Ok few questions, if anyone still gets notifications to this thread.. Mike, that pic of your stump/rocks/sedum is great-- the stump is under the rocks? I can't tell what is stump and whit is rocks, or if it's all rocks and the stump is completely covered. I'm sure we can cut ours down some more and probable enough to bury it and plant something shallow like that. Love that idea. I'm confused about the downspout though. It would be buried underneath the sidewalk and come out somewhere downhill on the other side (of the sidewalk, in front of the house)? Sounds like a job for professionals. I like it though and now would certainly be the time to have it done. I also hate the green shutters and screen doors and have been considering brown-- maybe a brownish/taupeish/greenish-- and would like the part of the downspout that comes down the wall to match instead of that stark white. Probably more than I can afford right now, with the doors especially. Also about the foundation-- I didn't realize our dirt was up too high-- I don't think I've seen anything *but* brick on the soil line since we moved in!! Should I be alarmed? I guess I need to go all around and pull quite a bit of mulch and soil down away from the house, still on a slope? If I do that, I'm not sure that it'll be level with the sidewalk anymore by the time I make it that far.. And while I'm at it Mike, your pictures are too glorious. It's taking restraint on my part to not lose myself in jealousy : ) The picture of the really bright red twisty JM in fall-- that whole scene is heaven to me. The colors in that shot, red/orange/gold/yellow/green and blue with such interesting conifers peeking through- if I can get a teeny tiny taste of that feel in my little garden one day, I will be very very pleased. Breathtakingly beautiful. Ken- I'm sorry, I got confused on which piece of grass you were talking about as there's a little spot in the photo on the left. Yes, husband and I have discussed and the grass is going! Wish I'd have posted for insight before I edged it out a little farther and curved it-- here's a pic of the hydrangeas I thought I'd killed when pruning last fall that will show what it the edge looked like a month ago-- but oh well. Was fun practicing with my new edger : ) And the previous owners used the black fabric everywhere (as did the previous owners of our first house) and in each I have cursed it's existence! I've pulled up what we have here as I've gone along but there's plenty still in the areas I haven't even started on yet. They used it everywhere. EVERYWHERE. The method I started using at the last house, loved, and want to continue with here is the newspaper then mulch. Once my soil is amended some and all turned over, loose and level. That black stuff either creeps up no matter what kind of mulch or rocks people put over it, or they never put *enough* whatever over it in my experience, bc I can always see little bits of it here and there, EW. Not sure when my first road trip is as I have plans or appointments every weekday this week except Thursday so either Thursday or one day early next week but I am super excited! And will be following your exact advice-- take pictures, write down names, post here and get feedback : ) BTW you didn't respond about my burning bush-- if it were you, would you get rid of it altogether or do you think my new plan for it is ok?

I loooove your dogs. The dog on the right looks just like my Sister in law's mixed breed dog Roc that passed away 5 years ago. Roc was a mix of Great Dane and labrador and all american mutt. He had the most wonderful personality. In looking at your dog I miss Roc so much. Luckily for my sil, a rescue pet program found her another dog that looks like yours above. And it's amazing but this new dog has a similar sweet gentle giant loving disposition as old Roc had. Sil's heart is no longer as sad now that she has new Blue to hug. I digress forgive me, The tile, onxy and entire projext is fantastic. You have large rooms, space and you love ART. Don't be afraid to go with movement from the Onyx (yes ordering another pc) because this would be like a peice of art in the space. This will not take away from the soapstone. I love what you are doing. Got distracted with the dogs. ~boxer (who feels silly saying boxerpups when I only have one pup now)

I'm sorry, thirteen years old is TOO old to still be holding his dad's hand and laying his head on his shoulder. Ewwww. There are so many problems with this relationship. - he babies his THIRTEEN year old son - his son is jealous of you - he pays for everything for his son when he already gives BM child support - he pays for BM's expenses - thinks he abandoned his family - he did not abandon his family but because he feels this way BM will use this to her advantage to squeeze more money out of him - because he feels guilty he will probably let his son get away with bad behavior - pays all this CS and BM does not support her child It's funny that your BF says he gives BM all this money because he had no reason to have money for himself or save, yet he can barely afford to pay his half of the bills. There is always a reason to save. He is giving BM all his money to his own detriment. What will he do if something unexpected were to happen to himself - car repair, medical bill? What is he saving for retirement? You are right this relationship will hold you back. You're young, you're 23, you have your whole life ahead of you. The only problem is you have fallen in love with him so you can't see that this relationship will not work. My story - I dated a man for two years that had a 8 year old son. Because he felt guilty that he didn't see his son every day, he spoiled him. His son was spoiled and treated like a little adult. BF even let him sleep in the bed with him! I was like this kid is TOO big to still be sleeping with you. This kid was always walking on the furniture and jumping on things. I told BF his son was TOO big to be doing that, but BF was like what's the big deal? Those couches are old anyway. Don't you know one time BF and I were laying bed watching TV, and his kid JUMPS into the bed, and lands right on my shin! I screamed because this kid was heavy and it really hurt when he landed on my leg. I told BF that was the reason why he needed to stop this kid from jumping on things all the time. Needless to say, BF continued to be a guilty/lazy parent. He would not make his son mind. I have two daughters of my own, and I made them listen. I disciplined them when they needed it. BF never wanted to discipline his son because he "didn't want to ruin the limited amount of time" they had together. As a result, his son was rude, spoiled, and never did what he was told. In addition, he too, struggled fiancially to pay his bills because of CS. He was very eager for me and my daughters to move in with him. He kept saying how wonderful it would be to have someone to share the bills with. I realized he was more interested in me helping him pay his bills than in sharing a life together. Eventually I broke up with BF. It was hard at first, because I loved BF so much, but as time went on, it got better. I realized I would not have been happy. And that's what you have to think about. Are you really happy in this relationship with the way things are? Sure, when the son's not around, things are probably great, but the real test of a relationship is not when things are good, it's when things are bad. And what if dad decides to get more time with his son? That's what happened to me. I never in a million years thought my BF would get more time with his son. His BM depended on CS too much, or so we thought. Don't you know one day she tells BF she is too busy with work and school to handle the son and lets BF have him. So BF went from every other weekend to his son to having him 24/7. I knew I could not handle dealing with his son on a daily basis. Sure, he didn't have to pay CS anymore, but getting full custody brought on a whole another set of problems. I was not ready to deal with a kid that I did not raise, that did not want to listen to me and that I could not discipline the way he needed to be. The way I dealt with the situation is I ended it. I know that's not what you want to hear, but now that I am able to look back I realize it was the right decision.

I think if your family room color was the same as the breakfast room, it would work better if you want a gray/blue. You can still do a blue with the fr color nearby, but I'd avoid a blue that is very gray. The fr color reads more tan/warm.