Colleen, your Echy still adorns my desktop. Doubt not your skill. About the Gasteria, those are the first Gasteria seeds I tried about 2.5 years ago. They came from a spotty Gasteria I bought from a guy named Richard at the farmer's market. The seeds were open-pollinated. These seedlings are special in the way that the "first dollar you ever earned" is special. The hybrids I've created and sown since then are something I can get excited about. 'Spotty Rick' is historically significant, only to myself. I will keep you updated, though, and you're welcome to some of the brood. That's only one of three identical pots. Mara, hahaha! I'm taking beach's down-time as an opportunity to catch up! Seriously though, how can I compete with a real South African? That dude is legit. How, thanks for the info! I'll sow them today! I'm sure it's still warm enough, though it IS pretty foggy today. It feels like the beginning of Fall but I'm hoping for a few more freak weeks of heat! Ashton, gracias!

just had to copy & paste these statements: "The whole enclave is ostentatiously poorly designed. Very depressing. It's just another example of where a random collection of bumpouts, gables, and disconnected rooflines on postage stamps approved by a committee are considered to be "upscale" because so much money has been spent on that bad design. " The whole development appears to be crammed into undersized lots to maximize builder profit on th eland investment. this is an interesting statement from the OP, so I will go ahead and quote it: "....complaining about issues that can't be changed is childish" How is this different then complaining about this house? In fact, if all houses were for sale, theirs would be the FIRST I would buy. Y'all are reading my mind...its uncanny! I really hate threads with folks talking smack about the neighbor's tacky house..one person's tacky house is another's dream home... best of luck OP.

Arcy, I can speak for no one else, but I can say that I find a very important part of my job as a parent is to teach my children boundaries and to be mindful of how their actions affect others. If somebody has a nice lawn, they had to put effort into that and that effort should be respected by not indiscriminately walking on it or allowing their pets to use it for restrooms or whatever. I also strive to teach my children that being part of a family means balancing the needs of all family members. Some things can be prioritized, like just putting up with bald patches in the lawn until a kid is older, or choosing plants that can handle errant balls better (I think I have seen lists to this effect). I can tell you that in our family, my husband and I need to garden. It helps us to deal with the stresses of life. My vegetable garden is often a spiritual retreat that keeps me from teetering over the edge. My kids can still walk through the flower beds to catch lizards and butterflies, to look for ladybugs but they can do this because they have learned where to step. My nephews only get to walk through the beds if they learn where to step and if not, they need to find something else to do outside. As part of full disclosure, I do not have lawn. It is not practical where I am. I also know that I am very fortunate to have 5 acres, there is somewhere else for the kids to play. If not, I would have to find other ways to meet all of the competing needs of my family.

Just shooting from the hip here, going line by line through your post: The pillows that came with the couch ARE pretty, but I'd still change them, or add to them. The smallest ones are too small. The rug is too small and pale for this floor and your furniture. If you're really committed to it, pull the couches forward so their front legs are on the rugs, and then adjust the recliners to suit.This may also help both couches share a coffee table or ottoman. Or you may not need one at all. (I'd prefer not to have one in your arrangement. As for family pics on canvas, I want those, too! What scale and where to put them I can't say because I can't see the walls of the room. Can you take a shot of each wall? Big vases where? I tried corner lamps in my living room (similar layout, as we've said) It didn't look right. And at night, I didn't like having lamps on next to the TV. Also, and this is a "me" thing, I didn't like having all the "electronic stuff" on one wall. Too much like a wall-sized entertainment center. A sofa table could work, but I'm so into balance, I'd need one behind each couch. You have a built-in ~what~ with nothing in it? And where is it? Is the pass-through of this room behind the recliners? How much space is there from behind the recliners to the next wall or piece of furniture? Each recliner should share a side table with the couch next to it, and the tables should be round, not square. I'm big into plants, so I'd make sure to put some in front of those windows. I love your floor and am exceedingly jealous. Here are some pics of the pool. I took pictures from the beginning to the end of the process, but I'm assuming you want to see the pool and not the process. This is a picture of the pool the day it finished filling, which is why the water looks green, no chemicals yet. Hardly any landscaping is done. And notice how the close edge of the photo shows the deck meeting the dirt that used to be grass. This shows the pool and deck in relation the the back of the house. See how the water is finally blue? And you see a peek of the brick patio I put down after my hubby graded the dirt for me. I'm very proud of that! And this shows the other side, how the ground slopes away, and how much yard we still have left over. I'm just starting to work on landscaping. See the finished patio? Also, the iron fence-work and three brick columns are done, but none of these pictures show it. Same sorta angle, but from an upstairs window. This view is from standing in the ~other~ back corner of the yard. It's beautiful, but not done (like everything else) We still need to paint the trim and door of the screened porch, finish landscaping the dirt slope, and build steps where you can see the grass ends at the patio. My husband wasn't open to a pool at all, either. I started jokingly telling him, "I'm not broke, and I'm not asking," and "Great. I'll use MY half of OUR money to pay for it." Finally, I put an ugly pop-up pool in the yard, and kept it there for two years, then replaced it with the same thing when it wore out. By the time that one died two years later, he was sold on a real pool. I did all the maintenance for the pop up, and I do all maintenance for this pool. But that meant I could design and build exactly what I wanted. I even created the shape myself! Here's the eyesore that caused him to give in.