pbaby, what exactly do you have in mind about "bringing them in"...and keeping them? Geraniums can indeed be brought in and treated like a houseplant...kept going in bloom for a while, then kept alive until the sun's value resumes in about mid February. Then there is the other way.....brought in and placed in a part of the house where the temperatures are a constant 40 to 50 degrees. This is the place where moisture is kept out of, where light is not allowed, where heat is denied and where the plant is left alone until we wish to re-invigorate them when the sun is better in mid February. My own plants, 5 of them...are now in their 8th year. So, you pick the way you wish to keep them going....for ever, and ever and ever. You might wish tho to not let your plant continue to bloom as it takes a lot of energy from the plant. Instead, pinch back the bloom and send that energy to the leaves and roots. In any case, if you keep the plant going, cut it back about half...or more....repot in fresh new potting soil (mix with coarse sand and peat moss), keep the soil up away from the drainage holes, water ...always....til drainage, allow full drainge, then dump the excess. Allow the plant to dry down between waterings, and water ...always....til drainage. Dont feed a plant that is not growing. When growth is evident, begin feeding it at half rate 20/20/20...and each day, turn your plant 1/4 turn so that all parts of the plant receives equal amount of light. As the day's dwindle to a precious few...November....December..21st, you may wish to use artificial light for a time until the sun's value returns in February. The other method, you don't do a thing until February.

wonbyherwits, I mounted mine to the ceramic tile on my wall, but I had no choice. My ENTIRE kitchen came with ceramic tiles installed from floor to ceiling. I screwed them into the wall in the grout area and not right through the tiles as I thought they may crack. I've seen it done right through the tile but I believe you need a special drill bit to do it properly. I think it LOOKS bether being aligned with the lines of the grout too, but if you have patterned tiles it may be better to place them so they do not conflict with the design. I have mine mounted on the wall at about eye level. It would depend on your kitchen layout of course. Where I have mine, I can stand at my counter and have the knives on the wall to my right. It just worked out that way. When you buy yours, buy at least two of them. They hold anything magnetic and you will find more and more uses for them. If you have magnetic spatulas and ladles you can keep one by the stove instead of wasting counter space with a ceramic jar of cooking utensils. I also keep my three favorite cookie cutters on one with my kitchen scissors. You can even use them in your workroom in the garage or basement to hold screwdrivers and such. Heck, they are only $5.95 and they make your life soooo much easier. If you have a sewing room they hold most of your stuff so it is handy and doesn't get lost in a jumble. I bought a bunch of them and gave them as xmas presents.

My DD is adopted. We got her when she was 6 weeks old. Her daddy died when she was 15 & couple of years later she wanted to know if I thought it was a good idea to find her birth mom. I thought it was great idea. Get medical history, maybe she was longing to see her etc. She went to couple of meetings of people looking for birth parents & I had told her doesn't always turn out well. Ended up mixed bag. Birth mom was shocked & not happy her secret was out,2 older siblings were glad, cousin was thrilled & very helpful. DD told birth mom dying (couple of yrs ago), she made it to the funeral. It was worth it tho she would have liked to talk to her in person. You will always wonder if you don't contact them & if you do you might have a nice extended family. Years ago it was very shameful to have child out of wedlock, if girl was young her parents stepped in & stopped them from marrying etc.I think they will be happy to find out that you are related by blood. Even if you never meet them you can email or write & would be good idea to find out if cancer runs in family & what kind it was as you might want to be getting checked more often if colon or another type that often runs in families. My parents are 89 & 95 & I know it will be hard to lose them but I see them everyday & help with their care.Glad you had your parents for a long time too. Questions will eat away at you & I think you will at least get some info. Wondering why you never saw your brother if grandparents adopted him, did you move far away & never had contact with grandparents again. Sounds like GP's did make mom give him up. How old was she when he was born, 21, I think if I did the math right? Any indication of who father was & what happened to him? Was she in college? Sometimes parents just didn't think guy was proper for their daughter. I think your mom may not have had much to do with it & therefore was estranged from her parents which would be very hard to deal with. Glad she got a good man in your dad! Good Luck!

natesgram, thanks, I've actually seen that link before, and it's what really pushed me towards painting. It really has a lot of helpful info too. As much as I would love to get new doors (shaker is my favorite!), I'm going with paint for now. The wallpaper...yes, I don't see what's wrong with it either. I took a really close up shot just to show the blue specks, but it really just looks like textured cream colored walls. I would like to know if the suggestions to remove it are because it's ugly/dated or more for resale purposes where painted walls are the preference for most buyers??? alabamanicole, now that I look at it some more, I agree the track lighting needs to go. It should be easy and inexpensive ($100-150?) to change it out. I love the look of bronze, but would it work with my ss appliances and ss cabinet pulls? Or should I get bronze pulls and faucet...CAN you have a bronze faucet and a stainless steel sink? Confusing! Also, thanks for your kitchen idea. The rest of my house is decorated with warm creams, reds, greens. I love organic stuff like wicker, stone, metal, and I love shaker style, country style, and arts-n-crafts style. I really like cream cabinets, but I already have enough cream with the counter, the tile, and the wall. The breakfast bar opens into the dining room, which is has cream furniture and red and green as the accent colors. The kitchen doesn't have to be matchy-matchy with the adjoining rooms, but it should flow colorwise. I'm going for a sleek, simple, yet casual and warm look with bluish/green cabinets. Below are kitchen looks that I love. Some won't work with my sleek cabinets, but it's just to everyone an idea of the look and feel that I hope to achieve... I love the color on this wall...if I ever take down my wallpaper! lol I love the warmth and casualness of cream cabinets. My dream kitchen...if I could start from scratch! :) Here, I love how the bottom cabinets are darker than the top cabs. Cute chandelier, and the island color is gorgeous! Ok, since I also LOVE the idea of two cabinet colors, what if I paint my top cabs cream and my bottom cabs blue/green? I really can't decide between my two colors below, and painting all the cabs either color will be too much cream in the room, or too much blue/green in the the room...no? I'm also open to sage green. If I go with using two colors, what if I paint the storage wall like the storage wall below (where the top and sides would be the blue/green color)?