Hi craftyshe, " ... sxty-thre more and ...", indicats that u're not a permnnt fixtre at Strbx, regdles of th mrtgg/ttle on yr hose. Oh ... you can attend two, or half a dozen, kinds of coffeee hose? Fancy that! C.P.R. = Canadian Pacific Railroad. "Oh, Ya can't get to heaven On the C P R, 'Cause the C P R Don't go that far ... ... I ain't a gonna grieve my Lord no more ...." (heard at campfire). ole joefilled

I have always been interested in training animals. I have enjoyed clicker training my donkeys, but the first animal I trained with a clicker was in 1972 when I was going to school to be a vet tech. We had to teach a conditioned response to an animal and I taught a cat to sit up. I had read long ago that animals don't reason, but I think they do, at least to some extent. One of my dogs is a terrier of some kind. She looks like a cross between a scottie and a dachshund or maybe a schnauzer and a dachshund. She has a long body and short legs but a square-ish head and a rough coat. I found her dumped on the road...when she was about five months old, so I don't really know anything about her. Except she is stubborn. Every time I would leave, she would follow my truck out the gate. I couldn't send her back. If I forgot to put her inside, she would get out and run down the road when I left. My other dogs go back when I tell them. There are 3 gates to go through and it is time consuming and aggravating to have her run off and I had to go catch her and bring her back to the house. So, I put a big crate by my gate with a pad for her to lay on and a water bowl. It was in the shade. If she followed me out the gate, I caught her and put her in the crate. I didn't think that would break her of it, but it saved me from having to take her back to the house, especially if I was in a hurry and short on time. I only had to do that a couple of times and when I told her to go back....she did it. She never followed the truck again. It's like putting the bulldog in the trailer for chasing the mule to excess. She recognizes that she did wrong. I am more of a cat person.....but my vet asked me if I would be willing to raise 7 orphan puppies (like I had so much free time. LOL) The reason he asked me, he knows I can tube feed, and the puppies were weak. His tech was already raising a litter of pups and a litter of kittens. Some other women were supposed to take a couple of the puppies to raise but that fell through and they brought them all to me. So far I have just found a home for one. I haven't really tried very hard because I am picky who gets them. I bottle fed the little stinkers for 3 weeks and you bond with them. You have to be so careful who gets an animal because there is so much meanness in the world. I always wanted to train my donkeys and take them around to nursing homes, etc. to do tricks for the residents. I would love to train the puppies to do some tricks too. I know how much I would miss my animals if I had to live where I couldn't have them any more. So that is something I have been thinking about doing....if I end up keeping some of the pups. Well, I already know I am keeping two of them.....................

I keep coming back to this thread. So many beautiful photos. I can't single anybody's out, but Ingrid, I agree with Marlorena and Sheila about your garden. Serene. I always drool over Hoovb's and Marlorena's gardens, but Nicholsworth55, your photo of your burning bushes, made me say "WOW" out loud. Most unlike this reserved Englishwoman. Are they Euononymus alatus? It has been a difficult 2 years here. First the broken leg with complications, which kept me from tending the garden all summer and autumn last year. This year, no rainfall to speak of meant that lots of plants simply didn't flower, or simply faded away. I am hopeful that next year will be good. Still. There are some things I am thankful for.... The new little mandarin tree, which has replaced an ancient orange tree, that died of old age. Fuchsia triphylla, which flowers year round. Lady Emma Hamilton and Sombreuil in the background. Always blooming Pelargoniums. Dead and non performing plants removed, ready for replanting. Always cheerful Bougainvillea in one of the apricot trees. Self seeded lavender. In the way, but I don't have the heart to remove it. Pretty Jessica. TBC

A good architect -- in person or one who works remotely -- will help you through in-depth conversation to figure much of this out in the early stages. The bubble diagram leela links to is also a very good place to start when determining what you want. This is very similar to what, in the Kitchen forum, for kitchen planning is known as the Sweeby test. A lot of the Sweeby test can be used for whole house planning, not just the kitchen. Here is part of the test, but I've changed the word "kitchen" to "house": To start by focusing on your house as a whole, from a far-off hazy distance — to wander off into your favorite kitchen fantasy and think about what it feels like, not what it looks like. (Your real house please, not the one where Brad Pitt feeds you no-cal chocolates while George Clooney polishes the brass knobs on your Lacanche.) Then using mood words, describe what your dream house feels like: warm or cool, tranquil and soothing or energetic and vibrant? calm, happy, dramatic? cozy or spacious? light and bright or dark and rich? subtle tone-on-tone, boldly colorful, textured?, woody or painted? modern, traditional, vintage, rustic, artsy, retro, Tudor, Old World, Arts & Crafts, Tuscan? elegant, casual? sleekly simple, elaborately detailed, or somewhere in between? pristine or weathered, professional or homey? whimsical, sophisticated, accessible, romantic? masculine or feminine? How much zing? and where? The list goes on and on… Once you’ve identified the way you want your space to feel, then write it down as best you can. Try to freeze that feeling in words so you can refer back to it if you find yourself losing your vision or going off track. Bear in mind that everyone, every family, is different and has different needs and wants. For me, reading through the GardenWeb archives -- kitchen forum, bathroom forum, this one (Building a Home), appliance forum, etc. -- was hugely helpful and educational. You can also search the forums for particular items, like rain shower heads; I find Google more helpful than Houzz's search function. Just search for gardenweb.com and whatever you're interested in. If you already know that your previous homes have had dysfunctional layouts, inefficient use of space, and basic features, then you know more than you think you do : ) . One thing you and each member of the family should do is to compile two lists, one of needs and one of wants. It might be helpful even before you start to figure out the difference for you between needs and wants. As far as the particular items you mention -- Pull-out drawers for my pots and pans? Sounds nice. If you read through the Kitchen forum, you'll find that drawers are recommended for all base cabinets. Much more practical. You'll never be down on your knees trying to get to the back of a shelf. And much more efficient than opening a cabinet door and THEN pulling out a pull-out shelf. Rain shower? Great. I like rain. This usually comes down to a want rather than a need. First read up on them, see the reviews in the forums (Building a Home and Bathroom), try one out if you can, and then look at your budget. Also, if you have longer hair and need a shower head that rinses properly, either a rain shower head isn't for you or you'll need one rain shower head and one regular one. Central vac? Ummm sure? Again, read through the forums and start gathering information. For some people this is a need, for others a want. If this isn't something you've thought about already, or you have a vacuum that works well that you like, this is a want rather than a need, and possibly a want that you don't particularly want : ) . Interestingly, one of the things you'll run across going through the Building a Home archives, in many of the "critique my layout" threads, prospective owners who've found an online plan or drawn one themselves or used a draftsperson rather than an architect, will bridle at the critiques they've solicited and reply along the lines of, "Well, our current house is dysfunctional and it's been good enough for us." But if you're spending all this money and time, do you really want to settle for "good enough"? Or do you want the best for you and your family? How much time are you giving over for the research phase? Because this is where you want to allow a decent amount of time. And it will save you money and time in the long run.