You have got to be kidding. Sorry, I know there must have been all types of physical amd psycho pain going on. But can't stop laughing. Although I was waiting for you to continue the story with having to call 911 and an experience in the emergency room. Thankfully that didn't happen. I'll be sharing this story for a very long time. Can you even walk now? And on a serious side, make sure you use an antibiotic or something to soothe this. Nothing with perfumes, etc. in it. I'd hate to hear something worse evolved.

Thank you again for all of your support and ideas. Maura63 - I do have one place of my own - my own bathroom - a guy free zone. It was one of the first rooms that we added when we moved in. The view from my bath is very relaxing and I can see rolling hills for miles. I spend a lot of time there, reading, making lists, talking on phone, and catching up on work with my BlackBerry. (I have drowned a few.) I have also, almost, reclaimed the living room. Besides the fireplace, furniture, TV, stereo, etc, the LR has been home to industrial shelving with tools, and bits and pieces of the kitchen reno, and an old kitchen table/workbench. Last night we worked hard at it, and it was almost all sorted, binned and labeled and moved to the basement. DH found a lot of missing drill bits, router bits, staples etc. He helped sort and purge. We filled 3 garbage bags that made it to the dumpster. I also painted the wall that had been primed a year ago after closing off a doorway to the kitchen. It was blocked by the satellite workshop. I just need the baseboard installed. I should be able to do a second coat tonight and actually wash the floor of the reno dust that has been collecting forever. It will be the first time in 5 years that the living room has no tools hanging about. I can wait for the door frame to be installed. My new strategy is to invite a friend over each weekend so we have some incentive to keep working. We have both become complacent because we live in an isolated area and rarely have guests - esp now that the boys are back at school. Getting rid of stuff is not so easy out here. Beside having too much space, somehow paying $3 a bag for garbage removal has been a stumbling block. We don't have a local dump, so the dumpster has been good for us. I just don't want it to become part of the landscaping. It is hard to throw out good stuff. My son visited and got his old car fixed and took it home. (That only left his motorcycle, canoe, and old sailboat). We are making progress. I spent my summer evenings working in the garden and ignoring the inside of the house. The new (guy) bathroom (shower, no bath) is coming along, and we actually hired someone to do the taping. He should be complete within the week. The next area is the bedroom, but that involves removing the ugly stucco ceiling, and all the bat guano soiled insulation in the attic, reinsulating, and reinstalling a new ceiling. Not to mention patching and replastering all the walls etc. The incentive is new bedroom furniture. After 30 years of marriage it is time for our own stuff. Talley Sue, the boys are helpful when they are around and I do let them know when I am getting rid of their stuff. They are handy and have done some of the plumbing and drywall work. My husband knows how I feel, and understands that living in a "work in progress" house has become a way of life for us. I want to break the cycle. I want to be able to relax and not see all the work that still needs to be done. I think he does too. Jannie, nice idea, but I already do enough escaping with my work travel. Thanks again for your support and I will keep you posted on my progress.

I'd love to see pics of the green bathroom. I've freshened one with baby blue tiles by scrubbing the tub and tile (tons of time and elbow grease), removed all caulk and most of the grout, re-grouted and caulked. I also replaced the floor, toilet and vanity. I think a good plan for your blue bath, when you are able, is to clean up the tile, add a white fabric shower curtain, have the floor polished, replace the vanity, faucet and light. Here is the one I restored. That's an Ikea vanity that goes well with the retro tile IMO. I'd stay with white paint and use art on the walls. Rather than paint the wood on the window how about a curtain or shade to draw the eye? I have two more bathrooms to tackle with old tile, one is off-white with gold speckles and the other with pink speckles. I'm thinking of covering the pink tile with wainscoting as it is in a powder room and the tile is part way up 3 walls. The gold speckles are subtle and I'll work with them as the room also has a shower stall I do not want to replace. The tile is in too good of shape to demo. Sometimes change is hard. Have you tried showing your Mom pictures and getting her involved in the planning? Regarding the door and trim, you really shouldn't paint unless there is a plan for the whole house. Are all the doors and trim wood? Would love to see the green bathroom!

y does it seem like such a sin of children have their own bathrooms if the person can afford ? There is a constant refrain when plans are presented with 'get rid of those separate bathrooms and make the kids share one' Is that the only way kids learn to share? That's some heavy-handed wording, but I'd say it's a mistake to over-bath because none of us -- no matter how much money is in our bank accounts -- is entitled to use up an excessive amount of the world's resources just because we feel like it. You could take this argument to extremes and say that most families could survive in something around 1000 square feet, but that's an extreme argument. If you live in an average American 3 bedroom/2 bath with indoor plumbing, insulation, and a non-leaking roof, you're probably living better than about 98% of the humans who've ever inhabited this planet -- do we need to go above and beyond that very-comfortable-average-for-today? Can the Earth afford for us to push beyond that very-comfortable-average-for-today? Wow! A jack and jill bathroom because someone doen't want to walk into a corridor. That's truly a first-world problem. You're not wrong to say it's a first-world problem, but a bathroom connected to your bedroom IS a nicety -- you can enter the bathroom in any state of dress (or undress). I personally never had a master bath IN my bedroom until I was married at 24 ... that and having washer/dryer of my very own seemed like such incredible luxuries ... and they still do. We recently replaced our leaky master shower, and I did not enjoy leaving my bedroom /walking down the hall to use the kids' shower ... it's a perfectly good shower, and I have no complaints about it, but I very much missed the convenience of walking out of my shower /into my closet with just a towel around my wet hair. However, layout out bathrooms so that they're private doesn't have to increase the overall number of bathrooms. Drove me nuts having to clean 4 bathrooms in the previous house. This is the #1 reason I advocate moderation in bathrooms. No one likes cleaning them (even people who are paid to clean them), and it's a constant chore ... and if we're talking about excessive baths, it's a pointless chore. One of the things that excites me most about my new house plans: Instead of a powder room for our guests, we're attaching a powder room to our master bath. One toilet downstairs /one toilet upstairs ... moderation in cleaning. While the OP said she doesn't care how others spend their money, some other posters apparently get pretty bent out of shape over the thought of private bathrooms. "Bent out of shape" is simply not true. It's a discussion of ideas. 1 outhouse had 2 seats - and 2 would sit there together! Sounds like summer camp.