trtsmb, true, just have to wait for some funds to come before I can redo it. I guess maybe I'll just do our bathroom and when the time comes to sell, if buyers would want a tub, will give some allowance or have one put back - we plan on being here a long time - may die in it for all we know! jjazzy, hmmm, I never thought the option of having a floating vanity! Where would you end up putting the register though? Great idea w/the vanity though. Thanks! I wouldn't make the closet go in to the b/r - no need and would lose too much space. monicae, couldn't wait that long, esp in that purple bathroom as it is - maybe other changes in the house I can wait, but not in there. I'd wait in the 2nd bathroom though, that would be easier for sure. THANKS!!!!!

Yep David and dlynn, I'm looking forward to the cooler weather!! Since it's in the valley, the winters are generally pretty mild though this year was a record breaker for snow. The good thing about being retired and not having kids at home.... we can just watch the snow fall and not be worried about work, school etc!! In Louisiana today it will be 101... 102 tomorrow... and the humidity!!! We just got back from VA and while they thought it was hot it felt like spring to us!! Here's a picture of our new land and the homesite with DH Joe pretending to be a house. our back porch and deck will facing this view. Seems like we're out in the middle of nowhere, but we're a 5 minute drive from the center of town. We just got home from 5 days in VA where we brought up a load of "stuff" and put it in a storage pod. The estimate of 25K (!!!!) o move us to VA (not including our barn and outdoor things) got us so shocked that we decided to start combining our visits with bringing up a load of things in the horse trailer. We had the 3 horse section of the living quarters trailer full with things that we won't need even in a rental... extra garden tools, workshop things, outdoor decorations (birdfeeders/houses etc). It isn't a drop in the bucket, but it's a start! Grace

remodelzombie - I learned about the silgranit sink through other posts on GW. Just do a search here and you'll find lots of helpful info. I went from a double bowl to this large single and I love it! It works great for us. kmo1 - I purchased the rug through Hom Furniture, but it's a Karastan so you can find it all over. The design is called Plum Blossom and it also comes in reverse colors. It is pulling up in some spots, so they are replacing it. I hope I don't have the same problem with the new one because I really like the look of it. Brutuses - Thanks. I love your home and have enjoyed following your build. You have been very helpful to me with our build.

We hired a contractor, a staining and finishing guy who said he could refinish the woodwork in my bathroom (it was previously painted), and also remove the white wash stain on my cherry bathroom cabinets and restain that with a natural stain. He first tried stripping the whitewash with an orange stripper, which I told him beforehand would not work on a whitewash finish - the orange stuff is not a strong enough product. He refused to work with any marine strippers, so instead he started sanding my woodwork - now it has SWIRLS all over it, he broke half of my moulding trying to get it off the walls, and then told me that the windows couldn't be stripped without breaking them. He insisted that he smash out my double hung windows (frame and all) and replace them with a new double hung that I could get for about $60 at a local hardwood store. He showed up at my house drunk when he suggested the smashing out the window bit, and I told my husband I don't ever want to see him again. After stripping the original paint with a paint gun, I have now repainted my woodwork AND my cabinets myself. I am still trying to salvage the rest of the moulding that was destroyed. It's a shame that anyone who walks around with a business card and does some advertising can call themselves a "professional". What a joke!