These are all great things to think about. I'm still undecided about the trash can. We actually do have a spot for a stand-alone trash can. I can guarantee that we would have problems with it getting overfilled since I already have that issue. I still haven"t figured out why someone (who PUT something in an already overstuffed trashcan) cannot empty it out... same with putting dirty dishes into a ready and waiting dishwasher... and when they do they expect a round of applause and flowers thrown at their feet... Hrumph. (you may have hit a sore spot). Being tall makes me wonder about a deep sink. I think my sink is deep now and I don't have problems. So now I'm off to figure out how deep down a farmhouse sink goes. We don't wash many dishes by hand. Maybe a pot or a 9x13 used at dinner... but everything else is rinsed and put in the dishwasher. I am assuming people like the double sink for hand-washing? Otherwise, I'm clueless about the allure of one.

I love a white sink. I've had a white cast iron sink years ago and I loved it. Anytime it got a stain I would spray on bleach product and poof - it was gone. I now have a Corian sink and I do the same thing. It's so easy to make it white and shiny. I've also had stainless steel sinks and I just don't like them as much. I think it's a personal preference. I do see that they have the farmhouse style sinks in both white and stainless - as well as a copper look (no way).

We're working on updating our kitchen and I was wondering about two things. I always loved the looks of farmhouse sinks that have become popular. Does anyone actually have one? How is it? We wouldn't be getting one that is extra large. Probably just a traditional width sink. But, they are expensive. I don't want to buy something that actually ends up not being so great. Also, the trash can in the cabinet concept. I'm not convinced by this as it seems to take up precious cabinet space and they get yucky. We've always had a trash can to the side in the kitchen, which I'm fine with. But, maybe they're better than I realize?

I'm sorry your old friend has gotten mixed with someone so toxic. hugs. I'm glad you reached out and it was well received. prayers that things continue in a positive way.

Hugs and prayers as you all move forward.

Me too. I was astounded that they're watching movies. Maybe on the last day of school but in the middle of the year?! Sigh - I went to school in the dinosaur age though. My comparisions are faulty.

so glad for good friends who know just what to bring. Glad you're recovery has been uneventful.

Yes, this. Sending up prayers and I will light a candle for you tomorrow morning.

I agree --- Grumpy Old Ladies unite!

And I keep hearing from friends how the Frederick one is "way better" than the G'burg one. Well, I'm still not tempted to switch back then.

I hate Costco. I switched to Sam's Club because it was never as crazy crowded as Costco. It was insane. But, when I was a member of Costco (probably 20yrs ago) I would always show up about 15-30 min before closing. I knew what I wanted and didn't waste time. I would breeze through and get out very quickly. If the lines happened to be long still, THEN I would do a little window shopping, etc.

So glad about hte lasted update. Will still be praying for your procedure this week.

First- ((hugs))) We've dealt with this with 2 of my kids. The counselling seemed adequate. The thing one of my daughter's told me is that it takes about 6 months before she felt truly comfortable with a counselor and felt like they had built up a good working relationship. Maybe this comes into play with many kids? My other daughter's counselor here at home will do phone consultations (as will her Psyc.). She's told me it isn't quite the same but it helps in a pinch since she's already been seen this counselor off and on for many years. She also will go to the counseling dept at her school.

Answering one of your questions: Chevy Chase is probably out of the budget. Super expensive. We looked in parts of Silver Spring (near the 650 and ICC). We were looking to downsize and not spend a fortune. There are many great houses out there, but they may not be within walking distance of shops, like you want - until you get to downtown SS... which is expensive. The ICC has been a game-changer here. Getting to Bethesda might still be difficult going out the ICC but you should check it out, just in case it gives you more options.

We just moved away from Kentland area (just south closer to The Crown). It's very uppity and expensive. Traffic was getting worse because of all new housing going up. Taxes are very high on that side of 270 because it's closer to Potomac. When we moved away last fall it went down by 2K per year. Same county, larger lot but smaller house. We now live in Rockville in an older neighborhood. Neighborhood is from the 60s... many houses have been tastefully re-done and a few ugly mansions. Many are still nearly like the original. For instance: ours is still the original with a sunroom and a 2nd story added on in the 80s. Our garage was turned into the Master. Several houses like that instead of bulldozing and putting in a mansion. 1 acre lots with many old trees. Walking distance to shops and library would mean you'd want a planned neighborhood. Kentlands is like that, but the library isn't in Kentlands. There's also a planned area near Rockville Towne Center. You'll want to be near Rt. 355 if you want to be near the Metro. You can PM me if you want. I spent about 8 months looking for our house last year. I'm familiar with lots of neighborhoods and areas in MoCo. I can get you in touch with a good realtor if you want.

I don't know anyone who has won either. I know people who play on occasion.

I can't believe one person got it all. With that many people participating I was sure it would spread around to several people. Congrats to whoever it was and I hope they stay safe and anonymous. I really loved the idea of starting a business.

I'm not sure I could convince dh we could do this ourselves... I'd love to try but I think it would be above my abilities. ?

Why did you put speakers in the ceiling?

I just wouldn't go either. You are probably right that once you let your guard down on this guy, it will be hard to put that boundary back again.

I'm trying to figure out how much this could possibly cost without wasting a contractor's time. since it may take several years to: a/ come up with the money and b/convince dh this is worthwhile. My idea is to add a garage next to an addition (laundry and family rooms). Then, under the current addition dig out the crawl space further to make a small unfinished area for storage (not exactly basement since it will be the size of one room. We would access the "basement" storage from the garage. But, I have no idea how to budget for this . Is it going to be 40K or 100K?? We have money set aside from the sale of our previous house and most of it is already going to some dedicated projects. This one has been percolating in my brain since we moved in last year.

I had to look this up... when I saw it first mentioned I thought it was another name for a laundry room sink...but now I'm wondering what it is. Now I see it is a free-standing bathtub. I love, love, love my soaker tub, but it is integrated into an old tub/shower space. Same length but deeper so I can soak. I use it just about every night - winter and summer. But, I used to have a separate soaker tub (not a garden style) and then shower. I still used it every day - but it was a pia to clean...much harder to get to the corners. Someone mentioned cathedral ceilings. I so agree Our previous house had cathedral ceiling in the foyer to the family room. Basically all the of the downstairs was affected by the cathedral ceiling and was always cold. Our current house has a sunroom with Cathedral ceiling. It's still not my favorite, but at least I can close it off from the rest of the house. We're hoping to put a dedicated free-standing fireplace in there.

Your previous owners must be related to my previous owners. Mine loved dark, dark heavy colors... like mustardy yellow or forest green or rusty orange/red (in my tv room). The cathedral ceiling in my sunroom was a mustardy yellow color. I just spent last week on scaffolding painting my 17 foot ceilings white. While I do have a sense of accomplishment that I conquered the scaffolding... I'm glad I'll never have to do that again. Why would they paint a ceiling an odd color that matches nothing but that ugly forest green?

I was able to make an appt with an ortho today.

Had a side by side when we moved here a year ago. I hate side by sides. We sold it and bought one with the freezer on the bottom. I love roll out cabinet drawers. We had them in a previous house and I miss those. at first I didn't like my white corian counter tops... but they're growing on me. I used to be a "natural wood only" person for kitchen cabinets. But now that I've lived in 2 houses with internal kitchen's I've come around to brighter painted cabinets. But, one of the most disgusting discoveries was at my previous house. It had the fancy granite counter tops, which I hated anyway. But, I remember cleaning off the entire countertop once because it had been a while since I had cleaned back into the corners. I found mouse turds on my wash cloth... eeewww... I couldn't see them on the counter top because they blended with the fancy speckling of the granite. Yeah, it hid the dust and crumbs, but it also hid mouse poop. Ick. I'm a "never granite" person now. Yup - we downsized and have too much stuff... and a storage unit still waiting to be emptied. We have friends who just moved to a smaller house last months (after being in one place for 22yrs). They mentioned that they also brought too much stuff with them. It's a process. Some things are harder to get rid of than others. Not having a garage or a basement has it's pluses and minuses, but not having either is really hard. I really wish I had a basement storage area to safely keep some things.