It's quite likely that you can install a wood fireplace insert on the second floor and a metal chimney to replace the missing flue. This could then be bricked in or boxed in to suit your taste. Find several good fireplace shops to advise you on this project and shop among the suitable models for one that will work well for you. Make sure you have a competent installer do the work for you.

I don't think having a weekend place "only 20 minutes" from your main home is funny, or even all that unusual in some towns. With the price of gas today, that's probably a plus. (Who wants to spend that much time on the road anyway?) I'm not sure how I feel about that style - and I should because I lived in one for a few years, and lived next door to an even more elaborate one longer than that. I thought they were fabulous when I was younger, and I can't really say that I ever disliked it while living in it. I guess my major complaint about that style is that it seems completely disconnected from all that came before it. Traditional architecture has evolved over hundreds or thousands of years, while those modern buildings just popped up out of a few people's (such as FLW's) fervent minds. As I've grown older, I've developed more appreciation for more traditionally styled buildings and how they fulfill our needs of all manner. Speaking of which, I trust you tend towards the exhibitionist, rather than voyeur, on the scale of human inclinations, since the dominance of windows would undoubtedly scare you otherwise. And I trust you also have great appreciation for brick (the one traditional element of this house) that seems to pervade most of the spaces. If you love it that much, I say go for it if the finances make sense. At least that way you'll find out just how fun it is living in a place like that. Keep that offer low, though, because even in a good market, the more eccentric buildings are much slower to move (in case the reality is less fulfilling than your dream). With the big yard, I can see it filling the "getaway" role, with parties, lively yard games, with plenty of opportunity for blending indoor and outdoor living. (Guests may have to stay at the local motel, or a tent, but that's not necessarily a bad thing). And I can almost guarantee you that buying it and enjoying it as the architect intended will be much more enjoyable than going through the building process yourself.

I don't know if it's such a good idea to tell her that her dad is "sick". That might give her the fear that anyone can get "sick" in that way, and I wouldn't want her to worry that you or others she counts on may become "sick" as well. It's kind of like explaining death in terms of sleeping... that can be scary for a child. Since it appears that you already said this to her though, you might want to have another conversation, if she asks more questions, about how "sick" maybe wasn't the best choice of words. My daughter's dad is not quite right in the head either, and I know all too well the fear you have of him doing something horrible. You have to make sure your daughter knows that because of his bad choices, she cannot see him right now, that it would not be safe. In a situation like this, sad as it may be, you cannot sheild her from some degree of pain. I'm not saying you should make him out to be a horrible person, but she's going to need some degree of the truth so that she knows not to go with him; otherwise, you'll be living in constant fear.

How wonderful for him! He seems like a really deserving young man. Unfortunately, this is not the best of times to have to figure out how to invest $88.5 million. Think about it. Handling that kind of money is no easy task even if you have spent your life doing it. You don't just go plunk it in a bank or stick it under your mattress. And, people will be coming out of the woodwork to requesting his help for anything and everything. My hope for him is that he be able to find honest and capable people to help him. Even then, it's going to be a challenge. He's got a lot of years ahead of him to deal with protecting those funds if they're going to last until he is an old man.