UPS has changed my dinner plans
7 years ago
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More floor plan advice for my ever changing plans!
Comments (4)Are you wedded to the idea of a 2 story great room? That's alot of unused space on the 2nd floor right there. 2 story rooms like that can be hard to heat/cool, and can also make the 2nd floor noisy. (Think about watching a movie after the kids, if you have them, are in bed. And if you plan to add a surround sound system, think about where the speakers will go and how close to the 2nd floor bedrooms they'll be.) OTOH, the laundry room and closet by BR 2 and the closet and bathroom by BR4 will help block noise from the great room. I really like the size of your secondary bedrooms. My DS's room is only about 12x13 or 12 x 14. He just turned 13 and is already 6' tall, so we got him a full size bed to replace his old twin size. It's kind of tight in the room now with the bed and his other furniture. The point of telling you this is that if you have young kids now, before you know it they could be outgrowing their current furniture! Sorry I don't have other suggestions. There's alot I like about your plan....See MoreMy life has changed...
Comments (22)I've read each and every post, and each one has something helpful, and just knowing you're not alone helps. This time of year just seems especially hard. I keep thinking about just last year my mom and I were going to plant nurseries and picking out ALL (we have lots of pots) the flowers and plants for our pots-something we've done for years together-I think this is my favorite memory of time we spent together-we could never talk enough about it. We would go to different nurseries for differents plants around town. So, I think this time of year is especially painful. I probably do need to be the "glue" for my family now, and I really do enjoying being around my sister and her family, but, I do not enjoy being around my brother's family. I actually get anxiety being around his wife especially. My brother is fine when she is not around, but, she is so self-righteous and judgmental, I feel I am always having to be on my toes and am just not comfortable. But, I really don't think I could invite JUST my dad and my sister's family-I couldn't be that mean. I do feel guilty that my SIL did help a lot with my mom's funeral-she'd already been through it with her mom, so she knew what to do. None of the rest of us knew-guess we would have figured it out though. red, I have actually considered a grief support group-for me and my dad, but I know dad wouldn't go, but I would. joanie and pattycakes, I think that is a smart thing for you to do with your kids, demanding they be close almost. My DS is an only child, so I don't have that opportunity, but think that is wise. I feel guilty about my DS not having his grandma who did so much with him. polly, I know how you feel, and my dad is feeling the same way the woman your father had a relationship is probably feeling. Being around us, makes my dad feel worse, most of the time. Especially coming to my house, he was always there with my mom. I think he should just do it more to where it feels more normal. I know it's been so hard after being married 49 years. tina, I know you were really close to your mom too. It sound like you have a wonderful family that gets together still. I think in most families, when bothers and sisters and BIL and SIL's and THEN when you add the kids in the mix, it becomes more complicated at family get-togethers. If it were all adults, it would be easier, I think. In my case, my brother's kids are quite a bit older than my DS, so for instance, like Easter, my DS still thinks its fun to hunt Easter eggs, my nepehews of course don't since they are older now, but, my brother doesn't think it's important like he did when his kids were young-and it was all about his kids. This got OT, but, just a glimpse of why I don't enjoy getting together with ALL my family. And, there are numerous things, lots of jealousy, because my mom was so close to my DS and my sister's kids, but, my SIL had all these "rules" for my nephews and I think it made a difference. Thanks to each of you for responding, each post means something to me!...See MoreHas the housing/remodeling boom caused you to change your plans?
Comments (43)Hi everyone. Thanks again so much for all your comments. I really appreciate it. Today I met with my GC to review the numbers again in more detail. I definitely decided against doing the big remodel. (as others could have predicted, moving walls etc are not a good ROI--they are an expense). I may do some sort of kitchen or bath facelift or "botox" since there's no guarantee I'm moving right away. If my 2-3 years stretches to 5-7, it might be nice to have some updates. We'll see. FWIW, he told me two things I thought you might find interesting: 1) right now, the cost of materials is very high, and rising all the time, like month to month, due, in part, to all the natural disasters: hurricanes, the fires in Sonoma, CA and the mudslides south of Santa Barbara, etc. These people are without homes, (and rebuilding is largely being funded by insurance) so this demand is not going away until the houses are rebuilt. 2) he confirmed that even if the economy takes a downturn, labor rates are not likely to go down right away. My neighbor had guessed a year. My GC said after the 2008 recession, he still had plenty of work until 2011. He didn't feel it at all. This guy comes highly regarded, so my guess is that the good contractors will be the last to feel the pinch of a recession. For my project, if I do something small-ish, there doesn't seem to be any point in waiting a year or so to time the market. But as everyone here has said, if I may move in 2-3 years, the best option might be to do nothing or...try some decorating magic. Thanks again everyone! I feel so much better!...See MoreMy best-laid dinner plan laid an egg.
Comments (44)I was alone on Thanksgiving once (hubby working in Singapore) and cooked a cornish game hen in a cast iron dutch oven on top of the wood stove. I used the dutch oven cover to cover the dutch oven it to make it more oven like rather than letting all the heat escape. My hen turned a beautiful golden brown and was delicious. After the hen was done, I also baked a pumpkin pie in the dutch oven on top of the wood stove. It was the best pumpkin pie I've ever made. Why did I do all that cooking on top the wood stove rather than on my perfectly good gas range/oven you ask? Because I was alone, had plenty of time on my hands and I was thinking about how the pioneers cooked their food over a fire and I wanted to see if I could do it. Turns out I could and did....See More- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
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