Thank you Marlene Daise NonaCook and Concretenprimroses. I am slowly working on the background fill for the second window. So anxious to get them hung up. I bounce back and forth between my glass , house chores ,yard chores and helping hubby in his shop working on the old truck. This is a good thing he has ambition to do things. He just needs help because the chemo induced neuropathy in his hands still bothers him. I never aspired to be a mechanic. He is changing wheels on the old flat bed from split rims to regular. This is a good thing and means I will have a truck for hauling things. So I am not complaining too much. I keep finding bits of garden junk stash in my hoard and adding it all to the flower bed for decor. The plants are filling in a little showing promise of things to come. I had a change of plans in the fountain department. I needed a stronger pump to make water come from the watering can so instead I used a fountain frog and did crystals on the watering can spout. Baby steps. I just need time to be able to go sit in my new little patio area. LOL I need to get some pond plants too.

Kswl, I'm going to have to check out Absurdistan because Confederacy is one of my favorite books EVER. I re-read it for our book club a few years ago. That was another one that some people loathed. As for Freedom, count me in as a non-fan. I think what bothered me was that the author didn't make me care about a single character. In fact I actively despised each and every one. Not to say I expect to love everyone in every book. However a good writer pulls you in and makes you at least care what is happening. Makes you understand someone or something. Makes you stop and say 'huh, that's so true' or conversely 'huh, never saw it that way before.' Jonathan Franzen did not do that for a single page in Freedom. I actually tried to read The Marriage Plot a few weeks ago and dropped it immediately for the same reason. In that one, I did not for a second believe the Eugenides even had an inkling about who or what his characters were supposed to be and do. Feh. Life's too short and there are too many amazing books out there. Which brings me to a recommendation of something I just read that was stunning: Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman. Have linked to it below. A coming of age story, not a light read but what an amazing debut novel. The writing, the protagonist, the structure...all incredibly well done. Warning-it's episodic too and the chapters aren't strictly expository but well, well worth reading. IMO of course! Here is a link that might be useful: Girlchild: A Novel

You obviously thought long and hard and really got it just the way you needed. Considering that I started planning the remodel 7 1/2 yrs before we started, yeah, you could say I thought long and hard. ;-) It was hard to wait but on the other hand, since the plan evolved over time, it was definitely worth waiting for. I wasn't going to include a pull-out cutting board - I hated going to use it and finding it filthy because DH and DS2 had forgotten to clean it - but DH and DS2 raised a ruckus when I told them my decision. So I added one back in. But then I took my sweet, sweet time treating it with food grade mineral oil - and they knew I'd raise holy hell if they used it before I treated it - so they got into the habit of using the plastic cutting boards that I can throw in the DW. Yay! So all the fuss about the cutting board and it's yet to be used. =) DH wasn't so sure about dishes in drawers at first but he warmed to the idea during the planning stages. He loves having them here now, as does DS2 (who, at 5'11" is the tallest in the family). In fact, DH will show people that we keep the dishes in a drawer. I love it but I knew I would. So, no, it wasn't hard to get used to my dishes in a drawer in the least.

Thank you all for the helpful comments. I really like the measured approach suggested by @apple_pie_order, @cat_ky, and @Jennifer Hogan. I tend to be a little impulsive and end up regretting my decisions later, so slow and thoughtful is probably the better course. Although I know I would love white trim everywhere, the trim isn't in the best of shape and I think paint will highlight the flaws, so I need to be 1000% committed to all the work that will be needed. @Susan Davis, I think I will be replacing the baseboards eventually. I appreciate your thoughts on painting all the walls white, but I'm not ready to follow that trend yet. After a lot of googling, I think I might pivot from gray walls to green-gray or blue-gray walls (see pic). Those colors seem to work with all the window/door trim and staircase, and hopefully they will work with the floors . Can't wait for the paint samples to arrive!