We used to do real for years. Now we do fake. I have the lights, garland and unbreakable ornaments all wired on and stow it in the attic. Bring it downstairs, put on the breakable ornaments, plug it in, done. I actually have 2 trees that way...one is the larger one in the library, the other is a small one that sits on the bookcase in the FR. I started doing that with my in-laws who were in their 70s in a NYC apartment and the place was rather dismal without any xmas decor. (MIL was blind.) So I bought them the small tree and had it completely decorated and wired, so all they had to do was bring it out and plug it in...made a huge difference. After they passed, I adopted the tree and liked the ease of it. I think if we had children and grands, we would do live and make decorating a thing...like my mother's trim-a-tree party she had for us kids for many years. But as we don't, we don't. Seems I spend enough time putting up all the other decor in the house that I get my fill without trimming a tree.

Age is certainly relevant with the individual and it's what you make it. I've been told often that I don't look my age, and I certainly don't act it. When I'm out with my friends I have a great time. One lady asked if I was divorced, and I told her my husband died. She looked at me in surprise and asked how old I was when he died. 62. She was stunned that I was that old, much less older! I was out with a g/f last weekend on a day trip. She took a selfie and it's one of my best pictures ever. If I get the nerve to do the online dating thing, I'll try and crop it. 😃 I do market research and one lady I was calling was perturbed that I was calling so late. She said she's 64 and was heading for bed, (this was at 6:30pm) She sounded much older. Another call, a lady answered, and she said Sure, she'll do my survey, as she's sitting with a glass of wine listening to Il Divo. She was 80. Worlds apart in view.

" No, you cannot do any addition without getting rid of that slab first. Then digging for a full foundation. Which can be very dangerous next to your existing foundation. You can undermine it and have your home shift or collapse. " Stop with the scare tactics already. There is not enough info period, even with the other post, to fully answer her question, but that response is a bit over the top.

Of course you can join them. Regular drywall seam tape in the corners and float the wall down a foot or so to hide the transition. You may be happier floating the whole wall to make it very flat like the new ceilings if the budget allows. I’ve done this in probably a couple dozen historic properties.