Well, the damage has been done, so please don't fret yourself into a sleepless night. I have burned them, froze them and generally made myself a target of the plant police. They can be tough. If you get it back to the place where they thrived before, it could conceivably re-start. Keep it warm and moist, but not wet. Do not trim it anymore, let the pieces wither and shrivel. Do not re-pot or otherwise disturb it any more. Remember that with less greenery, it will need less water. And wait. This is not the time of year it makes new stems, so if it just sits there, that is normal. The parts nearest the soil need to be somewhat succulent for re-growth to occur. The brown bark nearest the soil covers the green that photosynthesizes. If you have even 1/2 inch of sturdy stem, you will probably have a little plant in the spring.

I've been to England only once on business before I retired. The gentry still take afternoon tea at about 4 pm. I noticed an unwritten protocol: When you first visit a business, the top mamager greets you first and has the first coversation and does the first entertainment. (He sizes you up.) Next, you are passed to the next in line of authority, and so on doen until you arrive at level where you both can go out on the town and party and talk at abandon. There is a way to cut your alcohol consumption at a noon time visit to a pub and still be "with the flow". Office workers often visit a pub for lunch. Instead of ordering a beer, order Chandry (spelling?). Chandry is made with 50% beer and 50% lemonade. its quite good. Of course, you can stick with sodas, too. Watch out for Guiness beer. Its alcohol content is higher than stateside beer. That was a smart move to hire a driver. He'll be your guide as well. You won't have to worry about reversing your driving reflexes. Driving courtesys are a little different than stateside - also parking rules. In small towns, parking is not allowed on main traveled roads and streets because the lanes are too narrow, that is, until after 3 pm or whatever the local ordinance is. After the parking curfew lifts in late afternoon, people are allowed and do park on the sides of the street. When there isn't enough space, they drive one side over the curb and park with about 1/2 of the car in the street. Even at that, sometimes meeting and passing an oncoming car is dicey. That's where the courtesy come in. The driver who intends to yield to the oncoming vehicle, flashes his headlamps. That's dome with the turn signal stalk, a common feature now on US cars. It wasn't always that way in the US. It got that way when US car makers copied European features into the turn signal stalk making our cars more compatible with the rest of the driving world. Whilst driving in the countryside, you may pass over a short bridge and notice that the concrete guard walls have pockets that lean outward. These are very curious. I was told these are pedestrian safeties!! If a pedestrain happens to be caught part way across a bridge when a fast car suddently approaches, he can get into a pocket and lean outward to permit the vehicle to pass. Don't sneeze. There's only inches of space between you and the vehicle. The driver expects the walker will pop into a pocket and probably won't slow down. Be aware of this. Most of the populance speaks an understandable version of English. However, old dialects still exist and is the "mother" tonge for some. A scot's brogue is unintelligble to a US born person. He may as well be speaking Celtic or Welsh. Once you get to know people, I found they were a warm-hearted and caring bunch. Steep yourself into the culture and you'll enjoy it. Be careful in hotel lobbies especially when you are occupied with checking in. Pick pockets abounded in London. I don't know about Ireland, but it does not hurt to use caution. If you see street urchins, mostly boys, lurking in the lobby, that's a tip off. The wife of one of my associates lost $8000 of jewels at the check-in counter. She was carrying her jewelry in a small bag. She laid it on the counter and a few seconds later it was gone. Guard your passport like it was gold. A passport is a highly marketable item in the undergound world. Loose it, and you'll have a world of trouble. Remove all references to religious preference from your billfold/purse and person when you travel on a plane that is capable of flying more than a few hundred miles. If perchance a religious malcontent tries a hi-jack, they home in on other religions for torment and object lessons. Don't let yourself be that object. This is a precaution only. Its not meant to scare. Airport security has improved from 10 years ago.

Anne, What a great opportunity: love your story. You may find that flying from Detroit is much less expensive than from TO - daughter flew me to AZ from there, (airbus from London: about $115., I think, return) ... but I don't know about fliight costs to overseas. Don't fuss about the terrorists on AF more than elsewhere - with so many flights going here and there, the chances of them hitting yours are - rather remote ... you do buy lottery tickets, don't you? Risk about the same, maybe? Hope you can stand up and pump your legs up and down a bit while at your seat, occasionally ... if you find it hard to get to an aisle. I have a major space on the farm ... I could come pick up the dog, (would even keep him for free [if food provided] - a real "low key" offer, no?) and even bring you back, too, and carry you to TO, into the bargain ... or put you on airbus from London, if you prefer. Not only Lo-ki ... but multi-pronged, as well. ole joyfilled

I can see were EG would not work here. A darker, warmer gray might but I would keep it simple myself. I think your cabinets are lovely. It’s very hard to tell how any color will look in a space viewing it on a monitor! Nearly impossible actually. This is just a suggestion. You could try a neutral, lighter color such as BM barely beige. It still has warmth but isn’t yellow. Here it is compared to your current color. See how it looks with your trim though, you may have to repaint that. You could do the trim in the same color in a higher sheen.