Carol, thanks for mentioning the grass situation. I didn't specify the growth situation in my post, butt I must say that I have never seen grass grow the way it does here! The first time I tried digging it, I could easily understand how a sod house could be built from blocks of it. The Bermuda problem (along with the ragweed) is an ongoing battle on our property, and I'm nearly positive that the grass is winning the war. As far as the soil analysis, the recommendation is that I apply 4# of 0-0-60 and 4# of 46-0-0 in my 1800 sq ft flower bed to bring it up to something closer to normal, and then do an additional nitrogen application midseason. It's an indication of just how poor it really is. I was amazed by the report. Who'd have thunk it?! As they say, live and learn. Yes, gardening in CO can be challenging, to say the least. Their soils and climate are as screwy as ours. Conditions are even more difficult than here. This has been a really wretched year for OK. One of the things that took me a long time to get used to was all the green here in the summer. You guys will think it's crazy, but I actually took summer photos of it and sent to my friends and family in the west, where green fields later than the 1st of June are pretty hard to find. It only happens if it's cultivated and under massive irrigation. Let me know if you have any luck with the sweet woodruff. I think I'd like to get some started also. I've had good luck with it the past. Other really tough (although inedible) groundcovers for me have been wooly thyme or creeping thyme and mini gypsophila. Once again the main problem in maintaining any groundcover here is the vigor of the grasses that want to over-run anything and everything. I finally put in some tiny sedum brevifolium that I brought back from CA. It seems to be surviving, although it's spreading slower than I had thought it would. It will usually grow in anything . . or nothing. I also had some purple violets hitch-hike a ride from CA and they have now spread all over the place. I have enough room that it's not a problem, and they do help to fill in some empty spaces. I don't mind using them to shade the ground under larger perennial shrubs. If they get to be too much, which they will, then I'll need to start yanking them out. BTW, I'm right in the middle of the state, between OKC and Shawnee. Just wait until you see what Chandra has done with his town garden and the edible stuff he has planted there. It's amazing. He still has the photo link up on the 'Summer Garden Update, July 19' post that's back on page 7 of this forum. He's using a more vertical style than you have planned, but I think you'd enjoy seeing it. Pat

I totally agree the 2nd floor bedrooms are off balance, but in my mind the secret room does make up for some of that plus I've found that boys don't tend to care so much about bedroom size the way girls do. My son would be happy with a mattress & a steamer trunk for his clothes while my daughter owns more bedroom furniture than I do. Maybe we could partition it off a bit to add a sitting area so it won't look so huge? I know we have to take resale into consideration and life is full of surprises, but since this land has been in the family for over 30 years already, we don't plan on selling while we're alive. I'm already envisioning grandchildren enjoying the secret room and my oldest is just 11! :) We are pulling the garage out several feet toward the front so BR3 will get a bit longer, too.

Our kitchen is a wee tiny thing, not ready for prime time. Fortuantely, we do have a real dining room so there's plenty of space for a table for six. We've been remodeling the enclosed backporch/kitchen, and eventually, will have an area carved out for one of those vintage 1940's drop leaf kitchen tables and four chairs. Merry Ann is right about having natural light; we definately plan add a window on the west side looking out into the garden with a glimpse of the pond in the distance, which should keep it from feeling *too* cozy. Willie, your garage is almost as big as our entire home. If you asked me, I'd say that at 1,720 sq ft, you don't have a big house perception, you have a big house. Then again, coming from a 3,300 sq ft, I can see where one might consider that to be some serious downsizing. ;^) Personally, I love the fact that I can shut a door and close off our kitchen. Whilenaturally everyone loves the smell of baking bread and cookies and what not, I dislike the heat, steam and cooking odors wafting through the house and lingering on the furniture. In a home this size, being able to close off the "hot" room really does wonders for saving energy when you're trying to stay cool; for example, we had a whopping $68.00 electric bill last August. Currently, our kitchen is MOL standing room only, though there are a couple of chairs in case someone want to visit the cook. When we finish the remodelling, the new seating area will be in addition to the dining room, not in place of it. I picture it more as a nice spot to drink coffee and chat with a friend or linger over breakfast, than for entertaining a small crowd. BTW, I like the wide brick steps; where do they lead to? Is that the front entrance or the back?

Esther, are you sure this is a great house plan for you? To get from the front door to the back door, you'll have to diagonally cross the living room, kitchen, dining area. You don't have an entryway and to add one means cutting into your living room space. One other thing I noticed with your house is that it doesn't look like you'll be getting much if any light on the interior. I know you didn't want to have us critique the house, but the best thing I ever did was have the folks here critique my house. My house is 1000x better because of it.