Paul and his wife adopted the tortoise... we couldn't ask for a better place for it. After meeting them in person I have no problem sleeping at night knowing it has the perfect home. People need to think ahead of time when they aquire an exotic pet... how big they get, what they have to eat, housing, etc. We gave the tortoise an excellent living environment while we had it but I should have put my foot down when it was brought home knowing the size it would get and that my son most likely would loose interest in it and your's truly would be taking care of it.

Thank you so much for letting us know, Patricia. I love the talented Mr. Peacock! :o) I might be mistaken, but I believe Ms. Edna was in her 70s when they met, bumblebeez. I've read in interviews that she was a much beloved mentor & friend. He's said that he found comfort in caring for her in her later age. She passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 89.

As I read your post it seemed to me that you pretty much said which house you want. And it sounds like a beauty ready and waiting for you to make it your own. I don't quite understand why you're waiting! I realize open ceilings are popular, but personally, I can live with or without them. I inspect homes so I've seen all there is to see. Our house doesn't have them and sometimes I think oh well that would have been nice maybe. I just tend to be simple and practical. From a monetary perspective, I didn't want to pay to heat or cool dead space just because it was the most popular trend of the moment. I also agree with Sweeby that lower ceilings can make an environment feel more cozy and not so cold. If given a choice between a new neighborhood or a mature neighborhood, I'd always choose older. Not only because I love mature trees and landscape, (which is obviously a concern to you since you mentioned it) but because they have character that newer neighborhoods seem to lack these days. From an investment perspective, you can see how the people around you have cared for their homes and that helps to give some insight on how well the neighborhood will stay maintained in the future. I'd also opt for a finished yard as opposed to having the expense to install a new one. I'm just not into gardening at ALL so that project could not/would not be DIY for us! :c) When we bought our house, we looked at homes for months but I couldn't ever see us living in any of them until we happened upon our house. I knew our house was "the one" because it was the first house I felt at ease in and wasn't in a hurry to leave. It was a fixer (in need of a lot of work) but when I looked around, I saw it fixed in my mind and I felt at home. You'll have to let us know which one you end up choosing! Good luck!

Should YOU bring it up? No. The lady has been snipping at you all week and you want this to be taken for what it is not misunderstood as a 'take that' remark. So what I would do is discuss it with your DH. BIL and DH are brothers. DH can causually mention it to his brother in a way that brothers do things. His niece, is his only concern here. He'd not be bad talking the GF or trying to stick his nose in where it may not be welcomed...he'd simply be mentioning to his brother that he had recently learned of the sex offender brother of GF and as niece might be around the guy at some point DH wants to be sure BIL knows about it and that BIL discusses with his daughter 'good touch/bad touch' inappropriate actions blah blah. Brother to brother can do this without fear of the concern being misunderstood. You are correct in having concerns about this, but let DH be the one to discuss it to BIL. This way it's only thought of as two brothers looking out for each other and not perhaps turned into you being spiteful or something. BIL can and may tell his brother he already knows and to mind his own business. But for your nieces sake this is important enough to risk DH annoying his brother over. My 2 cents