I thought it might be about time to give folks an update on Bob and my boob. I've been afraid to say much before now because I thought I might jinx something. I can be superstitious that way. Anyway, the surgeon gave my boob a clean bill of health almost 2 weeks ago. I had an infection where they did the incision and they gave me some powerful antibiotics that knocked it out. I honestly think the infection was from the inside and not from the incision. So it was probably unavoidable. Even the nasty looking incision has softened and doesn't look quite as bad. I thought I'd have to walk around with a big smiley face on my boob! Now it isn't as noticable. Bob (my other boob - lol) is doing much, much, much better! I took him to the doctor last week and the doctor was very impressed with how well he his doing. His breathing is much better and the doctor did tell us that Bob's lung would probably take a few months to heal from the infection he had. Bob's blood sugar levels are leveling out and his white blood cell count is doing well. He has even started driving a bit on his own and going out to the store. Now I hope that next year, when I take vacation days, they won't be spent in a hospital! I am so grateful for all of you and your support and encouragement! You folks are the VERY BEST!

Electric bill: regardless, right now I'm feeling it's worth it since after that horrible ice storm we were back on line in less than 24 hrs, despite being on a sparsely populated rural road 1/2 mile from the end of the line while our neighbors in more populated areas on a different company didn't get power back for 3 days . . . But yes I basically understand it and my health insurance (like CTLady we are self-employed and have to get our own.) My homeowner's insurance is one of my next projects, so right now I'd have to say I'm not too clear on it. White plastic fences: Our neighbors (who have NO sense) put them in and expected them to keep the horses in. The horses learned quite quickly that a little bit of weight against the fence would break it, but it took 6 or 8 escapes for the owners to learn. So while the aesthetics are not what I prefer, the practical aspects for farm use are nil. The same neighbors cut down every tree (and then planted saplings that are dwarfed by their huge house) and not only stripped and sold the topsoil, but dug a dangerously steep-sided pond just so they could sell that soil as well. By preference & for personal use, Mac, though I do dual platform for work. I use a cell phone for my convenience (ordering take-out as I'm leaving town to drive home) and to communicate with my husband at his shop and at craft shows. One thing I like about our landline, that in an emergency it will tell 911 my address if I can't, whereas my cell can't. Crafty: Not in the usual sense. I'm a wood turner and plan to learn to weld this winter so I can make garden trellises. Pack rat: I prefer the term cluttered, but yes I am. But my closets & computer files are pretty well organized. Books & TV: I read a lot. I've enjoyed '3 Cups of Tea' and 'Born on a Blue Day,' both biography/memoir, and in general read lots of garden & plant books & mysteries. TV is often evening background noise while we're reading or web cruising or when I'm too tired to do other than just veg. I'm quite jealous of all the pets (some great photos!) We are catless currently due to the danger cars present to pets on our road (the house is only about 15 from the road.) We have many more voles than when we had cats. Eventually we'll be further away from the road, and then we'll once again have cats.

We are putting in a new island with a toe kick all the way around, so I plan to put feet on the corners. I planned to buy premade feet from a hardware store woodwork section and stain it to match, but haven't found them so may have the local woodworking shop make 4 feet for me. I had planned on round feet, notched to fit on the corners. Now that I'm thinking of cleaning, I think I'd prefer a rounded corner foot, but square on the sides to avoid a hidden curve area to collect dust. I'm glad this post made me consider it. I don't think I'll have feet on the room perimeter cabinets. If I did, it would just be on the end cabinets, not at each appliance. That makes it look a little overdone in my opinion... though I prefer simpler rooms in general.

amberm145: You mentioned that you'd like larger format tiles on your bathroom floor and a matching mosaic for the shower. We have 13" square travertine-style tile on our master bath floor, and the installer cut those same tiles down to 3.5" squares for the shower stall. So that may be something for you to consider. I've really enjoyed reading through this thread and all the differing points of view. I wish I'd known more about design and architecture than I did when we had our house built (in a "American Foursquare" 1920's style with Craftsman elements) 10 years ago, but we researched as much as we could at the time and are still learning. I used to beat myself up more for all the mistakes I felt we'd made, but now I try (and mostly succeed) to focus more on what I think we did right. I'm too practical to completely redo things that still function just fine, but I think about how I might re-do some of the things that still bug me over time. Some of you purists would shudder at the variety in finishes throughout our house (we did all pedestal sinks in the 3 baths, but different hardware finishes in each, for example). I have plenty of regrets I could fixate on in our house, but mixing hardware finishes isn't one of them. For us, having many things in an unfinished state (for example, our living room table/chairs were recently re-glued/refinished but the chair seats need to be reupholstered before we can actually USE them) is mainly due to my indecisiveness rather than a lack of finances to get projects done... I tend to over think things to the point of the ridiculous and drive even myself crazy sometimes, and I also feel like if it's something I can do myself (painting, window treatments, etc.), then I should. So everything takes time, and with young kids that's often a scarce resource. I've thought about asking for design advice from a professional, and will if we ever re-do our kitchen cabinets (my main regret after our build), but for now I'm trying to learn on my own here and from old house mags and such. I also come from a working class background and have lived in areas of poverty (including a mud hut in a 3rd world country), so the whole concept of design feels sort of indulgent and I guess it makes me feel guilty sometimes to even care about such things... But I do.