Adellabedella, I have to comment on your name. I mean this is the BEST way because I love these books but your name reminds me of the childrens books Amelia Bedilia. :) When my dad built his house he added an access panel to the wall behind the tubs which backed up to his closets so when/if he ever had plumbing problems he had access and didn't have to tear into the sheet rock. I have noticed in my neices newly built home that all the walls and ceilings are ONE color which I didn't like at first but it's seemless and in a way soothing. They painted the garage as well which I like because it doesn't show dirt as easily as white and reminds me of your garage. My sister also told us to add MORE LIGHTS and she said you can never have too many outlets (well maybe but have plenty) so we will do that, too. I hope you find a solution for your library door locks. Srercrcr - I like the idea of a larger propane tank. What a good idea. I'm glad you got your house after that many years of planning. I have a good friend who built about 4 years ago and I kept telling him "how can you leave your house where your kids grew up" and aren't you going to be sad to leave - but he told me over and over that he was SO excited about leaving and starting his new life. I couldn't understand at the time but now that we've sold and are finally coming to the point of building I completely understand. gopintos - I LOVE light too and our recently sold house was dark and cavelike for many years then we added a huge window and glass front and garage door (Which we found out later wasn't really up to code) but we were in the country and I loved having it since most people came to our back door anyway. I'm sure no one will notice or mention the arch over the front door so I know you'll learn to love it as is. I wrote down that saying and will print it out and keep it with me as I tend to second guess my choices. bdpeck - I never gave one thought to the venting so that's now on my list of make sure it's done right. I hope your mystery electrical issues aren't serious. That would make me crazy. I'd like to ask how many others put the small returns in each bedroom and what difference it makes. mairin - I'm very OCD too and I'd need my lighting in a line as you. I find structure and symmetry are calming to me. My just sold house had NO laundry room. It had a bi-fold door in my breakfast area. I HATED IT! When we were young and only doing 2 loads a week it wasn't so bad but after 19 year of having dirty clothes in my kitchen and eating area I promise I'll have an outhouse before I give up or have a small laundry room. LOL There's 2 things that are must haves for me: a man cave for all stuff and a decent size laundry room. I've reallly enjoyed reading everyones stories. I'd love to hear more. I have to tell you that I've lived in Texas most of my life (off and on 49 years) and this is the first time our lake has frozen this much since I've lived here. There is 20 feet of ice around the edges this morning. It's 2 inches thick with ice up the tree trunks and the base of the piers where the wind was blowing so hard the water Texas! Yesterday morning the wind chill was 5 BELOW zero here. I lived in Maine for 2 years and this reminds me of that time - but I left there who still lives in Maine that we need to move back there to thaw out. I'm sure many of you are having the same thing. Tomorrow is supposed to be better for us. Hope you all get some relief soon. Sunny

Kath, according to FindAGrave, I've filled 16 photo requests. I'm guessing I've looked unsuccessfully for about half that many. These were in very small, old cemeteries where I could look at every stone in one trip. The cemeteries always included some stones that were so old they were unreadable, so I assume that's why I didn't find the name(s) I was looking for. I also have a large backlog of requests--not sure how many, but I recently moved them all into one file on my computer. I began volunteering to do this when I wasn't working. When I had to go back to work, the job ate up a lot of my free time. Plus gravestone photography is definitely a seasonal activity for me. With my Raynaud's Syndrome, there's no way I could be outside doing this in the cold weather. This summer I started trying to catch up, but I still have a long way to go on the backlog--and I continue to receive new requests. I may have mentioned that I often get request that are out of my area. When that happens, I email the person making the request and explain that it's not likely I'll take the picture but I wish them luck finding someone else to do it. I haven't done any research beforehand other than speaking to the person in charge of the cemetery. Sometimes the request includes a location within the cemetery, but usually not. I'm not sure what you mean by private cemeteries. If I need to know who's in charge of a certain cemetery, I always find out by calling one of the local funeral directors. Hope this helps.

may_flowers and sprtphntc - I seldom buy either. I have been buying and looking at a few things lately. Both my mother and my MIL downsized this year and I got a few small pottery pieces from each of them. I wanted to display them but none of them really went together and so I was looking for other pieces to set them off so I was prowling consignment stores and antique stores. So much of it was pretty but not suitable, but when a piece "spoke" to me and I thought "yes, you will set off and add to my enjoyment of my great-grandmothers water pitcher", that's when I bought something. palimpset - exactly. I agree with you. I too prowl real estate listings (used to frighten my DH) but I don't want a new house. Appreciating things does not mean having to own them. mudhouse - oh I really like that imagery of "stocking the visual library in our minds". I'm going to use that line on my DH the next time a situation arises. Then watch him try to figure what I'm saying - he won't get it, poor guy. romy718 - Perhaps like your daughter, I just want to convey my joy in seeing something that I think is, for me, pretty. I don't expect the person that I'm with to agree with me because I do know that we all have different tastes and different definitions as to what is visually pleasing. I guess I just want them to see my joy in seeing something that I find to be pretty and I want to share that - not to buy but just to stop, take a minute and enjoy looking.. Oh, and to be clear that doesn't actually happen all that often. And kevinmark - you're right ,not every gorgeous accessory is meant to buy. I suspect that if one did that the joy of owning pretty things that one found joy in would somehow be diminished over time. For me anyway.

Thanks, Nicole! I do a "Ketchup" and a "Pickles" folder for all my third grade students. The former is to complete unfinished work and the latter is for quick enrichment and fun activities. I put your OP pic in this week's folder as one of the fun "picks." Your link will provide more fun! Carol