Karin, it's interesting and enlightening to read what others think of our house and landscape, even if we may not agree or take up some suggestions. We live in an area where we don't have a large number of options for landscape/garden design, unfortunately! So no worries about me being offended by criticism/suggestions, etc. We appreciate the help and we will work to think about each decision in terms of its purpose. We originally had purposes in mind for each bed in our backyard, though it may not look like it now - with the exception of the hydrangeas along the back fence. They were originally planted behind our garage (where the pool equipment enclosure is now). When we put in the pool, we moved them to the side bed (which didn't exist before the pool) along the fence, but the neighbor's black walnut tree hampered their growth. So rather than throw them away, we made a new bed along the back, sort of a temporary spot until we figure out what to do with the rest of the beds. I won't bore you or anyone else by enumerating the purposes of the other beds in the back, but just want to add that we also did have more visual interest and contrast in flower, foliage, and form - but many of those plants didn't survive. We've been in a sort of holding pattern back there for a couple years - and I'm looking forward to improving that landscape. But back to the front yard/landscape. One of our goals for changes remains to revise the long bed along the drive for the dual purposes of easier maintenance and including more variety in its plants to provide more interest in months other than July. Another goal is to revise the small bed near the side steps to make it better looking (instead of a hodgepodge of plants, as it is now) and as a memorial garden for our daughter, with beautiful plantings. We also still want to improve the visual impact/visibility of the front door. To me, that is a separate goal from emphasizing the front entrance, if by entrance one means the wide front steps (which aren't truly the entrance to the house, but visually they do give that impression). We understand the goals of Laag's ideas about beds in front of the steps and a wide path from the driveway to the steps/porch. But in terms of practicality, we don't want people to stop midway up our driveway and walk up the path, because then they block the entire driveway. Also, the steps are covered with snow for the entire winter (it's too expensive to pay to have them cleared each time it snows), and a walkway would also be covered in snow, so the practical function of a walkway beginning partway up the driveway wouldn't apply during those months. I've been bothered for a while by the sense of imbalance between the long driveway bed and the expanse of grass on the other side of the drive, so another purpose of making changes is to see if we can balance that. Laag's suggestion about a grassed area in the long bed was so helpful - I just don't know whether that is enough to achieve balance, or if we will need a bed under the birches. A new purpose resulted from a number of comments here, and that is to soften the impact of the veranda wall. I think we are just so used to how our house looks that we don't see it for how it really appears. You all have opened our eyes to this issue! I haven't been in the back yards of the houses above us (in the back) to see what they can see of our back yard. It "feels" private in our back yard most of the time, probably due to the fence, but I still don't do any skinny-dipping. ;-) The front feels very public to me (it's a busy street and in the spring/summer/fall, a very busy golf course), with the exception of the veranda. On the rare occasions when we are seated there (it's usually too hot/buggy/raining/cold), we have at least the illusion of privacy behind that fortress wall - though with close neighbors, we have to watch how loudly we talk. My sister mused aloud a few years ago about the idea of putting a hedge across the front of the yard (on the lawn on the house side of the sidewalk, if you're facing away from the house) to screen the street and provide more of a sense of privacy. A neighbor a couple of houses down has a partial bridal wreath hedge in the yard and she was noting that at the time. I'll update as we get further along in this process; meanwhile, if anyone has more comments/suggestions, we're very happy to have them.

Rosewitch, England was definitely one of my favorite places I have ever visited. My folks took me there when I was 14, and I remember bits and pieces the Crown jewels, walking amongst the Stonehenge stones (roped off now, vandalism), Stratford upon Avon. Time for me to take my own 14YO. Im trying to think how I can get over there for a whole summer, LOL. Dlynn, I could have worked so much more. I didnt really look at night time stuff and there was loads to do. Greece: cant help you, but shoot Yasou a line, she went a few years ago. LOL Annie! Teresa, well go together. I wanted to explore more cooking and food shops/stores but didnt get to. Terri, here is more a link to Pictures of England, a website pointed out to me by Denise. I started it on Bourton on the Water, where we stayed for a few days. Thanks Sharon, I was actually thinking how can I even come close to posting her quality of travel guides, I dont do the pictures she does LOL. We might have sat at the same table in the Cheshire Cheeses dining room! Sawdust still there, but we didnt make it to the cellar. I missed a lot of the British Museum. It has changed.check out the new atrium. I couldnt keep up with DH and DS16. Afternoons, when I planned museums, I crashed. Next time! Pam, lots of people did more than we did per day! Theater every night, more attractions, I cant imagine. Gina heh heh yeah I need another vacation like a hole in my head. Speaking of whichDH has another week off in August. Nooooooooo! Kathleen, DH says he took an average of 200 pictures a day. Yup. Me, I just buy the post cards or Google the images, same thing (DARFC from the photo bugs here) Cathy, thanks for giving me the War and Peace moniker heh heh. Next time I go with CF friends! LindaC, I know. Im still exhausted. Speaking of the V&A, did you know there was a Dale Chihuly chandelier in the entrance room?

Pulling back to a 500-foot high-altitude view, it seems to me that if you want a scullery (and I can see how that would be attractive) and/or the sensation of separate areas, that you should carefully separate your areas by function. I'd suggest: - Clean-up area in the scullery. (Isn't that what they're all about? Make it a 'work' zone - form following function.) - Pantry and fridge storage probably also in the scullery. (Large and bulky items that often aren't all that attractive.) - Prep and cooking zones in the heart of the kitchen, so prep sink and cooktop/range/ovens. (What's the deal with your cooking appliances? How many? What configuration? Set-in-stone?) Can your baking needs be accommodated by the same setup you use for other prep and cooking? - Cozy dining area with nice views and great ambience. - Your Napanee kitchenette? Is that more of a decor item? More functional? Or sorta both? (What does it do?) If it's very attractive, I'd tend to put it where it's visible from the dining area and main kitchen. - Since you're splitting off the scullery, I'd really try to keep the rest of the kitchen and ding area open to each other to avoid making the spaces too small. Give each space a different design identity, but don't close off your floors or sight lines. The trick is going to be getting the cozy separateness you want without getting claustrophobic. I think you can do that with wide doorways, small ceiling divisions or wall sections, and different wall colors. It's hard to explain, but sometimes all it takes to 'divide' one large open space into two rooms is a painted trim board on the ceiling and walls and a change in wall paint. I'll try to illustrate with this photo taken from our living room and sowing the kitchen (far left) and dining area (background). See how just the columns, ceiling boards and wall paint take what is essentially an open space and make three different rooms? a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Sweeby/?action=view¤t=GreatRoom005.jpg" target="_blank">

Those spoon flowers are really cute, Raven. I have several hobbies, but I am not good at making anything. I like to cook....but don't know that would be considered a hobby. I raise waterlilies. At one time I had one of the largest private collections of waterlilies in the USA. I had 200 varieties. I have a paltry 40 or so now. I like all kinds of plants, but especially unusual tropicals or shrubs. I like horses, but I hadn't ridden in years, so last December I bought myself a new horse (Mariah) and plan to take her to a big ranch and spend three days riding with my best friend from high school over the 4th of July weekend. Even though this isn't a hobby that most people would be interested in, I think she is beautiful....so I want to share her picture.