Based a search on all of your helpful suggestions, and the winner appears to be Helianthus salicifolius.... Thanks for humoring the fuzzy photo as it was quite breezy this morning when I snapped the photo.....

I find the disconnect in people's minds between Wall St. and Main St. to be quite interesting. The two are inextricably intertwined, yet most consumers don't see the cause/effect. Sales are down because people can't get mortgages easily. Banks are reluctant to extend credit because every loan requires cash reserves to be set aside. Cash reserves must be held in liquid instruments, the safety of which is growing increasingly precarious as the bond market is buffeted by global economic upheaval. Thus, fewer loans are offered. Credit tightens for everyone as margins fall. The largest sources of income for banks, which are fees, have become constricted by the Dodd-Frank legislation (a poorly written monster at best) which Main St. demanded. Poor earnings = weak stock prices = less ability to make loans of any sort except to the highest-rated credit prospects and/or limited amounts. Every time a lawsuit is filed against a bank to stop a foreclosure, other banks slow down their own past due pipeline because without legal clarity as to what their liability might be, they can't accurately forecast losses and earnings, for which Wall St. punishes their stock price. I'm not assigning blame to anyone...just pointing out the way the whole process works. Banks fear regulators more than consumers fear the IRS. I worked in a bank and we got our loans audited four times a year - EVERY YEAR. Not for loan soundness - that's the responsibility of a bank's loan review committee - but for accuracy of paperwork. It was a file clerk's nightmare; in thirty-five years of admin/ops work in several different industries, I've never encountered a more complex and tedious filing system, with literally hundreds and thousands of sheets of paper for every loan. Foreclosures/short sales and new home loans will continue to move through the pipeline, but at a very slow pace until the whole liability issue is fully settled. The shaky futures of Fannie/Freddie are also a huge drag on the mortgage market. You want government out of mortgage loans so we can shrink Washington DC? Sure, you can do it, but there will be higher credit costs and fewer mortgages as a result. It's the way the system works, and unless you want to establish a tyranny and privatize the entire US financial system to overhaul it from the ground up, no amount of Congressional tinkering is going to change things. Hitler did it and it worked. But I don't think I want to live under that, and probably none of the people on this forum want to either.

A lot of what you're asking for is subjective... I'll start something (and bump this up) by posting my kitchen. However, while I do have stained cabinets, they're a medium stained cherry, so probably not what you're looking for. Additionally, my doors are not plain shaker, but they are a less-expensive alternative to what I really wanted...and like you, budget dictated it. Our kitchen is a yellow. However, I have been told that yellow shouldn't be used for a child's playroom. Children cannot focus on it and it causes stress/anger (I was just told this last night when I was talking to someone who was creating a paint palette for a day care center.) Is there any kind of delineation that could be a natural break b/w paint colors? Maybe a soffit or similar? We used BM Cornsilk in our Kitchen & DR but BM Wedgewood Gray in the adjoining FR and Foyer. My cabinet knobs & pulls are not unique, but I like them and they weren't that expensive...probably mid-price. I have birdcage knobs from DecHar & drawer pulls from Siro in antique iron. If you want to see some really interesting knobs...check out IglooChic's kitchen! There is one thing I'm thinking of "asking for" for my birthday this year...a "Manhandle"! They're too expensive to use everywhere, but one can be used as an "accent" of some sort. Loves2Cook4Six has at least one in her kitchen. My kitchen: Hardware: If you look at the middle right, you'll see the Wedgewood Gray on the wall that is shared with the Foyer. Love2Cook4Six's Kitchen - Manandle to the left of her ovens. Here is a link that might be useful: MANHANDLES® COLLECTION by Soko

Sorry to hear that you are in so much pain. Unless someone has experienced arthritis joint pain it’s hard to realize how debilitating it can be. Hope each day forward brings you relief. We bought an artificial tree 2 years ago do I put it up earlier than I used to. Here’s a few pictures of the decorating I’ve done so far. The picture below shows s portion of our outdoor decorations. The train and snowman are not things I would have bought but when your 94 year old MIL goes shopping on her own and buys them for you because she thinks her great grandchildren would like them, you happily put them up outside.