Marcolo - thanks for the tip, re: attorney. Viennamommy - I move to Philly from central/north Jersey in 1997. Have never looked back. I LOVE it hear. And I've got a whole tassle of transplant friends who are all delighted to have landed ourselves in the best city on earth. ;) Jillius - I so rarely have 4 people sitting at the table, that I don't recall if we bump knees. Perhaps we do. I've definitely had 3 people (I often host couples via airbnb, and will pull a LR chair up to the table to sit with them) and I don't remember bumping knees. If this were a 4 person household, the table would be too small. It does have two leaves on it, though, so with the leaves out, the space would be tight, but no knocking knees. I fold the leaves out when I have a party, push the table against the wall & use it as a buffet. What an interesting idea about the bay window! I absolutely could use the storage. Right now, I store cloth napkins, place mats and tablecloths in a bureau in the living room. Those could absolutely go in bay window storage, as well as a bunch of other less use items. Not to mention umbrellas, boots, hats, scarves. Wow. Plus, we could make one of those drawer a file (right?) so my frequently referred to documents could stay there, instead of the guestroom. And also a mini-office! So worth thinking about regardless of what layout I come up with. And the seating... nice! I think I like the main seating area where you have it. My existing table would fit there well, and with the pull-out leaves, it can easily seat more. I don't have dinner parties, per se, and living room seating for my potlucks a couple times a year works out fine. This week, my plan is to begin permit research - contact the KD & the City to find out first steps. Also will talk to the other KD/contractor - the one who flips houses to see if he had new layout ideas, and to run some your plans' ideas (Jillius, lavendar_lass, laughable, sena, cluelessincolorodo, et al) past him. Thanks again, so much. So inspired right now!

Everything you mentioned is something where someone or something is being hurt... When I see people dressed as in the "befores" I posted above, I do see someone being hurt. Just because they are hurting themselves and have every right to do it, doesn't mean it doesn't send a message and evoke an emotional reaction. With the many makeovers on "what not to wear" and other programs, there were some common themes including some women felt a need to show a lot of skin to attract men, but then couldn't understand why they were attracting the wrong kind of man. Some women had low self esteem and never felt that they were beautiful or attractive. Some women simply had no idea of how they were perceived. Others didn't do better because they didn't know how. One woman who had been an exotic dancer was told that her street wear was perfect for that job. She was the one who pinned a raccoon tail to her backside. After her makeover she dumped her loser boyfriend, went back to school, and made a career for herself. She said that none of that would've happened if she hadn't gotten the makeover which showed her she was more deserving of respect from herself.

..so to round up, if I'm allowed to do so-one can already see what parenthood looks like) Whatever a mother (or parents) will do-some won't like it or would do it differently. Sometimes as a society, sometimes as a community, and sometimes, in her own family. (and latter is very often..saying it as a loving daughter who's just back from visiting her Mom)) So dear Beagles, you know that you make your decisions in a way that seems right to you, under circmustances that are best known to you, with knowledge and considerations available to you in the moment, and with love, and hope, and faith-because that's what we basically have with us when we make this big decision to give a life to somebody. Who is born into a certain family, certain times, certain place, you name it. You chose for him-but plenty of things were chosen for you too. You have a limited amount of control, and you do with it the best you can. "Perfect" doesn't exist anyway and one shouldn't strive for it imo. Good enough is great though because it is full of life, real life-and it is achievable. So you pick up a book that makes sense for you, so to say( to me was Dr. Spock-and I'm fully aware many others hated him, but I found him incredibly calming. Maybe Ukranian trabslation did its magic? lol)and try to worry less.(obviously "a book" can be a theory, a bunch of ideas, a gut feeling, an example you were impressed with, and many other things. Said "a book" to make it shorter) I imagine it's very overwhelming to hear so many opinions at once at the time when one is so vulnerable and has to decide fast. It's overwhelming to me-and I dodn't have to make any decision)) Again, I'm barbaric so I did the procedure, and healing went well. If I was not barbaric maybe I wouldn't even think of doing the procedure, and it'd be just as fine, and then I wouldn't be able to describe my anecdotal evidence of how the healing went, so that's my very limited and modest input. I did it, and in our case, healing went well. I'm surrounded both by people who were circumsized and these who were not (starting with my own immediate family)-and that's not what makes a major difference, neither to me, nor, as far as I can judge, (or from what I could ask) to them. Not in daily life, not to their characters, not to nothing the sharp human eye like mine may discern)) Whatever you do/don't in this case..the chance it will be fine either way is huge. Hugs, April

Rory et al, I may get the zebras or leopards for somewhere in Maine, I do have a crush on both now! Jinx, We did some more sanding, almost done. I'm itching to use the liming wax. We painted the base but that looks pretty much the same to the casual observer. I did finally hear from a stone yard with a really nice soapstone remnant. But it's $800 with the labor and IMHO it makes it less flexible; it stamps it as K or garden table. We placed it back in the K to get a sense of how it would play, and the raw wood works very well - i dare say even better than the old zinc. Anyway, here it is in the garage. My DH walked into where I was today and said "I like your new pillows." I nearly fainted. You know men like pillows the way women like Lazy Boys; not. So go figure. I've not decided for sure, but the HG are such a steal and add a little needed softness but have wide appeal. They have very Magnolia, Studio McGee vibe which I think works, albeit in a basic way. I did visit a second HG today and found nothing worth trying at home in the pillow department. I explained to them that a blizzard was coming and it could be two or three days before I can get out for more pillow shopping, but there is no secret stash in the back. At least DD found a bunch of stuff to buy; the HG gene is dominant. Arapaho - fun fact. The bench seat is not upholstered. You can lift it up. And if you did, you find things stashed underneath, like extra paper products or maybe, once, half a salted caramel brownie that had hardened to a pumice stone consistency. My DH pulls the fabric tight and ties it a knot underneath! I take it off and wash it from time to time, so this works very well. It is wedged in so stays in place. Anyway, I never noticed how it runs ... but that is a function of the fact that it is not pieced. I don't want to change it because being able to take it off and wash it is a godsend. Eld, nope, still got retro cords hanging. There is simply no wall space to put switches. It would be a big project. I've warmed up to it. KSWL, At first I thought you meant my DH was my AA! Ha! My best ever administrative assistant, who worked for me over a decade, was an ex-Marine. : )