We've been experiencing some of the same. First it was the furnace having to be replaced. (before that it was the oven had to be repaired) When DH went in the garage to look at the new furnace being put in, he happened to look up and notice stains on the garage ceiling. The bathroom in his man-cave is just above. Had to have the toilet fixed and next on the list is repairing the ceiling. Then there's the squirrels. We had holes repaired and metal pieces put in the areas where the squirrels had bored through to get into our attic and now we see more damage. Had someone by yesterday. $260.00 and that's just the start. Lots of wood has rotted and has to be replaced. Haven't gotten the estimate on that yet. Our house is 20 years old now. We've never lived anywhere long enough to redecorate never mind fix and replace things. Inside could use a paint job. That will be next.

I think it depends on one's personality whether they'd be happier with a tour or on their own. I've done both - a focused tour (antiquing) in London and a by myself trek that centered on gardens in the general vicinity. The focused tour was with my mom and my best friend and her mom and was our first visit. Everything was handled by the tour company afa accommodations, some meals and ground transport to the antique market venues but there was plenty of free time to do whatever else we wanted. Mornings were devoted to the antiquing and then the moms (elderly) went back to the hotel for rest, etc. while my BFF and I toured the city and visited all the sites we wanted to see. We did an on-and-off doubledecker bus city tour to begin with but walked or took the underground to all the sites and attractions that interested us. It was a great introductory visit. My second visit was on my own and other than the logistics of locating accommodations and ground transport (and your travel agent can help with that), it was just as simple. But I have no issues with being by myself, either at home or anywhere else. I used to travel extensively for work and that was almost always on my own. But I think you need to be comfortable being alone to attempt a visit abroad on your own. And I wouldn't worry about language concerns. Obviously, England is easy to navigate language-wise (although the strong accents can get you!) and you will find that the vast majority of Parisians speak English as well, certainly those that regularly encounter tourists. This is true across much of Europe.

Brass/gold tones are not really in style for entire-house applications, more so for little touches here and there. I love some of the brushed brass fixtures but would use them sparingly. As for every other finish (brushed nickel, polished nickel, oil rubbed bronze, black, etc), they are equally popular and are all fairly safe choices. We just moved into our new construction home last summer and it has all brushed nickel fixtures (lighting, door hardware, etc) except it has chrome in the bathrooms. I'm so sick of brushed nickel! I thought I was tiring of our ORB fixtures in our former home (1905 fixer upper) but now I can't wait to change out all of the builder grade lighting here. I plan to do mostly black/ORB fixtures, maybe a few will have touches of brushed brass or something.

Nessdizzle, I divide up plants as soon as the ground gets warm. Usually I dig up things that have spread (say daylilies or grasses) and divide them or I dig up things that send out babies (chrysanthemum, etc.). I pot these up in good compost that I get free from our town mixed with my garden soil. I save pots from year-to-year from plants I purchased and plant the "babies" in pots large enough for them to send out roots. Then I put these in a semi-shaded area so that they can develop a good root system and not suffer initial wind or sun burn. However, I have received plants from our CT swaps that were pulled out of the ground that morning and brought in plastic bags, and these survived. You'd be surprised how the free plants you bring might just appeal to someone who has a space that needs to be filled! Many times people who haven't even brought plants to our swap end up going home with something. In our CT swaps, "leftover" plants are taken by members to plant in town gardens or public spaces.