Susie, We could put the footprint of our house on the deck as well. I never imagined that it would be as big as it is until after my contractor put all the posts and banding up. Only two neighbors have made comments - one asked if we were going to invite the Pittsburgh Symphony (I HATE PITTSBURGH) to play and # two asked if he could land his helicopter on it (he is a medi-thingie pilot)? Six months later and I am still drilling and screwing (129 screws per board and I have thus far gone through in excess of 480 boards) whenever mother nature cooperates. Going to spend the best part of the winter in the garage building the bench seating so that when spring comes around I can put up the "Sidewinder" water slide for Oscar and Jake-Dude, which is why it so big in the first place. I can see it now - all the posts about how there is a Porch and Deck Forum (not nearly as much fun as this one). Sorry, (but not really). Mrs. No keeps asking me where we are going to get the money to put furniture on the darn thing, and I keep telling her that is her problem :-) Seems to me that any furniture is going to get in the way of the kids trikes and roller skates and stuff!

Although I agree with fondantfancy, the industry frowns on tiling over ceramic mosiacs (1x1's and 2x2's). Although I don't know why for sure, I would imagine that it has something to do with the very light amount of thinset used to adhere them. As for the thinset to use, I won't go over a layer of tile with anything other than an unmodified thinset mixed with a liquid latex additive full strength, The reason is latex content. You won't get anywhere near the amount of latex in any modified thinset that you will when mixing an unmodified with the additive (and no, you can't mix a modified thinset with a liquid additive-- the polymers will react badly with each other). My favorites are one of two combinations-- Laticrete's 317 thinset mixed with their 333 additive, or Mapei's Kerabond thinset mixed with their Keralastic additive. Either one will hold on and not let go for anything.

Funny thing about paintings.... especially family paintings. There are people who will go to great lengths to keep them in a family and pass them down through the generations. My great uncle was an artist who painted in oils in the late 1800's . He used to be a barber and had them all throughout his barbershop back in the day. He started selling some of them in Chicago to a department store. He used the money to help supplement his income. My grandmother wanted one particular painting of his that was in his home and when he died he left it to her. She also had a few smaller ones that she gave to my mom who eventually passed down to us kids. The large painting my grandma had was recently passed down from my uncle (who had no kids of his own) to my sister. She spent a fortune getting the painting back in shape by a curator. The curator commented that the frame itself was very valuable but not the painting. In spite of that we all have memories of that picture hanging in my grandma's living room. In the meantime, I found several of his paintings for sale on Ebay after deciding to look for them. Apparently they have been coming up from other estate sales. Since we all recognized his signature on the paintings we knew they were his. Since I am one of six sibs we have had to decide who is going to buy each one. Since I found his paintings online, I have been letting my sibs buy them. I havent found one that I really liked yet. And so far the ones that they bought fit their individual homes. Still waiting for one I like!

I just packed up this week past and the kitchen was demolished on Tuesday. I can't believe how much stuff I have! No wonder I think I need more storage and have ordered uppers that go all the way to the ceiling! I tried to exercise some discipline and throw out all the old things I rarely use anymore. I wasn't very successful... let's say it was like removing sand from the desert with a teaspoon. I guess I'm just attached to my old favs, like special friends. Plus, my mom passed away last year and I ended up with most of her stuff - as the only girl child, my brothers simply delegated all that kitcheny/household stuff to my best judgement. How could I possibly get rid of the green glass citrus squeezer??? or Grandma's best china?? Or Auntie's hand painted china, etched aluminum trays or the ancestral beer glasses?? For the record, I did throw away all the sippy cups and souvenir kiddy dishes (the baby starts HS next week), and at least 2 dozen coffee mugs are packed to donate to the local thrift (I'm sure those breed in closed cupboards) but I still have at least 3 dozen I can't part with. Hey, who wants to come to my place for coffee? Or tea? I counted 6 teapots, keepers all. I do think I'll replace all, or at least most of my kitchen towels. They have all seen better days, even if they rarely see the light of day anymore. We are currently settling into our "temporary kitchen" in the wet bar area of our basement rec room. This classic piece of 1960s design and construction leaves much to be desired functionally, but at least it boasts running water and a usable refigerator. Ironically, in the 13+ yrs we've lived in this house, we have seldom ventured into this cubby-hole, except to access the beer fridge. Now, I can hardly wait until the kitchen is completed so I can start planning its renovation...