I think I follow you, but I don't see why you need to spray the old wood for bugs. If the wood is infested with termites and your pergola is also wood I think I would skip using it altogether, but other than that just use as is. If the new wood is cedar you are fine otherwise you might want to use a wood preservative/sealer on the portion that will contact the ground or old wood.

Cutting off any root suckers and new growth is really the only non-toxic method if you don't want to grub the stump and roots out by hand. It is certainly not an instant fix - you will have to repeat doing this for sometime, but if the tree cannot photosynthesize (and it needs leaves to do so) it will evetually starve to death and die, even all the roots. There are other methods of both killing off trees and any root suckers and removing the stumps but none are considered completely organic as they involve the use of chemicals or petroleum products. Not all types of maples will regenerate from the roots if cut down....you may not have to do anything :-)

I like the bulb idea. All of the farm women I know love to plant bulbs. They don't really get into planting seeds except marigolds and daisies, or care for plants that require a lot of pampering. *Fall bulbs* (tulips, daffodils, crocus, narcissus)are planted now and will come up and bloom in the spring. *Spring bulbs* are planted in the spring and come up in the summer (gladiolas). Spring bulb need to be lifted every year and are a lot of work. For hand lotion I would get something that is not floral. Floral scents attract bees and bugs when you work outside. Some lotions are manufactured in earthy scents like tomato and coffee that actually repel bugs yet smell wonderful to humans. Some like Burt's Bees Farmers Friend Hand Creme has eucalyptus in it to keep bugs away. It is out of your planned budget but there may be something similar. Use the search terms 'kitchen soap' or 'garden soap' and even tomato soap/lotion, cucumber, coffee, pear to find such products. Burts Bees Castelbel, L'Occitane all make fabulous garden soap and lotion but they are pricey I read that Target carries a nice line though. Here is a link that might be useful: Burts Bees Farmers Friend

Ah. My response has been eaten. I like the Grant Beige because of the green undertone. I will probably go with a neutral sofa, and three chairs two of them matching. The rug will be large and probably have a geometric pattern. I'm a quilter, and I really love strong patterns. I was an archivist, and DH is a programmer with major railroads so we really love old photos, rail and city maps. I also love old advertisements. We will also frame a couple of paintings DD made because I really love them. Right now all of my books are in the family room. We discussed a tall bookcase next to the FP in the past thread, but with all of our projects (we have been DIYing the whole house remodel since July) the bookcase will have to wait. I would love to put a rolling ladder on it when we get there. We're very laid back, t shirt and jeans type of people. I do like to keep a nice, comfortable house though. We also have a holiday Lego village I will have to find a place for. I suppose we're a bit eclectic. The interior of our new front door and sidelight will be he same color as the exterior, it's similar to BM Country Redwood. I can paint it if you feel like it sticks out like a sore thumb. The door and the sidelight will also be 2/3 clear glass so not too much red.