Hello everyone -- Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question. I appreciate all of your perspectives and suggestions. Let me clarify a couple of points. FYI (and perhaps your comic enjoyment), our subdivision is in high desert country, where we enjoy an average of 300 sun-days but only about 13 inches of rain per year. The lower level building lots have few trees and only minimal ground cover (desert grasses, cats claw, weeds and the like) -- the lots higher in the subdivision have considerable growth of good sized juniper trees, scrub oak and pine. The two lots in question (about 2 acres each) are half way up the mountain -- the higher lot has 8 or 9 trees, the lower lot just one big one. The point being, the owners of the lower lot could have purchase a building site (assuming they were willing and able to pay more money for it) that affords a good amount of natural screening. Instead, they bought a lot that has virtually none. With the Committee's approval, the owners of the lower lot have now installed grass sod on a large portion of their lot, which they are watering with large golf course-like Rainbird sprinklers(and are evidently willing to pay the water bill) to keep the grass alive for their kids and dogs to enjoy. (See, our Committee is not totally adverse to family living.) In contrast, all neighboring lot owners who have built or are in the process are landscaping with crushed rock and low-water consumption plants fed by drip sprinklers. The BB equipment issue is a precursor of things to come, since the owners of the lower lot have informed our Committee that they also intend to apply for permission to install an outdoor jungle gym for their kids (the one they brought with them from their prior home, which they now have disposed of but intend to replace with new equipment, was around 10 feet tall and quite massive -- something you'll not easily miss sitting on the highest part of their grass lawn in front of their house (where they want to install it) as you drive up and down the main road of the subdivision. The large hedge that they plan to plant as depicted in their proposed landscape plan may some day screen the jungle gym (I figure just about the time the kids are ready for junior high school). As to rolling the BB equipment into position when the kids or dad want to shoot some hoops, the equipment does have wheels and is intended to be mobile -- however, setting it up involves adding about 500 pounds of water to the base, which renders the BB hoop tough to move around -- and, of course, you wouldn't want to be wasting a lot of water by filling and emptying the stand every time you want to use it (my editorial comment). The owners of the lower lot also resisted a suggestion to mount the BB hoop on the roof above one of their three garage doors, which would make it much less conspicuous. The expressed concern is that the garage door and stucco siding of the home would take a beating as the kids learn how to play BB and sharpen their skills. Finally, in defense of my "garbage can" comment, actually, our trash containers are not all that bad looking, particularly when stacked neatly against the side of a home or garage. Depending on which service you use, they are either blue or green in color. And, they're also mobile, nicely equipped with large rubber wheels to accommodate the trek down our long driveways on Wednesday morning and back in the evening. For me, it's a toss up -- garbage containers -- BB hoops sitting 10' in the air -- jungle gym's that tower skyward on treeless lots -- mechanical equipment (air conditioners, and the like), RV equipment (tents, trailers and the like), etc. Our CC&Rs provide that our Committee can require they be screened from view. My question is simply, does that mean now or sometime in the future? Thanks again. You've all been great. Peter

Double digging in one section of my yard uncovered a tirod, a hub cap, and various jagged car parts. I've also dug my fair share of boulders from the garden beds. We use them for borders and edging. Twice during our ownership of the property we discovered a micro-sinkhole. Both gobbled up their unsuspecting victim like quicksand because of how saturated the areas became. I now landscape to prevent these problems from happening again. Digging up larger, unknown objects can spark a chain of events in the garden's evolution.

Hi no-green-thumb!~You really do have a lot of hidden potential. It has been a long winter; I am in IL, so I know how different winter and spring can look! Still waiting for plants to "pop" here, although a little green is finally peeking through. I did a paver installation in my landscape construction class. They need a gravel base, and proper grading. Their installation makes them more impervious to water than flagstone, which will heave slightly, so IMO flagstone is not the best choice for a patio right next to the house. They tend to be somewhat expensive. BUT the cost of installation of your existing patio included the flagstone itself, which you still have and can re-use, so don't despair! We have a flagstone patio in the far corner of my backyard, and I think that could look lovely with your forest backdrop. It is really not expensive to do, just labor intensive. Many nurseries have staff that might be able to do the job or recommend someone, so if DIY is not an option, you should get several bids before proceeding. Or, this is what I would do if it was MY yard... I think it would be best if you had a deck installed; one without steps, just a walkout that extended from the corner all the way to the purple fence to the left of your ac unit. Replace that panel with six foot cedar fence panels, to hide the AC from view. To add interest, stagger the fence heights. The deck would have an octagonal cut-out for the tree, and low wide steps to the flagstone path connecting it to the cement patio. The flagstone path would be wider at the steps and narrower towards the patio, but it would be at least three feet wide, four feet would be better. I wouldn't touch the stone edged bed of hostas and ferns, except to maybe trench the edge slightly, so that the stones "sink" and are no longer a problem when you mow. I really dig (no pun intended) the natural stone and flagstone combination. However, the wooden deck and cement patio are both more practical surfaces for grilling and eating, more sure-footed. I agree that the cement patio is one logical place for your existing grill. Since that was also expensive to install, why not re-use it? Have you seen these type of gazebos, they're a great way to define the eating area from the lounging/bar area closer to the house? They are designed to be taken down and stored in the winter. Here is a link that might be useful: Gazebos

I do not think the lower cabinets are Poggenpohl. I carefully checked each drawer and pullout last night and could not find any branding. I also checked in the space under the sink and could not find any branding or item numbers. I do like the functionality of the existing bottom cabinets though. However, I plan to switch out the 30 inch cooktop for a 36 induction so I will have to change out some of them. I may also extend the long part of the L by about 12 inches. I may keep the lowers if I can change out the drawer fronts for something less modern. That is something I have to look into. Thanks for the tip about Semihandmade, I had heard of them and am a bit familiar with the services they offer. I talked over some of the ideas raised here with my partner. We like the idea of having a mix of open shelving and closed cabinets. We were thinking we could have a cabinet placed on the right side of the sink. Half of it would be covered with a door, the other half would be open. We would also put a cabinet between the sink and the cooktop. We would add shelving above the left side of the cooktop where the picture is now. For backsplash we will do something simple and inexpensive for the time being. Once we do the larger remodel, we could remove the interim backsplash and replace it with something that goes all the up to the ceiling. We have no windows near the kitchen (can't be added) and it is a dark space. I want to make choices that will make the space feel lighter in combination with adding better lighting on the ceiling. The existing cans are CFL and I do not enjoy the light they provide and try to never turn them on I do like Shaker style cabinets, so that is another option. The W10 kitchen photo is probably my favorite kitchen in the world. I am lobbying to put in a brick wall back splash somewhere, but I am having trouble getting the partner on board. We also plan to remove the existing pergo on the first floor and seal the beautiful concrete underneath.