Hi everyone! Sorry for the delayed response--been very busy with work. I do agree with needing to raise the tree up. I have a large box that should work and will see if I can procure some faux snow. I think I also have some old bricks lying around. HMMMMMM. I actually like red and white lights, as well as blue and white--but my neighbor has blue and white, so I think I'll stick with red and white for a candy cane look. I agree that the lights on the japanese maples aren't my favorite, and that they detract from my christmas tree indoors. I guess I could put them on the bushes to the left of the porch? (There are some large overgrown evergreen bushes to the left, though I'm not sure they show up well in the pictures...) I AM having fun--love decorating my new home for the holidays! Such a fun time! I still have work to do indoors--we're having a party in a week and I have a lot to do before then.

Scott, forgot to mention the other day that I am glad that you and your son was not hurt during the storm. I had a close friend that lost his little girl many many years ago during a bad thunderstorm. She was opening the door as a power line came down and the electricity arced from the ground up through the door. She'd be in her thrirties now, if she were still with us. I'm REAL careful now, especially since I now live in the lightning capitol of the world. I've seen lightning "balls" move through a room after it entered an outlet where a lamp was plugged in. When it comes to sensing "ghosts" I once saw a documentary about a study the military did, with the belief that humans actually have extra senses in addition to ESP. It is believed that some people can still tap into some of that, but over thousands of years,( due to not using our full senses), have lost most of our abilities in that regard. Most of us still have good gut feelings though, which I believe is part of all of that. Cats are fascinating creatures. My vet thinks I'm a bit soft in the head when I mention that I feel they communicate with each other via telepathy. I've witnessed where nothing else could explain certain behaviors. One of my cats also knows the second I open my eyes in the morning, and he is not anywhere near our room at the time. I can also put the flea control on one of them, out of sight and smell, and immediately the rest of them know and go hide. There was a story in either a magazine or newspaper one time that told of a cat that lived in a nursing home, for the benefit of the people that had to live there. The nurses knew when someone was going to die soon because that cat would go and sit with that person, and not leave their side until after they passed on. Haven't figured out who the conversation police are, but I think we've made it clear that we are all pretty independantly minded, and don't care what they think, or even if they like us for that matter. We're certainly not hurting anyone, nor are we bogging down the forum. Worked on floor plan stuff this weekend. I was very cranky and not very pleasant to be with. My poor husband! He knows I like lofts and told me to design one in. (Anything to get me out of my bad mood....). But, you know, I keep talking to people that have awfully huge electric bills this year that have lofts in their homes. The other thing that made me think twice was looking at some really cute tiny log cabin package deals with the Cracker Style Log Home people. The kits are a fraction of what it would cost to build a nicely finished loft, AND it would be considered an outbuilding for tax purposes. We would just factor in the materials rather than get a kit, since I feel it's a bit less expensive to do that, and I can get the windows I want through Home Depot. (I like Andersons). I do think we are getting close to hammering out the blueprints. If I have trouble posting the floor plan idea, would it be O.K. to e-mail it to one of you? Sandy

I come here because I'm still trying to get more information about Fancy Feast cat food. I see our corner of the internet as a sorority of sorts (with a few welcome men,too) You all have seen me through divorce, dating, remarriage and have held my hand throughout my mom's ongoing serious medical journey. The support here is unflagging and (with only a few exceptions,) non-judgmental. You all make the world a better place. (Oh, and you've given good decorating advice, too.) Jo

Thank you for the additional photo/ideas @simplynatural! We would love to add the porch, but can't prioritize that right now, @Lantern Visual. But def looking at what to do with color and with style of columns, lights and other touches, as you have suggested. Thank you for taking the time to give your thoughts! @Woody Vaughan or Shaun Fogarty- thank you for that excellent pointer about the beam as well. Very thankful for all the input.