Gonebananas, Thanks for the link, I had never noticed it before. I will disect the relevant portion of it below: HOS article: Do not wrap the scions because this will pull them out of cambium contact for sure. Plumfan: Lots of people wrap their grafted scions with parafilm after grafting. If your graft union is very tight, I see no problem with a moderately tight wrapping of the entire scion. As I said, many practice this! HOS article: Wrapping the entirety of any part in Parafilm is unnecessary and practically guarantees that cambium contact will be destroyed. Plumfan: His comments about "unnecessary" are totally out of line, as a parafilm wrap WILL prevent dessication in hot, dry climes. I would invite an experienced scion-wrapper to tell us how many cambium contacts he/she has destroyed! It seems that anyone can write an article, even if he has no experience in the actual technique :) HOS article: Use a small paint brush to paint the cut surfaces and taped portion of the rootstock with pruning paint - avoid the aerosol type, which has weed killer action. Using delicate strokes, paint only the cut tips and exposed cut surfaces of the scions. Plumfan: I am not aware of pruning paint that contains weed killer! I never, ever, use a small paint brush. I use a bamboo skewer which slathers on all the glue I need, and it is easily cleaned by wiping it on a clump of grass etc. Brushes are much harder to get fully cleaned. HOS article: Never paint over the buds, which will prevent their growth. Plumfan: This is absolutely FALSE!! I have actually run a battery of pear grafts years ago where I did nothing to one batch, painted only the buds from the second batch, and painted the whole scion from the third batch. The third batch grew at least 4 to 6 feet the very first summer, they grew the best. The other groups lagged significantly. This was done late in the grafting season when normally it would be considered too hot. I have never had a bud inhibited from growing by using Doc Farwell's glue on them. Do a test yourself if using nothing other than Elmers glue! HOS article: Avoid polymer paints, such as Doc Farwell's - they permanently interrupt the "knit" of the wound into continuous wood. Such grafts always fail to form a sound union. Plumfan: I will have to agree with some of that statement, as you do not want to get the glue into your actual cambium matching area. But if you correctly tape up a graft, I have a hard time visualizing just how it is that glue is going to get into the graft. If the union area is that leaky, it is going to dry out on you anyway. Plumfan: Somebody who caretakes the HOS's actual orchard, years ago, questioned my use of the glue, stating that they thought/heard it constricted the graft or girdled it. I promptly dispelled that myth, as I have never seen it happen. The glue stretches with the growth of the limb until it eventually flakes off. Within 4 or 5 years, you will find hardly a trace of it. That article needs to be accurized!

Overall, I like it. A few thoughts: Your garage is angled. Is that a necessity? Angles cost more and deliver little value for that cost. I like the master bedroom and bath. They're good-sized, but not over-done, as so many are. Others have said this, but if you're going to work from home from this office, I'd rather see the doors open up into the foyer. That would mean you wouldn't have to let clients any farther into your house than necessary. Along that same line, you're going to have to provide a restroom for clients, so a half-bath is necessary for you. However, they'd have to walk through your living room and past your kitchen (and a personal desk, where any type of personal information might be left) to get to the half-bath by your garage entrance. While I usually like "back door" baths, I'm not sure it's the best choice for your circumstances. I don't see an obvious solution. I would have no concerns about the children's bedrooms being on a different level, nor do I think you'll have any problem because the main floor only has one bedroom. Downstairs I think you have some redundant spaces. A family room AND a den AND a playroom AND a study. Do you have plans for all of these? Downstairs the single bedroom seems to have the better bathroom, while the two bedrooms are sharing the smaller /no tub bathroom. Could the playroom become another bedroom so that these two could share the better bathroom, leaving the farther bedroom to have the smaller bathroom to itself? Or, could the adjacent closet become part of a larger bathroom for the two twin bedrooms, leaving some of those large, redundant spaces to become storage? Or, do you really need two bathrooms downstairs? Bathrooms are the single most expensive rooms in a house -- if you have a nice big one, especially if it's a "divided bath" with the sink in an outer room, can three children share it?

I think visual lines and weight are really coming into play in this space. I agree with the others that say the bench is too long for two reasons. 1. The visual line weight of the stairs is better balanced when the bench comes underneath of it to hold it up instead of the bench being over top of it offering no visual support to the stair line. This may be why the stair line bothers you visually stopping half way up the wall. I know that may sound weird, but everything in a room effects everything else in the room visually. 2. The bench being so long to me, just seems to extend and emphasize the visual long lines of the hallway only adding to the bowling ball effect. I think a shorter, smaller bench would visually balance the weight underneath the line of the stairs and give your eye a resting point instead of following the long lines all the way down the hall. I also thought you had the space to possibly do a small table or coat rack in a couple different spots on the other wall if you wanted instead to better balance the weight the wall with the stairs has. I think it would be really neat to do built in storage underneath the stairs but I know that's expensive and over the top to throw out as a suggestion. I know, I'm probably not helping.

Susan, I'm really glad that you've come to this decision. You do have a lot to lose - each other. I've been there, nearly ended it on one occasion or another (though DH probably thinks nothing was all that wrong, lol, just my drama!) Anyway, I'd try to get a referral from an MD if no one can truly guide you. DH and I first used someone recommended by an attorney. She was OK - actually mediocre, but neither of us felt a real connection w/ her. The last one was recommended YEARS ago by the boys' pediatrician, who I also view as a friend. He knows a bit about the ongoings w/ my SS, etc. He was the brother of a good professional friend of mine from dental school. Anyway, we thought we'd use the atty's recommendation as she was 'out of the way' and not right here in our backyard. It wasn't a good move and when our latest troubles arose, I asked my lab tech/childhood friend who she saw and it was the same one our Dr. had suggested. She was great. I'm going to pray for strength for you while SS is under your roof. I'll also pray that old baggage doesn't weigh you down. I sometimes felt as though my anger from my skids past behavior made me edgier about any little thing they did wrong these days. It isn't fair to anyone and because I was too unassertive to bring up the wrongs back then or even discuss the slights today, I harbored resentment. So, I wish you luck there - it's a tough pill to swallow, but it SHOULD be temporary. You might want to discuss a time frame w/ DH now, before the moving van appears. Have you made any more progress in relocating at all? I guess one thing at a time. I'm really pulling for to work this out. Blessings, Dana