Interesting analogy regarding the diseases brought to the new world. One big difference, we didn't know the damage the feathered rats were going to do to our environment when we released them in Central Park and we certainly didn't know they were vectors of WNV or I can assure you the people releasing them wouldn't have been allowed to do so. Unfortunately, we knew enough about the spread of disease when we traded blankets with the Native Americans and willfully and intentionally chose to trade blankets that had been used by people who had died of small pox and measles. Yup, it's sick but true. You know, not many people realize that eagles will eat carrion just like an opossum or a vulture. I don't bring road kill to the rehabbers or to that little local zoo. Just HOSPs and EUSTs and rats. I don't know what critters they're feeding our frozen morsels to other than vultures and snakes. They have a walk in deep freeze and there are buckets of white rats in there so presumably they take source into consideration when feeding? Vultures are well adapted to cleansing themselves of bacteria. Don't know how well adapted they are to ridding themselves of parasites in captivity but they've got vets on staff so the next time I run into one I'll ask how they deal with those issues. One thing though, I don't believe any of the raptors they have are capable of being released back to the wild. Their eagle is missing an eye and one of their raptors had to have a wing amputated as a result of some injury. I think something happened to all of the birds of prey they have that prohibited their release back to the wilds. I have visited a little family owned zoo in another state that survives in part because of donations of fresh road kill deer that are brought to them by local residents and a county agency for their "retired" lions and tigers- http://www.deyoungzoo.com/about.htm I know there are other little zoos that eek out an existence because of road kill donations. Something that might be of interest to you- http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00946/accounts/micro.htm Really sorry about your little cat. I've got two here that are older and I know the day is coming. One is 20-21 and the other is 19. They came from shelters so we aren't positive on the age but the one was supposedly around 10-12 when we brought him home and we have had him for 10 years. The other had been returned a few times and they tracked back his age to when he was a kitten so he was around 11 when we got him and we've had him 8 years. Our other cats are much younger and are all just over 10 years of age. They're a part of the family so I feel really bad for the hole in your heart you've got right now.

Texasgal47- Yes, the front door would be near the kitchen area. The space just off the office is actually a mudroom for when we come in from the garage. Backpacks, jackets, shoes. I love builtins! I'm sure it was wonderful having a husband who could do all that! My stepdad is a wonderful woodworker, so I'm sure he'd pitch in to help with a few things like that. lavender lass- Thanks! we are actually wanting to go a bit smaller. We owned a home previously that was 975 sf and I think short of not having a second bath, it would have worked wonderfully! I know not everyone likes the idea of being that cozy, though. One of the things I truly do NOT want is my living room by the front door, but I may have to be flexible with that. Luckily my husband's background is in HVAC.When he gutted our current home, he and his brother did all the wiring, added ductwork to the entire house, new pex plumbing, etc. Almost every sq inch of this current house is new. It just lacks trees and space. And not tomatoes - but as cute as the house may have been as a cottage- I have dreams of this being more mid century modern. I think that JoAnna has great taste, and I would love for her to decorate my home any day! As far as the kitchen size goes, I was basing it off of my current kitchen that is similar in dimensions. It would also be open on the north side to accommodate folks sitting on the other side. I think I drew the dining table a bit large, lol With that being said, I am currently reevaluating this current layout, for something more simplistic and streamlined. (mainly for cost reasons). I am imagining a shed roof, with rain barrels to collect as much as possible off it. the entire north side being glass/and doors to the outside, attached garage with loft space that will be dedicated to my husbands home office, since he works from home full time. I think we could finish the attic space for the kids dedicated play space/media room, and a deck that would run the entire length of the home. I also am doing some research on alternate siding/roofing for the home, as well as an inexpensive alternative to drywall. (is that even possible???) lol I really hate drywall.

Assuming you own the land already? Track the sunlight on the property, and know your compass... in other words, which direction is the lake, which direction is south for the most light, which direction is east for morning light. Etc. If you're on water, you'll want to obviously capture the view, so you'll want your bedroom, living/ great room and possibly kitchen all on that side of the house. Do you plan to have a boat house or store lake stuff in the basement? Plan an easily accessible bathroom from the outdoor space. Think about washing off the dog and kids outside or in that bathroom. Plan a storage area for all your outdoor activities including plastic ware for eating and boosting. Etc either in a basement kitchen or outdoor kitchen area. Plan on an ice machine. Plan on extra parking. Plan on a pole barn or area to park boat if you're in cold temps. Plan on electric hookup from out building like garage or pole barn to hookup an RV or camper for guests...

How long do you plan to stay in the house? And what are the quality of the white cabinets? If you plan to stay less than 7 years, and the cabinets are in serviceable shape, I would leave the cabinets exactly as is, and just replace hardware ($100), countertop and add a pretty backsplash. Get rid of the old ceiling fan, obviously get rid of the wallpaper and repaint everything, and i would also pull off the crown molding things at the top of the cabinets plus the strip of wood over the sink. If you have the cash, treat yourself to a new slide in range and exhaust, too. If you're handy, you could come up with a creative way to make the fridge look more built in - maybe open shelves to the side or get a single cabinet built in a contrasting wood. As others have said, it will be a year before cabinets will be in stock or before a GC will get to this project, so if you're only there for 5 or so years, and one year is already down, plus 6 months to finish the project.... it's not worth tearing out a serviceable WHITE kitchen for 3 or 4 years of enjoyment. Also, if you just bought, you bought at the absolute top of the market and will pay insane GC prices right now (30% higher than a couple years ago), so there's no way you recoup. If you had ugly 90s brown cabinets, i'd tell you to do it anyway. But white boring cabs, even if from the 90s, are like the white whale.... just take them and run! Also, don't do the open shelves. Your kitchen is too small, and you won't have enough storage. If you'll be there for more than 7 years, then for sure you can go ahead and renovate. I'd start calling contractors now, because it will be a year before you get to do this project (because of cabinet delays, and also because contractors will be backed up for months). So that will give you time to live with this for a bit and figure out what works and what doesn't.