Hi Toni..... The plumerias I have are cuttings, that I bought and started rooting my self in December. They had no leaves. I had the mite problem before I got them. In fact I know where these critters came from, along with probably thrips and fungas knats. They came from a few Citrus trees I bought at my local greenhouse. I brought them all back within a few days of noticing them crawling around these new plants and unfortunately, thanks to my stupidity, not isolating them before I introduced them to my plant room, I infected everything in my room. I was so upset with the greenhouse, because when I brought them back for a refund, I was told by someone I know who works for them that they knew they were selling them infected...:-( That is why I got 49.99 dollar trees for 15 dollars at the end of their grow season!! So trying to rid my room all winter of these pests has been a challange, especially with so many plants grouped together on the second floor of my home. ButI have been able to keep up in a way in a small way, because I have never let this problem get to the point where they are out of control, it is just that I can't seem to get rid of this problem entirely. I am constantly spraying, examining, and doing what ever I can do to keep them at bay, thanks with the help with people that care such as you!! I put down towels on my wood floor, in the center of my room, then one by one spray the heck out of them with a mix of neem oil, dishwashing soap,and a small amount of alchohol all mixed in a sprayer every time I can get a chance, which is probably not enough times,it helps though. But Toni, they just keep coming back, not enough to cause webbing though thank goodness. I still feel like I am waging a war!!Even with my plants growing in the optimal conditions, I keep trying to understand why I can not get rid of them entirely. or if I ever will...:-( That is why I can't wait until spring, and then kick then all outside and then BOMB my plant room. I have alot of Palm trees, which I know are mite magnets and yet they are completely on the other side of the room and I have found none on them yet.:-) Hope this answers your questions and I hope you keep in touch until I get this problem under control..:-) By the way, it seems that I will need help in knowing how to winter Plumeria's by next fall. I will be looking for you on this too..lol Please pray for a quick WARM spring!!

Kirkhall - I think it looks really quaint and there is something about it that appeals to me. Dh likes it okay but the garage windows being in the front like that bugs him. We pretty much live in a cookie cutter home right now and I'm not wanting custom fancy but definitely something with some character. We have a wide lot but the thing about a wider plan is all that I have seen have the screened porch sort of in the middle off the great room and kind of flush with the house so only one side is actually screened if that makes sense. The narrow lot plans have the screen porch sticking out so you have 3 sides of screen and because the whole thing is narrow it doesn't look like it's really protruding awkwardly. More things to ponder I guess. I have no idea what we will end up with - it will be interesting to see the iterations we go through in the process. Thanks for your input. :)

I don't know the answer to your question about humidity in Florida, but I believe that if you sealed the wood with polyurethane it would be fine in a garage. You could also strip it and sand it out and oil it well, but you might have to re-oil it occasionally if it is really humid. I have 2 inch butcher-block countertops in my kitchen, and I left the one next to the stove where I chop unfinished. I scrub it with soap and water, cut wet veggies on it, etc. and still looks good after ten years. I use plain old baby oil on it (block oil is too expensive!). I don't see why you couldn't stain butcher block just like any other wood, unless it has too much oil in the wood already. Each "piece" would pick up the stain differently, I suppose. You could try a little stain on the underside to see. I cut up the extra butcher-block from my counter project and made cutting boards. They are heavy and thick, but they are nice. You need to use an old saw blade because there are metal staple thingies holding the glued pieces together sometimes, and they will ruin a good saw blade. Or you could give abnorm a holler. Renee

A 2nd story laundry seemed fantastic, until we had a 2nd story laundry room flood, It was raining from the kitchen ceiling lights and pooling on the first story hardwood floor, which had to be replaced. The technician did not install the drain hose properly. The washer danced away from the wall and drained a full load of water onto the floor that ran down to the ceiling below Also, it was a huge pain when a laundry load shifts and becomes off-balance (bang bang bang!) Rushing upstairs to correct the spin cycles was not fun.