Susanka - I would love a list of those deer resistant plants. We want to do some major backyard landscaping in the spring and I would love to be armed with that info. I would hate to spend 500.00 on my new pets lunch. :) The windows we have are Anderson Silver line. Our ceilings are 8ft in the breakfast area and slant up to 16 feet in the great room. Our windows range from 36" wide to 72" wide and are 75" tall. Our builder wanted us to put the deck on the side of the house so we wouldn't have to look at it thru the window. I didn't want the deck on the side because it's less private, wouldn't look right with our home and I wanted the deck to have the best view since we are outdoorsy people. I held my ground but suddenly (because of my builder) worried that I wouldn't like seeing the deck from the inside. All of those worries were for nothing. It doesn't bother me at all. I like being able to see the family from inside and it's not like it totally obstructs the inside view. The only thing I can't see is the patio underneath it. I keep it neat and clutter free so it's a nice view of the deck and is inviting. I definitely feel it was the right decision and I don't think you will be bothered by it at all.

Brickeyee, that's why we'll be stating: Major Appliances Convey. The 3/4-size convection oven, small microwave, apartment-size refrigerator, and Kureg coffee brewer aren't part of the appliances dealio. Really don't know if anyone would want the furnishings. They're old...very old and, ehem, out-dated, yeah, that's the term. Who would want old stuff from the old world... Eeeeeew, it's probably, at least, three-hundred years out-dated! KirkHall, interesting about shades/draperies/curtains. I can understand bracketing & rods as they are more permanent fixtures. The textiles...not so much. Then again, I change window treatments quarterly, for the refreshing seasonal atmosphere it brings to rooms. Wonder if shoji screens are considered part & parcel, too. Since painting & repairing, all of the windows are bare. I'm using shoji screens instead (woohoo for double-hung windows *grin*). It's hard figuring out just what potential Buyers are accustomed to. Being a govt/military town it's a game to guess with people from all over the world filtering through. Discussions like this are very helpful =).

As a mom, I understand your wife's feelings. I have two sons ~ 20 & 23. The 23 left at 18 because he didn't like my rules, he came back several times because he couldn't loaf in any one place very long... but when I allowed him to come back, he ALWAYS had conditions! Had to find a job... spend his day looking, not sleeping all day. He had to do chores... more chores if he wasn't working because he had more time. He had to pay $50 a week. and he had to follow our house rules.. no staying up all night watching movies or playing video games, clean up after yourself, and he could only fix himself meals when we were preparing our meals. (He was welcome to eat what we were having but if he didn't like it, he could fix himself something else... but he could only do so when I was making dinner~ not after all the dinner dishes were done & kitchen was clean, because even though he had to clean up after himself, he is not very good at it so we'd end up having to do it over.) Consequently, my son CHOSE to not stay with me very long.. usually a few weeks & he'd find someone's couch. That's why he came back several times. We stuck to our conditions and he kept coming back, hoping we'd let him slide. He eventually joined the military and has matured a lot in the last two years. But, I am also going through it with my 20 year old son... having to stay firm & consistent with the rules. If they don't like it, they are "adult" age and can go do something else. You should not feel like a prisoner in your own home & suspect your wife agrees but it's her son & she doesn't want to turn him away, but maybe is conflicted because she remembers how bad it was when he was there before... I feel for her. Oh yeah, if he is leaving Dad's because he doesn't like the rules or being told what to do, does he think it will be different in your home? I think this is one time you & your wife should get together with Dad & stepmom to have the same rules/expectations in both houses.

Oh, honey. Can't we fix up your SS and my SD and throw them to the curb??? I feel for you, but at least your husband is on your side. I have tried everything in my case and my DH is just burying his head in the sand. W/ us, I was taken advantage of so badly by his son, who lived w/ us for a couple of years at the end of H.S. and for breaks from college. Then, these SDs started crashing in on us during college, always w/ a crowd. Now, this older SD moved in for "3-4" months. It'll be 6 mo. in the end of the month and I'm just sick of it as it's very disruptive to my 3, almost 5, and 7 y.o. boys. Anyway, your situation stinks. Your SS CHOSE to be an adult when it was convenient for him to be an adult, but when it's easier for him to play the "poor son", he reverts back to being a child. I feel for this poor baby he fathered. I actually commend him for wanting to step up and be a father, but he needs to first recognize himself AS AN ADULT! My parents have had issues w/ my brother. My dad is calm all the time, but once just lost it and asked my mother how she'd have felt if he were in his 40's and still totally relying on his parents for food, money, etc. I would simply tell him that you're proud of the hands on father he is trying to be, but that the first step is for his child to respect him. Does he want the child to see him as an overgrown teen? (I have huge issues w/ so many of today's adult men who still view themselves as 16 y.o. boys!) Of course he should be able to see his baby whenever possible, but you and his father don't need to go through that stage again. Say you'd love to extend to them a standing invitation for Sunday dinner - tell him to come over early, let you both play w/ the baby, eat, then he can GO HOME! It's time. He's made adult decisions so it's time to be an adult. And, I'm w/ you - the technicality of being in school is a joke. Come on, being in school means you are taking enough classes that you are prevented from holding down a real job! He needs to grow up! Good luck, keep posting, Dana