Thanks again. It is really beautiful in this area. I've been fortunate that ever since I moved to Canada in 1973 I've always lived in a relatively secluded, beautiful place. The first was on Vancouver Island north of Victoria. I rented a log house on the property of a well to do lady and went to her house and cooked 5 nights a week. The house was on the ocean and a world away from Southern Calif. where I grew up. The first house my husband and I bought was on Salt Spring Island. That was a great experience for the time. We lived on a small lake. When our kids were small we decided it was time to move. A friend lived in Salmon Arm and when we visited him, we loved it. No taking ferries anywhere would have sold me on just about anywhere! Paul, we already have a McDonalds, A&W, Dairy Queen, Wendy's, Joey's Only, Dominoes Pizza, Subway and probably others that are thankfully slipping my mind. I call this the lousy resturant capitol of Canada. We are 45 minutes from a slightly larger town of Vernon that has everything except Cost-co. I'm perfactly happy to go there if I want to go to Wallmart or Home Depot but nobody asked me! The planning here is really pathetic. I've often felt that those in charge should be made to actually GO somewhere and see what is done in other places with a shoreline like ours. Where the wharf is in the pictures coming toward you is East. This area between the wharf and the nature preserve has been the subject for controversary since I've lived here. The person who owned the land between the wharf and the nature preserve walk wanted to develop it. I can't really remember what he wanted to do but whatever it was the city wouldn't let him. He was so frustrated at one point he was threatening to put an RV park there for spite. It was already zoned for that so they couldn't have stopped him. Gradually some buildings were built in this area. The first ones were government offices. That's where you went to get your drivers license and file claims about bad tennants. It was so weird. I pictured something like the Steveston area in Vancouver or Monterey in Calif. The vision was certainly lacking. Now there are a couple townhouse developments which are for retired people plus a big very expensive, care facility. The bay is very shallow and the railroad track runs between the town and the shoreline. That seems to separate the town from the shore in a weird kind of way. If you don't have particular buisness across the tracks, you don't go there. The property being fought over for wallmart is West of the wharf. I've been told it's the only spot large enough to accomodate the type of shopping center they want to build. I guess there are 'politics' to deal with no matter where you live. Sad....

I am in the same shoes you are right now. I'm trying to plan a wonderful kitchen for a new home that functions for my homestead way of life. I cook from scratch, and will be freezing, dehydrating, and canning again. I like to stock up on bulk staples. I'd like to raise chickens and maybe a calf, and I garden too. I have pets. Basically, a very independant minded person. So the challange is how to come up with a compact work space with enough storage. One solution many women in Florida do is to put a summer kitchen in off their porches, and this is where they can, and keep all those supplies, as well as their extra fridge and freezer. It's not in the house and the mess and steam involved stays out there instead of heating the whole kitchen and house up. It's made with less expensive and easy to clean materials, and yet it's a hop and skip away. If it's not attatched to the house it's taxed as an outbuilding instead of square footage. (It can be "detatched" by as little as an inch). It frees up some of the needed kitchen space, and takes some load off of utility room needs. I'm seriously considering doing that. I'm having wood floors in my house but my canning kitchen can have easy to clean vinyl that I don't have to worry about trashing. I am also trying to place at least one, and hopefully two walk in pantries in convenient locations. My goal is to have one near my stove for pots and pans, (I use mostly cast iron and have quite a collection of it), and one near the prep area for all my kitchen staples. This is not the "norm", so there isn't much information out there on how to do this. Everyone wants to sell mounds and mounds of cabinets, which only serves to spread things out too far and costs too much. Walk in pantries fit an enormous amount of storage in a compact space. They can always have a pretty glass front french door with a curtain to dress up the kitchen. I'm determined to figure this one out. I'ts not easy figuring out how to achieve a kitchen that is sufficient in size and storage, while at the same time efficient. My house will be an open floor plan, so I also do not want my back to everyone while I cook, and I need lots of natural light to be happy. It sounds like your kitchen is the heart of your home, as well. I do know that a kitchen with appliances spread out too far, and not enough dish storage convenient to both the table and the dishwasher is awful! My last kitchen, designed by a kitchen designer, was gorgeous. But...the stove was too far from my sink on an opposite wall, and the path between them was also the path into the kitchen. I always worried while carrying a pot full of boiling pasta to be drained to the sink. I spent a lot of time walking and carrying between my sink and counter and the stove and counter. I spent a lot of time trekking dishes back and forth to the table. I never want that again. Ever. It was not a user friendly kitchen, and we started eating out a lot. There are some valid concerns being brought up here, and much of it is most likely based on some of the awful stuff others have delt with, and want to help you avoid all that. There's a great deal of walking while carrying things to and from your dining table, in this plan. That may not bother you, but give it some very careful thought, and reherse the differing scenarios out to be sure that's what you want. I know you come home tired. Very tired. One of my friends is a vet and also runs a no-kill shelter that she started. Twenty feet is a long way in a kitchen. Perhaps what will work for you is to still have the open large space you crave, but with alcoves and centers for each activity that are subtley defined, but still open to one another. If you frequently have baby animals in your kitchen, perhaps have a nook for that in your plan that can also double for another use. I'm with you on the island seating. My husband and I would never eat at an island. I always felt if people are putting seating around their islands, it means they actually want to eat in their kitchen, and why not just put the kitchen table back in there, where they "used" to be. (I'm ducking). I never had an island, but am thinking I'd like one. I always cut cookies out, fill muffin tins, and make homemade pasta at my kitchen table. I'm almost afraid to put an island in, and then find I end up back over at my table anyway. The other thing is, I'm sure my husband will just have one more spot to put all his guy stuff. Still debating. Maybe I'll buy one of those nice Boos maple farm syle islands. Then I can move it if I want. Keep at it. It looks like you have a lovely space to work with. Unfortunately, I haven't found this a fun process. We have acreage, and I have a clean slate. My brains are scrambled from trying to design. Too many options! Please post your ideas as you progress. Sandy

Oh my goodness, it was so surprising to see this old thread of mine show up today! Hmmmm, OK, this is what I did in the days and weeks right afterwards. 1) I called the sheriffs department and filed a complaint, which was pretty much worthless. They could only do something IF they saw it themselves or if I captured it. 2) I sent every home on my road an email telling them the details of what I saw and when, etc. And how angry and violated it made me feel. 3) I belong to our community NextDoor online website. I posted pretty much the same thing. THAT really got many, many people talking, and exchanging experiences and ideas. And voicing a lot of anger. Both of these were good things as I was sure that the voyeur/pervert was a nearby neighbor in the area. Meaning, he would see this and the uproar it was causing. And hopefully stop. 4) Finally, I talked with my adult son who works in the intelligence field for X (I can’t go into details for who), but VERY big. He’s not only brilliant in his field of expertise, but knows people who can and will go over any captured drone with unbelievable expertise, in their spare time as a favor to my son. Fingerprints, any data or photos found, etc., etc. This I posted on our NextDoor website and sent to all my neighbors, encouraging everyone to be diligent, watching for it, and how to capture it preserving any possible fingerprints, etc. I told them I now had access to an expert who I would send it to to retrieve any and all identifying data. And that I absolutely would not only hire an attorney to pursue legal action to the nth degree, but that I would also contact all the tv outlets with that info as well. And I was/am very serious about this. I think, I hope, that I put the fear of god in this guy’s heart, as we haven’t spotted a drone since then. But, I am always watching now. Sadly, though, this incident brought back a kind of PTSD for me, as I was the subject of an attempted kidnapping when I was younger in order to gain access to my father’s banks. It thankfully failed thanks to quick action by the FBI, but the fear of vulnerability, of never feeling totally safe, was all brought back in a heartbeat by this jerk! It took well over six months for me to feel semi-comfortable with drapes open here. . . and this place has many huge doorwalls and windows, most without drapes. That fear still revisits me now and then. I hate the fact that these drones are now so readily available to anyone, and can steal away your privacy . . . and more, on a whim!

Another 73 year-old here. We bought our home 30 years ago because of the trees and space which here in Northern Virginia seemed wonderful to us, being half and acre.I spent 15 years eliminating the bamboo and ivy that covered the back yard which has a hill and three different levels. I just loved it and had visions of the sanctuary I could create. Did I factor in the fact that I was a teacher who would have very little free time to make those ideas a reality? Nope. Teachers even have work that frequently carries over into weekends and if I didn't, I was too tired/lazy to get out there for any length of time. Anyway, about 8 or 10 years ago, I read Doug Talamy's books and have planted only natives since then, although I did not remove shrubs that were not native. I managed to get the side yard looking good with only native shrubs and some perennials. Then had to wait three years for a knee replacement and even the front yard went to pot (not literally-ha) because I was out of commission for those years plus one more. Now scheduled for my second knee to be replaced in 11 days. So, I would also add the thought that any unevenness in your lawn/gardens. I have lots of spots that could cause a fall because a plant dies or was removed and the ground sank some after refilling the hole. All this is to say that, get things in good shape while you can, use low maintenance plants (mostly trees and shrubs imo), and make sure you or someone you hire can maintain your garden. Avoid lovely paths made out of stepping stones that are natural stones (not smooth) which look lovely in a woodland setting, but may not be so terrific if you are not steady on your feet. I have more, but have gone on far too long. I think your ideas in your OP are very good, although I agree that many seniors look for new plants and I personally prefer to avoid some of the brighter colors-can't stand red, like soft oranges though. Prefer the sound of the birds over wind chimes, etc.