The fall circle drive was a yearly ritual for Dad and me for as far back as I can remember. We'd be up before dark and began our day with breakfast, planning the route while we ate. Sometimes it was rte. 16 N to rte. 302 and through Crawford's Notch, sometimes it was the Kancamagus Hwy. north to Lincoln and then rte. 3 south. I was the "wheelman" when I was learning to drive and after I earned my driver's license. Your pictures are lovely, and bring back many happy memories. My favorites are #s 11 and 12, with #9 and smiling Doug right up there, too. Another nice time to visit the National Forest and those sites is in early spring. The freshets are racing, there are no bugs, and all around you can smell the forest. The sun is very warm and you can feel the cool of the remaining snow, too. It's beautiful, but can be mucky. :)

Hey Ryan...Did any succulents follow you home? lol. How many varieties did they have? See anything unusual? New and exciting? A few yrs ago, we went to a local nursery..when you enter the greenhouse, there's 3 huge rooms filled w/succulents.. One plant that caught my attention was a 6+' variegated Pony Tail. It's leaves were green with yellow speckles. The owner, Ted, is a really nice guy and possesses quite a sense of humor. I asked about the pony tail, and its price..he came back with, 'Can you take a second mortgage on your house?' lol..The PT was started from seed in the 1940's..Several nurserymen have practically begged him to sell, but he refuses. Little baby PT's were growing off the trunk. The problem is, no matter what they do, the shoots die. I wanted to ask if he'd sell a shoot, but didn't have the nerve. lol The PT was the most beautiful I'd ever laid eyes on. Got a new plant in the mail today, even though it hasn't quite been 3 months, lol..It's called a Pickle Plant..I think its botanical name is Othonna capensis..Unsure about spelling.. If you or anyone has info on this succulent, I'd appreciate it. Anyway, sounds like you had a productive day. I hope you found something nice..if so, please post pics.. Mind if I ask what floor your're on? The view sounds amazing. Mountains are so beautiful, and you're right, each have their own personality. Especially during different seasons. I emailed the nurseryowner where I bought my olive tree. Hope he remembers..Think he sold one type, so he should. Are you saying there are some olives with large leaves and other with small? What size are we talking? Never considered an olive bonsai. Do they need a cool period? Do you consider olives slow-growing? Seems like mine is taking forever to grow..Don't get me wrong, it's grown since its arrival, but slow, very slow. Now that you've brought up bonsai, lol, since I have no intention of purchasing another olive, how difficult or perhaps easy would cuttings do? Any ideas? Russian Olive..isn't RO a perrenial? I can't recall its family..I had a RO growing in the garden, its stems and leaves had a silver hue. Very pretty, but you're right, it's not an olive that bears fruit. I'm thinking it's an herb, but not sure..perhaps Sage? Yep, Olives are mentioned in the Bible, though I can't recall their significance. Gotta love Olive Oil..Wonder why it's much more expensive than veggie or corn oil. I doubt there's an olive strike. lol. Did you catch the election? Our future president offered Olive branches to those who didn't vote for him. Guess it was a gesture of peace. Here's pics of my new Pickle plant, and new succulent shelf..The shelf is a blessing, it holds numerous sux. 8:55pm, 33.3F, 52% humidity... Toni Pic one faces south and west, pic two faces west and north. Have a great day.. PS. Ryan, thanks so much for the weather site..I saved it to favorites..

Oh yay! I'm so glad that it worked for you! I thought that it might. I also do not love the ball at the bottom, but for the price you really can't beat it! It's very light, but comes in a huge box. The shades are paper (I believe) and there are candles underneath. Since it's still pretty much boxed up, I can't tell you how it would look without the shades (I didn't open up the shade boxes). I was thinking about the same thing. My husband said he could live with the brass as I was going to get the nickel one (really for him). By the time we decided on the nickel, they were all sold out everywhere. I mean everywhere! So, I got the same one you got in the same finish for less on ebay. I thought for the price, I could spray it too. FYI: I called maaco and they quoted me 125 to spray it chrome without a clearcoat 185 with. Just in case you didn't want the hassle of painting. Glad it worked! :) Kim

WOW! Thank you all soooo much! You all have made me so much more zen about everything. And you're all 100% right--it's not as dire as I thought when I first got the photos. There IS room and I know I can make it work, with lots of help, of course! Desertsteph, yes, I understand about not being able to get down and get to stuff in the back of base cabinets! So much space is wasted because I never want to use anything beyond about the first foot or so. Apartment base cabs are the worst! You have to use them because usually you don't get enough uppers, depending on the apartment, of course. I like the two big windows too! One thing I will say about this little place is that it has a LOT of windows. The previous owners have replaced the LR window, the LR bay window, and both kitchen windows with the good double pane ones. I will need to do the bedroom and bathroom windows. Historian, thanks for the recommendations; I'll be sure to check them out! Omelet, thanks for the kind words. I'll get out there ASAP to take measurements, photos, video, the whole works. Scone911, so true! NYC is maybe the worst, but if you don't have a lot of money, renting in any large urban area can be challenging. There are still some good deals in the Seattle area if you know where to look or have connections. I'm lucky to have those big windows! I remember the first little apartment my husband and I had in 1980...full of huge jumping spiders, no natural light...but I guess when you're 20 and in love you make anything work. ;-) bpathome, smiling, practigal, I think an induction cook top is a good idea. Also, I saw an oven hood/microwave that also can be used as a convection oven. That might be worth considering. Dhygarden, indeed! People in much of the rest of the world work with much smaller kitchens than we do here in the U.S. Haha, that often seems to come up on "House Hunters International"--Americans can't fathom the tiny kitchen. And you're also right about not having an electric appliance for everything. I can't wait to tell my best friends in Zambia the phrase "appliance garage." (They both work for American diplomats, so they'll just shake their heads and laugh.) I recently bought this really cute Jamie Oliver knife set; it's just three knives, but really you can do everything with them. I've always sort of dreamt of the European way of walking to the market every day or every other day to buy everything fresh. Though there are reasons I like the location of my new house, one disadvantage is that the closest grocery store (or anything, really) is about 10 miles away. Believe me, I never pictured myself living in the tulies...I always thought I'd end up in some downtown flat in a big city, but life is funny. I really do want to get a freezer if I can figure out where to put it...we can get snowed, or iced, in out there and it would be good to be stocked up on a couple weeks' worth of meals. I'm still holding out hope of getting a year long visiting professor gig in either in France or the UK, because I'd love to live in Europe for a year. Writersblock, first of all, let me just say I loooooove that cat!! What breed? Is he (she?) named Batman? If not, why not? ;-) Thanks for the advice on staying away from the 20" ovens! I haven't purchased my own appliances in a couple of decades, and I'm really not familiar with what's what out there. I like your under cabinet lighting too, very nice! My daughter and I are long overdue for a trip to Seattle, so we'll have to head over the mountains this spring--I'm a wuss when it comes to driving over the pass in the winter, haha! I kind of thought the same thing about the IKEA cart; I'm glad you've seen it and could tell me about it. I can't shop at the Evil Empire (Walmart) for political reasons, but I do know there are options--I can check out Fred Meyer, Lowes, Home Depot, BB&B, etc. Also, thanks to you and everyone for tipping me off to the "Little Paris" show! YouTube is completely awesome. Crl, ah to be tall! :-) I'm barely 5'1", and can't stand up straight because of my arthritis, so although I really love the hanging pot racks, they probably aren't the best for me. I think a microwave with oven or convection oven would be OK, at least for now because it's pretty much just one quick move to put something in and then take it out. Crl, also thanks for the suggestion of the toe kick drawers, and thanks to Chicagoans for the illustrated version! Very, very clever! Amazing how much space we have in houses that we don't think to use, like whomever came up with the brilliant notion of recessing things back between the studs. Chicagoans, I'm assuming you're from or live in Chicago, I have enjoyed visiting Chicago twice in the past few years for an academic conference. It's a beautiful city. Although I must say I've never truly known what cold was until I walked around in Chicago! :-) lferg92, I was looking at a super susan the other day; I think it was on the KitchenAid site. They look really wonderful. I'm glad you're enjoying yours, and thanks for the recommendations! Funkycamper and everyone else who mentioned the dishwasher issue, thanks for your honest assessment! You're probably right. Our first dishwasher when I was a kid was a portable--we lived in a tiny little house and it was a tiny kitchen. When we finally moved to Seattle from California we thought our built in dishwasher was the coolest thing ever, lol! I will seriously reconsider a smaller built in. And cpartist, point well taken about the stackables. The w/d that are there now are about 7 years old, I think, still in perfect working condition. But they are monsters; I've never seen such big machines, and both top loaders, ugh. LOL when I was staying there with my friends I practically fell head first into the dryer one afternoon trying to get stuff out. I have to use my little grabber/reacher tool, but that's OK. But as soon as I can afford new ones, they'll definitely be front loaders! Cawaps, "truly awful clutter management," haha! If you knew the half of it, but I'm going to remember that phrase! I'm very anti-clutter and kind of a minimalist. I really like the clean counter look, nothing sitting out. And you're right. When everything is moved out of the house, a feat I still don't know how will be pulled off, except they're getting another storage unit (in addition to the two they have now), and when the extreme cleaners have worked their magic, and when the ghastly china cabinet is knocked out, I know the space will look much bigger. Thanks for the encouragement! There was recently a huge debate, but I can't remember if it was this forum or something else, about pull-out bread boards. I'm pro-bread board, for the record. :-) buehl, thanks for the link. I'll be sure to study the instructions! Desertsteph, that makes a lot of sense, sitting at the table to do prep work. I have a wooden stool that I have used in my last couple of kitchens and that has worked pretty well. Sounds like you got a great deal on the bisque appliances! Ilovered and practigal, you've pretty much talked me into an 18" dishwasher! :-) Thank you all again so much! I'll get a floor plan up as soon as I can! I hope I can overhaul the whole house, roof to subfloor. The yard is also a mess; it's not actually a yard, it's more dirt with weeds. Since I'd like to be a good neighbor, something's going to have to be done next summer on that too. Luckily, the bones of the house are good. No leaks, siding and skirting in excellent condition, etc. The eat-in kitchen and living room will be my biggest and most expensive projects, and I want to do them first because that's where life is lived. I'm very much looking forward to getting your community wisdom! :-)