I received my goodie bag,wow,i am blow away with all the different seeds i received,i did not send in that many,but i sure did get a lot in return,thank you all for your giving spirit,and Kym,for working so hard on this swap,i know there is no way i could do it. My favorit was the Lavender,i wanted to try this so bad,i did receive a few in my first trade,but they were not for my zone,this time it was, and i just sowed them this morning.Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa One thing i was not sure of,when the swap said commercial seed,i thought we had to buy the seed,so that is what i did,sent in the whole packs,is it proper to send traded commercial seed? At the beggining of this trading-swaping,i thought you should sow every thing some one sent to you,and it was not "nice" to trade a gifted seed,i have since found out,that is what ya all do,ha ha,thus,so many seeds in your stash. I am still not sure how you do the Birthday thing,is it ok, to send small re-packed seeds to you for your Birthdays? Or should the packs be unopened,and bought? I am going through my seeds again right now,gotta see what else i can do up today. Thanks again every one,this really is a great way to spend a rainy day. cAROL

All the houses on the street are approximately the same size, same layout, same style. 1300 sq ft twins. No room on 1st floor for a full bath. Some have added teeny door-almost-hits-your-knees 1/2 baths with the teeniest sinks you've ever seen off the dining room. A neighbor friend came over to see our master bathroom set-up because she was thinking of doing something similar, but then she decided it would be way too expensive. The plumbing had to be completely reconfigured when the previous owners did this, and they had to create a soffit in the living room for the pipes. They did it because they had contractors in the family who could do it for them and give them a good price. It's generally not an improvement the average homeowner on our street would want to undertake, especially in houses this old. Hope this info helps. This is not a fancy bathroom. Basic ceramic tile floor, home depot-type vanity, tub/shower, toilet. But again, it's there, and it looks decent and clean. I'm trying to figure out how much more over the other house's asking/selling price we can reasonably ask. We'll obviously ask our agent, too. I'm just interested in your opinions. Thanks.

Yes, big time reader, although during and after nursing school I got burnt out on reading anything. First time in my life. Back in school, starting in Jr. High, I'd always have a book with me to read. School was so boring and we had to have a study hall for one period. I had all my work done in class and was so shy so I'd stick my nose in a book. It wasn't too good in English high school, though, because I'd read the novels way before everyone else in class. They'd moan and groan about not having enough time to read a few pages so the teacher would push the deadline back again and again. By the time the test came around I had read so many other books I'd forgotten that novel. I never did do good on those tests. I hardly seem to have time to read anymore, spend alot of my free time here in the computer, but am getting back into reading again. Still have a pile of books on my wall unit I need to read. Always take a book or magazine with me to doctor and dental appointments. That's the only way I seem to have time to read them anymore. My favorite magazine is National Geographic, bought it the last time for Alex as a Christmas gift. I'm going to renew the subscription today or tomorrow. My dad has been giving me a subscription to Reader's Digest and Prevention for years, ever since I left home in my 20s. I quit buying People for the same reason someone mentioned above, don't know over half those people in the magazine anymore. The only articles I like are the ones about ordinary people now...not enough to make me want to spend that much money. I like all types of books, except romance novels.

First off, my condolences and I agree if you are not planning on selling now, give yourself the time to grieve and push this to the back burner. And if you are staying in the home, definitely keep what works for you. I'm a realtor, in Pittsburgh suburbs so your market may differ. I would talk to your contractor and obtain a bid for closing off the door. I have no idea what tiling or finishes this may impact, but this sounds like a small job. If and when you decide to sell, have the agent share the estimate with potential buyers if they push back on this. Sometimes buyers are scared off because they think something will cost a lot of money and really have no idea. I recently used this strategy for a listing that lacked a first floor powder room. Estimate was about $7000 and sharing this helped.