My moonflowers, which are related to morning glories, sent out new branches when the tops snapped off this spring. I've never pruned morning glories, but there's a chance they will do the same. I would carefully straighten the bent stems, and not cut them unless the vines began to wither where they were bent. Sometimes a plant can rebuild a bent stem, but it takes time and must be treated gently, like a broken bone. Either way I don't know if they will bloom, because I don't know how they behave in your climate. The vines will definitely need something to climb, otherwise they will sprawl on the ground and likely get stepped on by imbeciles. Can you put a trellis in that spot? A teepee made from three or four long sticks tied together at the top? Make sure to sink the poles deep into the ground, at least a foot down, so it can't blow over in a strong wind. I've had that happen. I've also had wind and rain rip vines off of poles. You may want to gently tie the vines to whatever poles/supports you use, to prevent this. I hope this helps; blue morning glories are worth saving for their beauty alone, and it sounds like these have a special place in your heart.

natesgram--they are giving me $100 towards the installation. We are going to do it ourselves,(along with a friend who has done tiling professinally). The whole kitchen is a DY--why stop now? They are notsupplying the grout--just the tile. cocontom--that's what I was thinking. And it's not like I needed to give a cc to ship the samples. If they are icky, then I'm calling it off. corgimums photoshop pictures are great. But I realized last night that the tiles are a bit big in the photoshop pictures. The tile is 6.5" tall, so there should be about 6 arabesques between the counter and the cabinet. I hope this doesn't look too busy IRL. Well, I think that the picture I showed above is for one tile, I can sort of see the edges in the corners. Originally I thought each arabesque was a tile, but I went back and can't see any seams. I guess I'll know soon--I hope my samples come tomorrow

Sounds as though there are lots of animal lovers in your new neighborhood, but not a lot of animal caretakers. Some people just don't know what they don't know. THey know they want the cute and fuzzy, but not that they grow up and might need work! So, it sounds like you have an opportunity here! You can be an example for your neighbors as to how to care for an animal at the very least. You can also take it one step further and maybe provide free literature on vet clinics and low cost spay and neuter to your neighbors. If you don't have those services available locally, you can work to make those services available by joining a rescue group and working with other like minded folks. What I'm trying to say is what some other posters have said: there is POWER in numbers. Join a group. Found a group. Get the local kids involved in educational efforts and maybe they won't grow up to be their parents! You feel overwhelmed and a little alone now, but if you make contacts with other like minded folks, your effectiveness as an agent of change multplies! One person can't save them all....but a dozen people can save a neighborhood. It's like the old shampoo commercial. You tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends..... and the next thing you know, your county is actually opening an animal shelter where none existed before and the deputies just shot stray dogs (true story!).

Squirrel, thanks for the compliments! We have not progressed in the DR much other than properly framing out the archway to the LR and adding another archway to the staircase. Not typical, but it lets so much light in and also allows a view of the fireplace (formerly in the LR, now the foyer). I work at RH now, and might get one of the lanterns there but really like one from PB so that may be my next job! I do love the RH chairs though, an investment for sure. The table will be the last thing since ours works just fine and is long, just too airy for the room. I might try to deepen the maple with a get stain if we do go for the chairs. My concerns with the DR were mostly due to that rug, which I love but if you recall had really rich golds, ambers and reds. Works great with my house, but as a good friend of mine says, sometimes with these old homes you need to let them breathe, which to me means using a lighter rug like sisal or seagrass and doing the walls gray, and using window treatments sparingly. So we'll see. For now we still have the wallpaper and the rug. Heavy! I did get lots of different opinions about the tower and I'm still not sure I made the right choice, but I stuck with it full height, just made it narrower by 3 inches and made it only 6 inches deep. Considering mirrored doors if they won't (further) break the bank!