fluffy, with color on walls and elsewhere, or vice versa with a rich or cheerful print and coordinated walls? Or layered soothing neutrals? So what color floor treatment works with that to keep the room light enough or moody but not a charcoal cave? The reason for not just leaping into wall paint color is because you have infinite paint color choices but fewer flooring and even fabrics, so you use those as guides for paint swatches. I think of the flooring/ carpet decision or direction first , or at least recognizing how it works with walls, because— if you live darker wall colors you may need lighter carpet for contrast, or if you know you don’t want upkeep of light creamy carpet but prefer a camouflaging darker or tweedy carpet then you might pull paint color as a lighter contrast. Or if you plan wood flooring there’s the color and degree of “ warmth” and golden tones that might be present. Sure, you don’t have to be so ticky, but then you may find, my comforter doesn’t look good with my walls. White walls are KINDA an exception, except, not, if you want warm creamy bedding and rich brown wood furniture and choose an icy white, or want pale grayish blue carpet and have painted your walls a buttery white. But unless you are going for a very challenging color scheme, it won’t be that hard. I love blue& white bedrooms but still have to understand, hmmm, blues that run more aqua vs gray- blues or purply. I think you are smart to start with bedroom because it can be “ stand-alone”, does not have to be part of a whole- house color or style scheme, just clean & restful/fresh- feeling. And by same token, is easier to change up down the road if you want a new color or bedding, so today’s decisions don’t lock you in forever, so able to make some choices without using up all your decision- strength that is needed to keep going on furthest projects.