Here I am, finally! Sorry I never got around to taking any pictures; maybe this year, though the trees I have aren't all that impressive. Spring time in the Rockies, not much money for more conifers this year - spent too much last year with mixed results. Of the dwarf conifers I planted, almost half of them had died by the end of the summer, and one more succumbed over the winter. :-( This is a list of the ones that I actually planted last spring: Abies balsamea 'Nana' Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Picea abies 'Tompa' Picea pungens 'Mile Up 92' (a gift from Nate (sluice) Picea pungens 'The Blues' Picea glauca (probably mariana??) 'Echiniformis' Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine (a gift from treebarb) Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Thuja occidentalis 'Zmatlik' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' These are the ones that are still alive and seem to be doing well: Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' is still alive but doesn't look all that good, lots of die back which doesn't bode well for such a tiny plant... The two I regret losing the most are the 'Mile Up 92' and the 'Wiethorst.' The 'Mile Up' is irreplaceable as this was a clone that sluice grew and I won't get another chance at it - surprisingly, when I dug it up after it died it had almost no root ball. Perhaps I should have kept it in the pot for another year. I will try to replace the 'Weithorst' as it is really a wonderful looking tree; still can't find a source other than Klehms Song Sparrow Farms, though. Since the one I got from them died (of course, wasn't my fault, right?!?) I am somewhat reluctant to buy another one from them... Is that foolish? But, since they seem to be the only source here in the USA, I will no doubt try again - after all, the 'Moon Frost' that I got from them is doing fine. So, that's my sad tale! Not much encouragement for trying more conifers this year, so I guess it is a good thing that I don't have the $$, although I did buy a cheapy from Home Depot this weekend, a Picea abies 'Reflexa' (of course, incorrectly labeled as a 'Pendula.') Happy Spring to everyone, hope you had a better survival rate than I did and that you have eagerly added to your collection for 2012. :-D Holly

Small town, an hour from larger towns, incredible sunshine and the bluest skies you'll ever see, glorious summers with warm (not hot) days and cool nights, small college right in town, A+ dirt biking, A++ skiing/snowboarding, 30 minutes from a posh resort area with big $ and plenty of work opportunities, lots of open space and affordable land, a fisherman's dream, great boating of every kind(largest body of water in the state), great road or mountain biking, views and scenery in every direction....... only problem is that ***but nothing below zero in the winter*** thing you mentioned. Otherwise Gunnison, Colorado fits your list to a T.

I think for 70% of people, buying makes the most sense. Easiest to get a loan, you really don't need a whole heck of a lot of knowledge, your risks are quite low and you know exactly what you're getting. For 30% of people, they want something "new" or "different" and they should build. Of those 30%, 60% should "build" with a spec builder and make choices out of 3-4 things in a catalog. A lot of people struggle when there are too many options. 30% of those people should custom build with a builder. They know what they want or can hire someone to tell them (interior designer). They want something unique or have specific needs to address. They're willing to take on the headache involved in obtaining it, or have the finances to deal with whatever occurs. These people have the time and money available to really invest their time and energy into a custom build. The last 10%, are crazy. They will DIY their house. THIS to me is "building your home". Hiring someone to build is not building a house. My biggest pet peeve. Here, the stress and frustrations are through the roof, the risk is enormous, the banks won't trust you, the financial reality is hell. But you'll save money, have something custom, be proud of what you accomplished. The question for you, is where do you fit in, and what are you willing to live through?

While I'm not a fan of WIC in the bathroom, I realize many people like them. That's a personal decision. However like was explained many of the things in this house don't work because they are just not good design. Here's the changes I made to the first floor to give you better flow and to put the things needed where they will work the best. 1. Since you don't use a bath, get rid of it! If you want a bath on the first floor, put it in bedroom 2. 2. Your master closet is actually now larger. However I was able to pull in the wall so it now matches the wall of the dining room. 3. Now you have a straight shot from the master suite to the bathroom to the closet. And then as an added bonus if you don't want to wake your spouse in the morning, you can now leave through the laundry closet! 4. Instead of the powder room by the master suite, I moved your laundry room there. Think of how easy it will now be to do your laundry. 5. I pulled the closet across to meet the study. Even though it makes the house a bit larger, it will actually save money because you won't have the extra bump outs. 6. Your study is the same size but by moving it down, you now have an actual hallway that creates a "spine" for the house, so you're not making a jog through your great room to get to the master suite. 7. By moving the powder room to where the laundry was, it freed up space so you now have a good sized entry from the mudroom door and the garage. No more trying to shove one another out of the way. Plus there's now more room to store all those kids things. 8. The powder room is now near the side where the kids will enter and it's convenient still to guests. 9. I moved around your layout for your kitchen too. It didn't work. Lots of space but not well used. I moved your cleanup sink to under the window with the dishwasher next to it. Lots of storage space in drawers now to the left. I moved your fridge so it's now in the work "triangle". So now you take food out of the fridge, move it to the prep sink on the island to wash, then prep to the left of the prep sink, and then carry it to the cooktop to cook. 10. In the master bath, if you're planning on a glass shower enclosure, I would probably flip the toilet closet and the shower so the toilet isn't against the master bedroom wall.