boycrzee, yes I have seen (or heard) about stairs that have drawers in them. I thought it was a good idea too. Just make sure no one leaves one open while walking down the stairs late one night-LOL! Well, I did get two of the four holes taken care of, in taking down the towel warmer. My DH put a towel bar that was just the right space apart. I still have the two upper ones to take care of. If you didn't know they were there, you probably would never notice it, but, I know, and my eyes fall right to those two holes in the wallpaper. And, really, since I got the sink grid for the farm sink, it really is so much better! Either that, or I am getting use to it. I do have to say, I like being able to fit big pans in it. brutuses, I was really trying not to sound like you offended me, but, I guess I couldn't get the right words out. I didn't take it that way. I bet we will be hearing some "Hallelujah's" when you move into your home. At least on yours, you've taken the time to really think things out. We had to rush through some things, but, did try to think of everything-which never happens!

AltaVista, Google, and TopoZone have been very helpful for on-line searches. The basic TopoZone was free, but now is only available by subscription. That is unfortunate because TopoZone was very good for locating land holdings and obscure, abandonded cemeteries. Towns and villages that no longer exist can be found if those had a post office in the past, or were of note in their day. Where available, TopoZone can show section numbers. With this inforamtion and the legal description of land, one can locate exactly where the land holdings of your ancestors were. This can be very helpful and it adds to the knowledge of living conditions of your ancestors. As an added bonus, TopoZone can show the topology (elevation lines) of the land and this gives one the idea of terrain hilliness or flatness. Major peaks, hills, gullies, and streams are readily identifiable which is an additional aid to finding "the old home place". The GLO (goverment land office) has records of land patents. Some of these are duplicated in state, on-line achives. A land patent is the first official record of land ownership, many of which were purchased by homesteading. Military warrants was another instrument of purchase. However, beware that a military warrant (grant) could be sold to another party - some were sold at 10 cents to the dollar, thus a particular plot of land could be recorded in the name of the warrant but was held by different person. In the majority of cases, warrants were executed by the person who earned those.

Edna Gladney was just one of many entrepreneurs operating throughout the US, beginning in the early part of the twentieth century. The Cradle was a similar operation near Chicago. They were 'alternatives' to state and religious charities, an option for people who often failed to meet social workers' qualifications -- too old, unstable, dubious histories, etc. An adequate financial situation was qualification enough at these alternative operations. They even created an aura of being superior. *Their* babies were 'special'. (They did attract people who would pay more.) Gladney and Cradle still exist, but they had to change after the advent of birth control -- and subsequent difficulty in finding the desired product: Healthy white babies. A greater social acceptance of white pregnancy outside of marriage also limited supply. (Am I shocking you? You didn't know about the business side of adoption, with Demand, Supply, and Profit?) There are no Payments. Goodness, that would be *illegal* -- even given the remote chance it became known under the sealed records system. Instead, there were and are upfront and lifelong contributions to these 'charities'. Supporters also housed pregnant girls -- cutting down on Overhead. Pregnant girls worked as nannies and maids. (In the late 1960's a friend of mine was on her hands and knees scrubbing her benefactor's kitchen floor when she went into labor.) There were simpler, cruder operations in less affluent areas: "Baby Farms", where pregnant women were 'sheltered'. When they gave birth they were presented with bills for room, board, delivery, and nursery care. If a woman had had financial support, she wouldn't have been there in the first place, so... she signed the surrender and the baby was actually *sold* -- no pretense of 'a charity'. Should the infant be un-marketable (not white, infirm, whatever) , it was sent to the state home. Local judges facilitated these adoptions. (The legal system has long opposed unsealing adoption records.) I don't know if it still exists, but Easter House in Chicago was still using this bait and take as recently as 1990. They found frightened pregnant girls through ads in newspapers and at schools. Respondents were brought to Chicago and isolated in small apartments, escorted to clinics, their hospital bills paid. Once a healthy infant was born and the agency had the surrender, the girl got a bus ticket home. Today families are more likely to view the unplanned child for who it IS, a member of the family. "Shame" no longer has the same unworthy power to break a family apart. And...childless people can now have a child made-to-order in a petri dish -- as though sperm and ova were merely 'donor products', not resulting in their sons and daughters.

Aww, I wish you guys had this gardening climate year round as well. I pretty much have all of my family's favs now (Laura, my son is like your kids in that he loves to garden-participate with me and he's my taste tester/reviewer for all fruits!). My husband wanted dragon fruit and avocado. My daughter wanted pomegranates (I wasn't sure that they'd grow here as they aren't tropical, but a lady down the street has a fruiting tree, so I got two). My son likes papayas, but because they're so cheap, I just buy those regularly (the *good tasting* kind!), and then both my husband and son wanted bananas; we have tons of those and the most productive of any of our in-grounds so far (especially since the mango and avocados aren't mature yet). The mangos are my thing and I think I'm going to get a second one to put in the ground out in the front yard. No Laura, I don't have a key lime yet. Do you prefer that taste over the Bears or Tahitian lime?