each child is different! my oldest son (15 now) i'd have felt comfortable leaving alone when he was 5 (not that i did, but he was just that kind of kid) i started allowing him to stay home alone sometime between the age of 10 and 11 for short periods of time.....my other son, wasn't ready to stay home alone until he was about 12 years old, and even then it was iffy. you need to base your comfort level on your own particular child, and what you feel comfortable with as a parent. it also depends up other factors, such as how reachable you are in the event of an emergency, what kind of neighborhood you reside in (safe/unsafe), are there neighbors around who are available in case of an emergency. also, the rules that you set up when you are not home. such as, no friends in the house, and your son must stay in the house, as well random phone calls to check up on him. i remember when i was a kid, my mom had a rule that we were to stay in the house after school until she got home. we were to call her as soon as we got home from school, and again at 5pm. well, this worked out well for my brother and i. we came home, called mom...snuck out and made sure we were home again by 5 when it was time to call again! if you feel your child is responsible and ready, do what you are doing, and keep your trips short, gradually extending them over time. you'll know when it feels right to you, but i will admit, you never quite get over that feeling that something is going to happen when you aren't around. i worry still, and check up constantly. my husband tells me i'm neurotic, but hey, they are my kids and they mean the world to me.

That house is a few miles from me and one I used to pass by regularly on my way to the local community house down the street from it. That would be the deal killer for me as there is traffic (foot, car, bike) at all times but significant traffic when there are major events held there. They have a huge Antiques & Modernism show every year as well as weddings, wine tastings..... and a fitness center. Beautiful neighborhood, what we call around here "a walk-to location" because you can walk to retail, commuter train, schools... - beach is a hike but a nice bike ride.

I always hesitate to comment on kitchens that have clearly already been carefully considered because surely my concerns have already been vetted. But just on the off-chance this has not come up yet: 1) I prefer having the microwave in the same area with the everyday dishes (bowls, spoons, forks, etc.) and the fridge. It means you can get something from the fridge, dump in a bowl, and microwave it. I also prefer that conglomeration of items (fridge, microwave, everyday dishes) to be entirely outside of the cookzone so snack-seekers don't get in my space when I am cooking. Your microwave is currently in your cook zone. That makes sense if you primarily use it for cooking (melting chocolate, etc.), but if your micrwoave is primarily used in non-cooking situations as mine is, I would suggest putting it by the fridge and dishes. 2) The upper cabinet above the dishwasher is not a good place for dishes. You will not be able to reach it when the dishwasher is open, so unloading dishes into that cabinet will be a pain in the neck. You will have to stack everything on the counter and then shut the dishwasher and then put them in the cabinet. 3) Have you measured and made sure that all your daily dishes will fit in the cabinets you intend for them? Especially considering that the upper cabinet above the dishwasher is more or less not going to work, to me it seems as if you could use a bit more everyday dish storage. 4) I would prefer the mirror image of your island like this: I tend to pull out all my ingredients at once and then prep them. So, for me, I would prefer to have the long stretch of island counter closer to the fridge/pantry, so where I naturally drop the ingredients is also where I prep them. I'd never have have to move them again. Just grab from fridge, drop on island and get going. As you have it now, where I'd want the ingredients to end up (the longer stretch of island counter) is too far to be the fridge drop zone. I'd either have to grab what I could hold, walk it to the longer stretch of island counter to drop it, and then rinse and repeat till everything I needed was over there. Or I'd have to pile everything I needed from the fridge on the 18" section of counter (which isn't a ton of room for all the ingredients in a recipe), then walk to the island and transfer everything from the 18" section to the longer stretch of island counter. In addition to that, mirroring your island puts your two sinks a little farther apart. It's not a big deal, but it is a nice bonus. When the sinks are evenly spaced around the kitchen, a sink is always near you no matter where you in the kitchen. When the sinks are more clustered, they aren't always quite so handy to wherever you are. And if ever one of the sinks is getting major activity, it is nice to have the other one totally separate from the hubbub so it isn't a big deal for someone not involved in the major activity to use a sink. Again, not a big deal, but it is nicer to have the sinks farther apart. 5) With the island mirrored, it also gives you some options for drawers that pull out towards the fridge. You could add some everyday dish storage (if you agree with my suggestion above that you could use more) or move the microwave drawer (if you agree with my suggestion above that the microwave would be better in the fridge/everyday dish zone and out of the cook zone). 6) I would also be tempted to swap the location of the fridge and the dish storage cabinets next to it like this: I know that means the island is a barrier between the fridge and the cookzone. So this would definitely be a compromise. HOWEVER: a) As I said, I usually pull out all my ingredients at once. And if the fridge and dish storage cabs were swapped, the island prep counter would still be my go-to fridge drop zone, and I'd still have a straight walk between the fridge and that drop zone. So I'd pull out my ingredients, drop them directly on the island and then walk around the island into the cook zone and never go back. Yes, it'd be better if it that were a straight walk to the cook zone, but a single non-straight walk like that would not be a big deal to me at all. b) What would be a big deal to me is that, with the fridge and dish cabs swapped, the primary every day dish storage cabinets (U1 and L1) are now directly next to dishwasher. So unloading would be a breeze! You never have to move. In your current plan, there'd be a lot of walking back and forth in front of the fridge to unload. Not a big deal, but I'd definitely rather ease of dishwasher unloading vs. a straight walk between fridge and cook zone. c) Also, in your current plan, the fridge door swings into a person washing dishes, the open dishwasher door, and the pantry doorway. That's a lot of activity for a little space, and I am not sure I'd want the fridge door to be adding to the chaos. With the fridge and dish cabs flipped, the swinging fridge door is in the way of almost nothing. If you are the type to go back and forth a million times to the fridge while cooking, this swap wouldn't work for you. But if you are like me or you wouldn't mine becoming like me, there are certainly some real upsides to the swap without much downside.

pcoats, I will be sure and tell him. Thank you for the tip. He and his brother love anything military and historical. Thanks Jim, that's the beauty of being with Tobey, I am always myself, and I don't even care to be anyone else. As to your wife, maybe offer her another cruise, all expenses paid. ;0) It would work for me. LOL Tobey is definitely a keeper. When I opened my bible this morning, I found a note from him in Proverbs 31. He wrote. " Your worth to me is more than that of a perfect diamond, and my heart is yours and will always trust you completely and forever. Although I wasn't your first love, I pray with all my heart that I am your last love. I'll miss you sweet pea. See you in a few days, Love Tobey" When I read that, tears of joy just flowed like out of a spigot, and here I was at church. The lady next to me asked if I as ok, and I couldn't even speak, so I handed her the note and when she read it she went to crying too. Then she hugged me. We had an amazing young man preaching today. He is a student of theology and still in Seminary school. but he sure was on fire for the Lord. I needed to hear what God had to say through him today. Then we had our fellowship meal after which, we watched Tim Tebow's 'Shaken" I really don't think my day could get any better. Life is good, Tobey is wonderful, and God is amazing.