I am also one to spend a small fortune on paint sample cans, thank goodness now they have those tiny jars but still they add up and not all are available in them so I have tons. The good news? My BM said that they now take the paint back to recycle. Ok you have to pay but at least they are out of the house!!! They will give you a brochure that tells how much per size of can. It's like $0.75 for a pint I think. I know it's sad to pay to recycle but up till now there was no way to get rid of paint unless you soaked it up in kitty litter and put it in the trash and that can get expensive and messy. Sometimes they have paint drives but not often and most places don't want it as a donation since there's not enough to paint much in the same color just samples. So if you have all of that in your basement just a heads up that maybe your local BM participates in the recycle program.

What types of evergreens? If they are close to the neighbors side, are they ok with that? Some evergreens shed their needles and can be messy. Some grow quickly, some grow very slow, most grow in width as well as up and will quickly spread into the space there...and most are likely to give a lot of shade, meaning that you will be limited on what you can plant around them if there is not much sun. Pachysandra is a nice ground cover, very low maintainence and stays green all year. But, it does spread fast. I wouldn't put any ground cover if you have any desire to grow flower there at any point. If it were me, I would put up a hedge type shrub to act as a fence along the neighbors side, look for one that is pretty tame and grows fast - then you won't have to look at that boat. Gotta love people who park boats in their yard. We have neighbors with a boat the size of Rhode Island in their back yard. They got it cheap after Hurricane Katrina, took a flat bed truck and a crane to get it up here to the northeast, they put it in the yard, and there it has sat for the last several years - they worked on it for one summer and then just forgot about it, not even bothering to cover it in the winter...slowly it is turning into the world's largest birdhouse and the neighborhood's biggest eyesore...but what the heck. I digress... Anyway, hedges. Yes. And then something pretty and fast growing, centered in that space there. Like a Bradford Pear or a Wheeping Cherry. Plant pachysandra around it, or make a nice little flower bed with decorative rocks or whatever your husband wants. That's what I would do! Good luck!

We are in CA, south of SF Bay. The following is a general desc. of what we did. Download manufacturer's installation manual. Went through it and learned it as though we were the installers. Looked at our old windows, inspected them as though we were doing the work. Where were the gaps? mildew if any? window trims interior and exterior that would need reinstallation or replacement? where were the problem corners that were not square? stucco refinishing? We needed new openings, so we researched both online and by talking to a local carpentry/wood shop how that was normally done. They were helpful telling us how they would cut the drywall, cut the stucco outside, support the frames, needing a giant header etc. We forced ourselves to mentally walked through the details step by step as though we were to do it ourselves. We also learned how to install our own French doors on our particular floor like we had to do it ourselves. It included identifying what framing around the opening we wanted to replace because we did not feel it was sturdy enough, how we would seal it properly, what to do about known level problems, etc. When all was done, we were as well educated about the process as we could be. We had identified what seemed to be obvious simple straight replacement holes. We had identified window openings with problems. We also knew which windows needed trim work and stucco finishing, where the new openings were and a good idea of what was involved and how to install the doors properly *IF* we were to do the job ourselves. We listed any questions we had. There were still holes in our knowledge because we are still just amateurs homeowners. No amount of paper-study can replace work experience. We listed a secret list of "test" specifically on those problem areas we had identified. A competent contractor should be as picky as we were or more so. If one came out and did not notice those areas, we could drop hints from that "test" but never came out to point anything. We wanted to see if he/she could notice the same problems. We asked for the contractor to tell us right there what he/she thought must be done to each opening, especially the more involved openings like ones requiring trim work, rot repairs and the new openings. We acted semi-dumb but asked pointed questions. We wanted all our questions answered clearly, honestly and patiently and would not tolerate the typical CA Bay Area contractor homeowners-are-dumb attitude. From all that, we graded each contractor. The one that got the job was the one who came out, identified every single thing on our list without us saying anything! He even pointed out areas we did not notice. We paid him what he asked and never regretted it. I sincerely hope this helps and you find a darn good contractor for your job.

thank you, don't have the cash to sand off texture, its a tuscany texture not popcorn or anything that would skim coat easily. So right now I need a paint color, thinking of going with SW Greek Villa or On the Rocks. Maybe in the coming years we can sand the texture down, but it was too expensive with needing the whole house painted. Any paint ideas that would work well with the texture for now would be helpful. thanks you.....I like light, bright and clean looks, and yes this would give me nightmares too....