Gdionelli, thanks for the tip on the music store - as a member of MTNA, I'll get in touch with the South Carolina chapter when I get there, and that will give me a networking base. As far as amending soil goes, that's been in the works here for several years - my soil is good part sand, and underneath that, rock, so compost is the name of the game. I have heard about the clay in the Carolinas. Any possibility I'll escape Japanese beetles? Susan, plants have priority over clothes in this move, LOL. I'm hoping to take a piece of that Bluebird hibiscus that I gave Tiffy seeds from a few years ago (has that bloomed yet, Tiffy?). I also have some hydrangeas (one that bloomed beautifully after a 7-year wait, waaaah) I bent and pinned branches down to root in the fall (serendipity?); I hope that was successful and I can cut them loose and pot them up in the spring. Rich, that something that will remind me of my NE home has to be a rosa rugosa - I have successfully grown them from seed from Planting Island Beach (how appropriate is that?), and I will try some alba seeds from the bush my Mom gave me when we moved here in '96 as well. Mary and Tiffy, the other thing I'm taking in lieu of clothes is my overstuffed seed box. And I'm still trying to figure out a way to take the compost. Thanks for all your support, folks - this has been a bit of a rough week. I announced the move (via email) to my students, and the feedback I'm getting is that they are pretty devastated about it, especially the younger ones. And because this is a small town, by the time I arrived at school for the concert today, the music teachers already knew. When I get teary about it, I remind myself that not everyone is sad - there will be a couple of neighbors doing the happy dance when I go (this is true, and not a huge deal :))!

The alternative layouts do look nice, don't they, Ideagirl? :) The word "because" comes to mind, though. I can understand wanting it to remain where it always has been. I used to have an almost identical (shorter) cupboard with hutch unit built into our old California bungalow kitchen (not the separate dining room); the whole room was painted cream and the floor was gray linoleum. The room was a very irregular, with 3 doors, so it was alone in a piece of wall just its size, the refrigerator stood alone on set-back scrap of wall, the stove also stood alone on a bit longer wall, but not long enough for anything else considering the flanking doors and traffic, the sink counter was in its own short bay with the only window, a small table fit in the middle, and I worked at my favorite counter of all time -- no windows, no upper cabinets, just a 30" x about 6' stainless steel counter far away from everything, except for our baby who either sat up there and played with the food, or on the floor while he explored and pulled everything out around my feet. If that were my kitchen today, I would insist on keeping the original treasure that came with it and the work counter that some sensible person added later on. Wish it was, actually. So it looks as if you may be settling into a general layout, Honorbilt? A metal cart would be a nice touch. For some reason I really like very modern touches in old homes, but not necessarily old in very modern.

Well, one sister died before I could visit her. She was not the one we thought would go first...but had many good phone calls with her. I was able to visit the other. Full family wants to get together in a month or two for a full memorial for the sister who died. Unfortunately, I'll be in the middle of my recovery time for my surgery, so I may not be able to make it out of state to be there. (3 planes to get from Fargo to that area of Florida.) My surgery is in one week, and I am busy trying to ready the house (and me) for recovery. So much to do -- just have to bite off one thing at a time. Hopefully I'll be able to return to work (at least part time) by March. A comfort in my sister's passing is that she was not in pain due to the brain cancer. Her body functions just began malfunctioning and that was it. The other sister with ovarian cancer is not having that easy of a time, therefore the visit with her was not pleasant -- she is very bitter and surly. I'm hoping it is only her meds talking. It is draining to be around her. I'm making a mental note to be kind to all my nurses and doctors - no matter how I feel. I'm just glad I'll be in good hands. I'll keep you all posted.

@User is right that the gray trend is behind us and has been for several years now. Do I take this right that you will be moving in 10 years? If so, I would keep the tile and save your money for improvements in your permanent retirement home. Also, I am in the middle of a home renovation and can tell you that the work required to prep a slab for wood flooring will be dusty, not to mention the demolition of the existing tile. You could end up with damages to other surfaces taking out that tile, and there will be dust all over everything to clean up. It just doesn't seem worth it when the tile you have now is so nice. If this were old tile or an odd color, then that's a different story, but it looks like you have a light neutral tile that is brand new.