The 8th picture down shows the Astoria Pool before I was born. We lived not far away when I was growing up, and my friends and I would go there sometimes. My father, who was not particularly safety conscious about some things, felt the pool was probably not the healthiest place to swim, so I wasnâÂÂt allowed in the water. He was probably right!

Talk about memories! The cardex filing system one brought a chuckle. My first job out of school used those for scheduling the stuff. What a hassle! And then every year having to print up new cards, replace them all and write the item on each one for literally tens of thousands of items! The Apple II was just coming out when I was leaving there but a co-worker and I started setting up a program on it. Now I'm sure everything is computerized. Although much of the stuff is now obsolete anyway I suppose! And all the great Christmas pictures too.

I love all of your comments, thank you so much! You are all so much smarter than me at this. J I now have clarity on which direction to go. I completely agree—and hadn’t thought about—making the marble into a piece that is a non-permanent part of the house we can take with us. I may also try to incorporate it into at least one element in the house but will make that decision down the line. I am going to purchase a few of my favorite pieces now and worry about it later. I told my husband also that I would love a dining room table if we can get a large enough piece. Once this is all said and done I will definitely let you know what we did and post final-product pictures. (haha in a year or so I would think) And msmeowàI live in Tampa so take solace knowing that not all in/near Central Florida use a scorched-earth approach!

Here is an option that does a few things: - Keep most of the walls in place (cost savings) - Keep most of the plumbing in place (cost savings) - Keep the better kitchen layout. If you want it bigger you could pull the peninsula out toward the living room and gain more space. I can actually offer a better kitchen layout also that doesn't have the fridge blocking the view from the foyer to the living room. - Great size and bright master closet. - Better placed sink in powder room. - Used some odd foyer space for the laundry. - Can add some bench/lockers in the foyer on the master bedroom wall. Weakness: - Powder room opens to living room - living room may get cramped to fit a dining table. Consider moving powder room to foyer on master bedroom wall. (adds cost but allows for larger master bathroom or use that space for living room built-ins etc.) Enjoy!