Yeah, Tina.. it's pretty far. He's in Minneapolis. I was able to spend 2-3 weeks a month there in the spring and summer but it's just not possible or practical now. He'll come here in a month or so (very much dependent on when I move.. I don't want him here when I am trying to downsize/pack). We arent really TV people either-- though I watch more now than I ever did. He doesn't even have a tv set up anymore! We *are* movie people but the TV series format is so much better for our situation-- we don't have to go through the selection process and a movie is just a little too long. The receiver gets warm on your ear after 1.5 hrs! I am excited to start Homeland. The first season isn't on demand but he can access it on comcast online-- and I've downloaded the first season from Amazon Prime (I prefer to watch on TV with the roku).

linelle -- I do understand where you're coming from, but for how we live etc, it's better to not bring the piano next to the kitchen table. If we were all adults, I think it would be a good choice. But my kids are 5 and 9, and they have little friends etc. It's our only kitchen/dining table and the farthest I could move it away is 2 feet from the piano...the piano juts out more than the buffet; it's a shallow buffet, 17" deep, and the back is finished, but the piano is 24" deep. So in pictures I do think it would look better, but in practice it would put the dining table right in the middle of the doorway into the kitchen, which would probably not be a good choice. As far as conflict over who uses what and when, that's never been a problem. DH may be stubborn in some ways, but he's a considerate person to live with. graywings -- over the fireplace would mean looking up to watch tv. I like your idea of in front of the fireplace, I am going to run that one by DH. As much as we do like the fp, most days where we live you aren't allowed to burn anything anyway. I can't remember the last time we had a real fire, I have candles in there that I light -- creates a nice mood. You're probably right about keeping just one color on the wall. coll_123 -- I like the ladder shelf idea too. When I get closer to being able to re-do the room I'll look for something like that. My DH said that he really wants a product that is meant to hold components though, so that may be a hard sell. Karenseb -- yes the tv would be too high if over the fp -- the mantle is over 5' tall. Really don't want to mess with changing that, especially if we may move in a few years. k9Arlene -- thanks for the vote of confidence :-) I hope I responded to everyone, I've really appreciated all the ideas and thoughts, especially the critical eyes -- it's challenging to think outside the constraints after living here 13 years. Our home is small and modestly sized, it's not in a hot neighborhood where people do awesome (ie expensive) custom things to make the small spaces work (and if they do, it's often at a loss if/when they sell). I have other outstanding home projects to complete, but DH agreed that once they were finished we could look into re-doing the living room -- like paint and the shelving/layout, everything. It might not be until after Christmas, but I'm feeling so blessed to have such a great start from all of you. Melanie

I think it's a swell gift idea and would be pleased to find it in my stocking so I hope your gifts were received with good cheer, Lynn. My friend's son recently had his done and was tickled to find some Australian native DNA in his background. Scandinavian/German/Italian was all that was in the oral tradition of the family, so it was a neat surprise. Our family's Ancestry.com hobbyist received an email from a "surprise" cousin that we did not know we had, after several family members' DNA was registered. Photos were exchanged and yes, there is no way to deny the blood kinship--he looks just like the rest of us, poor fellow. The generation of folks who might have been shocked/hurt by this surprise family member are all gone, and I am glad for him that his lifelong question of paternity could be answered. I can see that it might be awkward for younger families who find out they have siblings they never heard of, but I'm a fan of sunlight in dark family corners-- and I also think it's time that some kinds of families stop acting like those situations never happen "among our kind of people", lol. I also had my dog's DNA done and I'm getting our newer dog's done, too. Very fun to find out what went into these rescue/shelter mutts we love.

Aww, someone feeling fragile this morning? Your post was way out of line, not a little ”thread drift”, girlfriend. Save it. Not interested in your spewings. FYI to anyone reading: he’s trying to downplay what he posted. Trust me, it was vile — several paragraphs of off-topic rantings of how women have done him wrong and ruined his entire life and will ruin every man’s life. On a TV placement thread. ETA: Before your fan club gets here: I don’t give a rat’s chipped granite a** about your popularity here — great, whatever — if I see BS posted and an OP being unfairly insulted, I’m calling it out no matter who it is. Too bad your post is gone, and you aren’t owning what you said, so now you can pretend it wasn’t as gross and weird as it was.