Norwayaha, First, I wouldn't assume that they are making fun of you. It might just be gentle teasing (and as stated, you can choose to think of it as a compliment - you don't have control over their comments, but you do have control over your reaction to their comments). Second, consider using this as an opportunity to educate your friends and family. I talk about how I know what goes into the jars. I am living a greener life (growing my own food) and the food I make is absolutely delicious. Plus I am saving money (when I use my own home grown ingredients). I share jars with them (with instructions to return the jars when done). When they have tasted my "tastes like summer in a jar" peach jam or fresh salsa using my homegrown tomatoes and peppers, they are sold. As to a comment like why make jam when there is jam sold in a store, my response is: Find me peach jelly. Find me blueberry peach jam or blackberry lavendar jam. You can't! With home canning, I get to make wonderful combinations that literally aren't available in the stores (except perhaps for $9 a pint at a farmer's market where, guess what? they are doing their own canning!). Most of all, I feel connected to generations of women before me who nurtured their families with home canned goodies. I'm making sure lost arts aren't truly lost. Although people may not understand loving a hobby that is so much work, many more people are receptive to the idea than you might realize, with just a little education. So often the response I receive is "I always wanted to try canning, but I didn't know anyone who did it." You might be pleasantly surprised! Now all that said, oh heck yeah, I feel overwhelmed at times. Putting up 50-75 pounds of peaches during the summer and pounds and pounds of tomatoes/peppers/etc. in the fall is definitely a daunting proposition at times, especially since I work full time.

I've lived in old houses all my life and have been in the carpentry/remodeling business working under a 50 year carpenter for about six years now. Probably though, most of the advice I will summarize here has to do with what I've learned on my own. I've lived in the unliveable and lived in the luxuriously restored. First off, like others have said here, take a breath. Seems to me you have a good idea of your financial health and have a realistic view of what you need to do to survive -- most importantly, not getting sucked into the disease of needless consumerism. In summary here's how you should look at the issues in your house: 1. Basic functionality: a) will you stay warm enough in the winter to survive? b) will you have working plumbing to enable basic sanitary functions? c) will your structure be able to keep the elements out? That is, wind, water and cold. Why do you need your roof stripped now? If it isn't leaking, you can hold off probably until spring for that, you may, depending on the number of layers and the allowance of code, be able to get by with another layer for now if you have to. You mention that the bathrooms need gutting. That's a large and expensive project to undertake, do you need to do that now? What does the upstairs bath need to be operable? At least so that you can use the lav and the toilet? Are there major plumbing issues or are these more cosmetic issues? I'd say that your major issues are: Fix the plumbing issues if that is what is occuring in the baths. Improper or poorly functioning plumbing can lead to sanitary issues as well as further damage to the interior walls and floor of the rest of the house, much less more plumbing damage. Get some quotes and plan on doing that, do some research and see what you can attempt yourself. Make some friends who know plumbing. If the bathroom is gross and the flooring and walls are gross, rip out and replace on your own, recover the flooring with luan and sheet vinyl, paint the walls, fix the plumbing. Now you've got a usable bathroom with a little elbow grease and maybe a couple paychecks. You can go back later and do the real fix-up that you want. Is the wiring dangerous or just outdated? An electrician once told me when doing some wiring at one old house I lived in long before I got into the trades, "I always tell people to leave well enough alone, never touch old wires and don't rewire when you don't have a problem." Old wiring has old insulation that will flake and fall off if touched. Better to leave well enough alone. If it looks intact, works well then you are fine. Yes, we'd all love a re-wired house, but the cost is prohibitive and the payback isn't always so great. Removing plaster and scraping paint, removing old flooring and the rest will stir up a lot of lead and possibly asbestos, if you plan on having children, delay that until most of the rough work is complete. If you have children now, cordone off the areas you are working in with plastic taped securely around. Use a "zip-door" to enter and re-enter the work area. Since you are starting from scratch in a sense, I'd suggest also that you consider integrating more energy efficient design techniques with your design ideas. You could consider installing a solar hot water heater, or possibly a combination wood/gas fired furnace. You don't mention what kind heating system you have. Focus on: 1. Sanitation 2. Structural 3. Comfort 4. Aesthetics In that order. Of course oftentimes these four will converge, but when looking at a project from a budget point of view, you often have to ask yourself, "what can I live with, how can I live with it and for how long?" Oftentimes you can make small fixes now and as your budget, knowledge and ideas ripen over time, you'll have the flexibility to approach things from a different, wiser perspective. Unlike the stupid fix-it shows on teevee, remodeling and improving a house is in fact a long term process that requires a lot of forethought, planning not only in design, but choice of materials, relation of cost to function/value and of course, investment in sweat or dollars. The best fertilizer for that planning/development process is prudence, which often is exercised only when we have to.

I really have cut down my Christmas card list. A box of 50 is more than enough. Last year I joined the Christmas card exchange here at KT and had a wonderful time receiving so many cards. I only give gifts to kids under ten, which means 4 things to buy. We usually get together with my husband's two sisters sometime in November or December. We go to a restaurant or get together at one house for a simple dinner. Last year it was pizza and hot hero sandwiches. I brought a plate of home-made cookies, which went over well. When I brought up the subject of no gift exchanging several years ago, everyone seemed relieved.My decorating is down to three things-a wreath on the door, a small table-top tree and a Nativity Set on a table. Do what you can, what you enjoy. Hand made gifts are wonderful! My husband has one brother whose wife always makes gifts for family. One year a scented candle, another a festively painted coffee can filled with candy.

I think your bathroom looks very pretty so far and I like your countertop choice. I don’t see a pink tone on my monitor. Is it possible that the lighting in your room is not upgraded to daylight LEDs? That makes a huge difference. Before you judge paint samples, make sure your lighting is already installed because paint will look really different in different lighting. I’m sorry I don’t have a specific color suggestion except to say that it helped me to think of my favorite colors, and then to pick a very light gray or griege that had my favorite colors as undertones. My favorite colors are green and blue. But for paint colors I don’t want bold greens and blues all over. For example in my bedroom, I chose SW Silverpointe which is a very light gray that has a green undertone. For my family room I chose SW Monorail Silver, which is a light gray with a blue undertone. Make sure your lighting is all installed and then bring a few paint samples home. Good luck!!