Hi Everyone, sorry I've been MIA, been battling the flu and still working long hours. Just wanted to let Margo, Katie and Annie know that your Triple Whammy Bingo prizes are on their way - FINALLY! Sorry it took so long. Thank again to everyone who helped write "The Last Leaf" And just so we don't leave Lucille in the lurch: At last glance, Lucille was standing by the path, bewildered, and without what she thought was the last leaf, one of her Afghan hounds having made off with it. All of a sudden, the hound, Vinnie, I think, came running back with tatters of the leaf in his mouth. "Oh No," cried Lucille, "Now I have nothing to give Mother Magnolia tree and the little leaf eared critters will never get to go to their winter sleep". However, the other Afghan hound, Willie, I think, took off running back to the house and dug the REAL Last Leaf out of the pile of debris Lucille had swept off the porch. He brought it back to Lucille, who promptly gave it to Mother Magnolia tree, who was very grateful; so were the little leaf eared critters, who were yawning while they said thanks. Lucille picked her purse up out of the ditch, where it had fallen, went home and wrote out a check for her electric bill and FINALLY went to bed. WHEW!! The End! Jeanne has posted the FOTESS swap for November and it really sounds like fun, be sure to check it out and join in! Have a great week, Everyone! Shirley!

wantonamara---- You qualify for 'hell' strip conditions, think of it as a real big strip with special challenges to boot. Woodstea, if your strip is like mine, you can clean out the leaves but in two or three days it doesn't look any different than it did before you cleaned it a couple days ago. I usually clean mine several times in winter, its a good reason to get outside on warm days. Those oak leaves keep coming all winter. I cleaned mine out yesterday (Thanksgiving) because we celebrated Thanksgiving today. People driving by probably felt sorry for me for spending Thanksgiving Day grubbing out leaves by hand into a bucket but I enjoyed it, it was gorgeous out. There were lots of those styrofoam packing peanut things among the leaves that had blown in, someone must have tossed a package and let them blow everywhere, a beer can and some bits of paper. I thinned out some stuff because it was looking somewhat overgrown and it looks much neater now (for a couple days). I need to get rid of Miss Huff Lantana so I cut it to the ground. It got way too big for the strip.

Not sure if you're familiar with Maria Killam and her blog, but one of my favorite posts of hers is First Rule of Design: Boring Now Equals Timeless Later, which is great advice for house exteriors as well as interiors. worthy's comment is about those people who have gone through with, and are living with, floating stone gables, usually on their McMansions. Not those who, like you, are having a discussion about and working toward an understanding of why this inauthentic feature is undesirable. Sometimes a thread will end up with rabbit trails, hijackings, and semi-inside jokes, especially from those who get a bit punchy weighing in on each and every "would you look at my plans please" post, which tend to add up over the course of a month. I wouldn't take it personally or be quick to find offense where none is intended. And worthy did in fact make quite a worthwhile comment, echoing cpartist, that The rear elevation is also lacking symmetry or thoughtful asymmetry. This is typical of plans drawn from the inside out. Until I started hanging out here about eight years ago, I was a nescient amateur myself. There's no shame in lacking knowledge, especially in a field like architecture; as it's often mentioned here, architects and others with design talent have a particular ability to consider, all at the same the time, a house's interior, exterior, and siting -- rather like playing 3D chess. In fact, coming to this forum lacking knowledge in search of knowledge, education, and assistance, is a good thing. At this point I'm slightly less lacking though still an amateur and still aware of my limitations, and our house, hopefully soon to be completed, is much better off for all the lessons I've learned from folks here.

Those appliances are beautiful and costly... Embrace the red ( or sell them when you are ready to remodel to offset some costs). I would let them be the focal point of the room.. Simplify the rest. Not a fan of those pink tiles - either remove or repaint. I would warm up the colors of the space. Nice cream color on the walls, paint the cabinets an off white or warm white. Maybe remove the doors of the cabinets over the window or try at least to cut out the centers and put glass in them. Paint the backs of those cabinets a matching red. You might also want to get a nice wood countertop.. Good luck!