I agree with jonfrum....But...tractors are not ruining the soil, In order for a farm to pay for itself we need the 110 bushels to an acre to make profits , that will not happen if we have weeds and dont spray or fertilizer. USA will not have the cheap food and meat prices compared to the rest of the world if we didnt make 4 passes a year. Kimmers saying that we are ruining the enviroment has taken the UN wealth redistobution scheme and swallowed it hook line and sinker. Im glad that we Canadians like the Russians and Chineese have opted out of the Kyoto accord because we realize this CO2 propoganda is a joke. The earth has been cooling over the past sixteen years and if you want to rock back and forth on your fork or urinate on your organic garden to find some nitrogen have at it...as for me I use a roto tiller peat moss and granular fertilizer and have soil and gardens that I can be proud of.

I would go with a classic white subway tile. It will never go out of style and always look classy. As for the cabinets, although I do like white kitchens I'm starting to see lots of beautiful kitchens with medium stain cabinets like yours. Have you seen the kitchen by Minnesota designer Todd Hansen in the Jan/Feb 210 Better Homes and Gardens magazine "Kitchen and Bath Ideas"? It is my current dream kitchen. It has white/cream cabinets for uppers and a light/medium wood (similar to your oak) on the bottoms. A few ideas: 1.) leave the bottom cabinets as is but paint the upper cabinets a white/cream color 2.) don't paint any cabinets but put a few glass panel/glass doors on your uppers. Either solution will solve the problem that you don't like all the graining on the oak cabinets. Most people in your kitchen looking at the cabinets are going to notice the uppers more than the lower cabinets. If you change out the uppers you will create the look you want. No matter what, I agree with the other posters that you should wait and see how you feel when your island is painted and your new counters are installed. Be sure to show us the pictures. It is going to look great. You have a very nice space to work with.

Thanks so much everyone! I'm reading this instead of doing my statistics midterm...so maybe that's a thanks? Instead of a thanks! Ha ha! Anyway, this year's budget is about $2k which could stretch to cover new stairs or new railings but wouldn't extend to porching out the roofline unless I learn some carpentry skills really quick. I completely 100% agree that adding a porch over the front door would be amazing. I live in a rainy climate and it is so much more welcoming that way. I totally dream of a front porch so maybe I should look into making it happen. circuspeanut and GreenDesigns, thanks so much for your photoshops. I do love the longer hat! I think I may have made a mistake by making it so high contrast ... maybe a darker beige would be better than charcoal. I have an idea involving doing the porch and the hat in one color on vinyl shake, and leaving the bottom and the side the beige. Let me think on it...but don't let me photoshop it tonight! My midterm is due at midnight. Although I like colored trim, there is no way I would paint cheap vinyl trim, thereby removing its only bonus (low maintenance) but maybe I can go shopping and see if there are multi-colored trims available? I kind of like the look of a white trim with just a little black square around it. Very tailored. I'm mixed on the barn boards. I like the look of them online but am unsure if they fit with the decided charmlessness of my builder-grade beige vinyl -- I love them on houses with shakes! Replacing and reframing the front door is probably out of the budget. Unless I could get one the same width but with skinny sidelights on either side... Ok - what if the darker brown parts were coordinating vinyl shakes? Man I wish my roof were more peaked. This post was edited by robotropolis on Sat, Mar 9, 13 at 21:51

What a beautiful baby and what great work you are doing, elly_nj! I am not certain why you are so sensitive about people remarking on not being able to foster...I get these comments ALL the time as I foster kitties...I cant tell you how many I fostered ...more than 80 I currently have 3 7-week olds, and a nursing mom with 7 one-week olds...I am watching the little guys grow up with their nursing mom, and I know it wont be easy to give them up when they are old enough to go into adoption program... But, I know that soon after space opens up and I am ready for another foster, there will be foster babies and adults waiting It is a common and quite normal question and I think people mean more of "great job" than "cant believe she is able to let this puppy/kitten go" Truth is, most people CANT foster...for a lot of reasons, because fostering is a HUGE sacrifice - emotionally, financially, time-wise I tell people, in response to this question: It is selfish not to give an adoptable animal up...It is selfish to think about my feelings in the situation and it is selfish to not foster if the main reason is "not being able to let go"...I would be very selfish if I kept the kitten I fostered - because I wont be able to help dozens that could come after this one... Fostering is a huge sacrifice...