I was born in Phoenix and have lived in Maricopa County my entire life. When I was a child we lived in Maryvale and everyone had grass lawns, front and back. We would go to visit family and friends that lived twenty miles away in any direction and everyone there had grass lawns front and back. Later we moved to the Moon Valley area and everyone had grass lawns, we did not begin to see desert landscaping or now xeriscaping in a big way until about twenty years ago, it was mostly billed as being low maint. as far as upkeep not, necessarily low water usage. We did learn in school that it was not good to waste water leave the faucet running, wash your car in the driveway, just general wasting of water, but never did that have to do with your lawn you just were not supposed to let the water run into the gutter. It seems funny to me to think that people think having lawns is because of us having a transient population, because as a child the only people that had desert landscaping were the transplants from other states. It also seems funny that people think having a lawn is a waste of water. Is having your garden a waste of water? You could save that water by rolling to the store and purchasing all of your fruits and veggies. No, of course it isn't a waste, you get the benefit of the enjoyment of growing your own food, and growing something that is better than what you can get at the store. People get the same enjoyment out of their lawns, so how can it be a waste. Of course you should be responsible with your water usage as with everything else. I am not sitting here spraying water into the street, I am spraying it on my lawn, have fun walking on and laying around in your rocks. Tell your neighbors to mind their business or give them a little shower next time. This post was edited by CaptainInsano on Tue, Jul 30, 13 at 12:09

Morning.. Joke for the day (ps my mother sent me this) ROSES & HANGING BASKETS A teenage granddaughter comes downstairs for her date with this see-through blouse on and no bra. Her grandmother just pitched a fit, telling her not to dare go out like that! The teenager tells her 'Loosen up Grams. These are modern times. You gotta let your rose buds show!' and out she goes. The next day the teenager comes down stairs, and the grandmother is sitting there with no top on. The teenager wants to die. She explains to her grandmother that she has friends coming over and that it is just not appropriate.... The grandmother says, 'Loosen up, Sweetie. If you can show off your rose buds, then I can display my hanging baskets. Happy Gardening.

Yes, the mom has paid support, not on time or in full most times but after they attached last years income tax, we are now up to date. It is a small amount, we pay for health insurance. She is responsible for very little. We had custody of the 3 children, 1 is moved out on her own, she is in her 20's, the other is going to college here but will transfer to the new state. So, the last one is the youngest minor. SD has not said alot about the move, it has been a well kept secret. She did say that she wants to experience life and see different places. SD is very well adjusted, well liked at school and a top honor student. But she is close to her mom and I would imagine that she feels very very torn about this. I would like DH to talk to her when it actually becomes a reality and tell her that 2 years will fly by and she can apply to colleges there. this may sound petty, but I hope their house doesn't sell before the fall so SD will not have to make a decision. She has made it very clear to us that if this does not happen in the next 5 months and the move happens during the summer, she will not move if she starts her junior year, she will finish her jr and sr year here. That would pretty much solve this whole mess. Bio's DH will not make more money, he will be closing the doors to his business and I guess find a job/business to go to. Bio mom will work 20 hrs a week I assume and attend this program. She has attended 3 schools in 5 years and has not gotten very far, she flunks many of her classes so I have no hopes that she will actually complete this process. I don't know, I am a rambling kind of mood today. I think this is a selfish decision to make at this point. This education could be attained here and she could wait until her youngest is 18 and go where ever she pleases, she is causing a tremendous amount of unhevel and there is no home, job, family she is going to... just the acceptance into a community college? Who does that? And don't drag your kids along, wait until you are settled yourself. Who is going to support them and my SD? Our child support? Beginning to look that way. We will subpeona her payroll records if this actually happens and our arguement will be that she is leaving a good paying job, so we should not have to pay more because of that.

I don't share your view about SF weather being unique, much of coastal NorCal is the same. In the city, the incessant breezes over most of the districts provide lots of fresh air. Unfortunately the fresh air is too often cool and damp. Of the two nearby houses I know, both are about 40 years old. Both are built on slab foundations, not all that common here. One had a leak, maybe 15 years ago, that was a mess to find and fix. The other works fine, it's my friends' house and I'm there a few times a month. They aren't the original owners, they bought the house as it is. They like it very much, I've had several discussions with them about it since it's somewhat unique. They don't touch the thermostat, leaving it on all the time during the winter. They will turn it down only when they'll be gone overnight, because otherwise the warm up time is so slow. I don't know if the same boiler also produces hot water for their house, that's one feature (called an indirect water heater) that's more common in the colder (and older) parts of the US where hot water heating is very popular. If you like to open windows for fresh air and then want a relatively fast warm-up afterwards, radiant heating may not be the best choice. What kind of heating does the unit have now? You might get more comfort by spending less on the heating system and using the savings to beef up insulation and air sealing. If you're set on hot water heating, it might be cheaper and more flexible for you to use radiators.