wait until a good hard frost or three. i have already covered mine with mulch, but i have 50 yards of rose hedge, so a few mice here or there means nothing. there is no problem with waiting, but keep your eyes open on theweathernetwork.com and let that be your judge. Just MAKE SURE that you have a good supply of UNFROZEN compost to protect the bushes. I used oak leaves many years ago, and they are bad news. for oak leaves just put on a few inches - if you pile them, like what you're saying, the snow will pack them down, in the spring they get wet and full of molds and fungus, which makes a MESS of the roses. I would say NO! don't use leaves, but if you have to, use only a few inches.

It's exhausting! DD is on her own for the first time this winter and is having a hard time keeping up with the snow. Her little Honda keeps getting buried by plows in her neighborhood, and one of the other tenants doesn't shovel his space. Between that and the breeze whipping through her 100 year old apartment, she's pretty dejected. DH is going to stop by there on his way home from NH next week and see if he can help clear her spot a little better. DS and I are alone for this storm. He's going to have to at least get the walks shoveled, which he's going to hate but will do. If it is really bad I will find someone to help out. I hate worrying about it.

Midwestern? University? Coop? This wouldnt be in WI by chance, would it? Im guessing that probably a lot of money has NOT been spent on remuddling over the years? The good thing about that would be if it hasnt been chopped up into small apartments by greedy landlords and if orginal features are still there - then you really can get good results by just taking it back to what it was, as much as possible. Woodwork, trim, doors, double hung windows, plaster walls, etc - all these things can be repaired or taken back to original condition with not a lot of money, just sweat equity - will you have any helpers or people interested in learning how to do these things - eg plaster repair, getting old window functional, removing old shellac with denatured alcohol and applying fresh shellac etc. etc.. (Im assuming the things like roof, plumbing etc. are all functional and have been taken care of.) For more detailed advice on specific issues - thehistoricdistrict.org has a great forum with professional old house restorers on board - maybe see you there

@apple_pie_order That first question is a great one... and it's one that has even my husband, a real estate appraiser, stumped. When we bought our house, it was listed as a 3BR because of the den located through the arched doorway. It technically checks off all the requirements of a bedroom (size, entrance/escape, heating/cooling), but has never functioned as one. While the new plan wouldn't add appraised value necessarily, I do think buyers would appreciate the function of the proposed layout. Once we get a better idea of what we're thinking, we're going to have our realtor give her opinion on market value. The woman who owned the house we wanted to buy bought it for $109K in 2016 and sold it for at least $244K this year with mostly cosmetic upgrades. A lot of that jump was due to overall property values increasing, but people love the historic homes in our neighborhood and I think they're willing to pay for the updates/modernized layouts. 2. We do have one quote for kitchen only at $20K (for mid-range materials and labor from contractors we know), but would definitely seek more in-depth estimates before committing to a plan. 3. He DOES use headphones and is still so loud. Adding sound absorbing materials is a great idea. If we keep the current layout, do you have any recommendations for closing off the room through the arched doorway? Thinking a custom door for this space would be beautiful, but would come with a high price tag. 4. We're definitely considering improving the utility room, but hadn't thought of a third bedroom there. The utility room leads out to a great elevated deck with stairs into our backyard. The deck is built around a huge old maple tree, which is a feature we love, but makes any expansion difficult. Will need to think about that some more! 5. Thanks for encouraging me to think through priorities! At the moment, mine are: 1) Updated kitchen, 2) More open kitchen, if feasible 3) Better use of space, which is as simple as moving the dining room table into the existing entry without any structural upgrades, and removing the existing built-ins. Blocking off the bedroom is something that only comes up when we think long-term future for us or market value when we sell. I think it's probably a necessity if we open the kitchen up to the existing "third bedroom"