I got out yesterday with a good friend (another "enabler") & got some bargains...ornies at Target 50% off...which is ok by me...cause I buy some for next Christmas' exchanges. And a plaid cotton tablecloth...which will work for red t'scape, too! Ohhh, the Christmas dishware killed me...cookie jars, platters, etc. etc. I love my Winterfrost Pfaltzgraf beautiful Christmas dishes so I left them alone...but had to go back later in the afternoon & buy 4 salad plates & 4 soup/cereal bowls...they were called "Birchwood Chalet" holiday 2010..spent $19. I'll post a link...loved them, of course, cause of the simplicity of pine branches & cones...yikes, I'm "jeannespines," remember! T'scape coming soon! The reason I went bk was meanwhileb at another specialty store I found a beautiful cookie jar ... called Woolrich Winter White...the ladies booth had 50% off everything...so I bought it for $10...thought it would be WONDERFUL with the dishes at Target...so stopped & bought them. But I broke it as I had unloaded to the stairs & knocked over a wonderful "iron" angel I had bought for my gardens...needless to say, I now have a "bowl" ...not a cookie jar! I wanted to cry! So, that was my after Christmas shopping...exchanged a few things...DH got me new flatware & used it on Christmas & it spottted & changed color in dishwasher (altho said dishwasher safe)...they took it back, no problem & I picked out an Oneida Portfolio "Tortola." ... washed a place setting last night in dishwasher & came out fine.... Ok, I'm rattling on too much...been w/o good Internet contact over the holidays...now is fixed by Qwest & phone lines, too! Happy New Year! Jeanne S. Here is a link that might be useful: Target Birchwood Chalet

Thank you, "holiday-ers" for your comments. OA...that's a great idea about a framed pic by DBaby...this one is too big but I do have a snapshot my Mom must have taken for this special day. And this pic is one I remember seeing over the yrs as I was growing up...t.v. studio must have taken it. That outfit will be going bk in cedar chest after Christmas. jane...my DGM always let me "snope" in her cedar chest when I spent an overnighter quite frequently...she was an inspiration! So glad to hear about your DGM's cedar chest! Everyone...thank you...I enjoy taking pics & posting them here...& I love, love seeing everyone's pics & decor! Doing the decor is for (me)...but I'm thrilled to get feedbk from friends on this forum! Am ready to post some more pics. Still cold & windy, but sunny here...enjoy your day! Jeanne S.

Is it "normal" to get a sinking feeling every time you think about building a home? Of course not. It's normal to feel nervous about the project's enormity, the expense, the logistics. But a sinking feeling means this is not what you want. You might like parts of the house, but that is probably not enough. The fact is, you will have to put a huge amount of effort, money, commitment into a project that will end up with you living where you don't want to live, in a house and "yard" too much for you to deal with. And at an age when your health and energy are not likely to be trending upward. You will continue to resent his not following up on his commitments. He's getting his dream and you're gonna pick up the loose ends. No WONDER you have a sinking feeling. Just for a moment, and just to yourself, think about whether or not you can back out now. And how you would do it. I think you may already be too deep into this to back out now--for whatever reasons you've agreed to it. What would happen to your relationship with DH if you called a halt to it right now? (I'm not suggesting you answer any of this here; just to yourself.) If you can't see a way out of this, then what would it take to make it go better for you? I think you could assert your right to not have to work to age 70. If he's willing to handle it by himself, it's his dream--let him work for it. Or, let that be a real good reason to scale down the house. Just say you're not willing to work past 62 or whatever. He can run the numbers to see how to scale back the house accordingly. That will get you 2 big things you want: a smaller, more easily managed house and an earlier retirement. While you're having that discussion also tell him that the project has to be scaled back because you're not willing to be annoyed all the time, and scared by living in the midst of undergrowth, and you will need a bigger monthly budget to hire things done. (What was his plan for while he's away for 3 months?) I don't think he's been realistic about that and you haven't confronted him about it. Does he know how much you resent picking up the pieces for him and waiting for him to get around to things? Or, focus on how he's too busy working to consistently get the maintenance done and should plan on letting YOU hire it done; so in his free time he can play country squire or whatever he dreams of. Did you just agree to all this because you can live in a really nice house? Because other than that I don't hear you wanting any part of this. Until you come clean with him about ALL of your reservations, he will have no motivation to start planning realistically so that YOU will also be happy living his dream. (Or as happy as you are capable of, given that you basically don't want this.) This isn't just a house; it's your entire life. Especially since you work at home. That sinking feeling you have is a warning signal. I really hope you'll tell him now, while he has some motivation to make concessions and provisions and to scale things back. If you don't tell him now, he will have zero motivation later. And all you will have is the sad consolation of being right about the fact that he would disappoint you--again.

Mine belonged to my grandmother. It was missing some pieces when I got it and so I filled in and bought a stable (also missing). The dog's nose is broken (because I played with it as a child). It's in the dining room as she always placed hers. I have a picture of the set -- in black and white probably taken the year she got it. It's from the dime store I'm sure (I remember seeing them there) and a lot of the pieces are marked 10 which I assume they cost 10 cents. Early in our marriage, I bought a pre WW 2 set from Germany that we used until I got my grandmothers. I stored it for years until my DD had her children and then I gave it to her. THAT set has the memories for her as this set has the memories for me!