There are just the two of us, although we supply a lot of things to our DD and family. We only grow rhubarb, strawberries, golden raspberries, muskmelons and concord grapes. Two blueberry bushes still have a few years to go before producing much. We enjoy going to our local organic PYO when we remember what season it is and can spare the time away from the garden. Our entire 25' x 70' backyard has slowly developed into many vegetable garden beds, both raised and in ground. We are not meat-eaters, although DH does enjoy chicken and turkey when we can get a good price on organic fowl. Hard to get "safe" fish very often, so might consider doing more than freezing since our one upright freezer is always packed to the max. We only eat the occasional jar of jelly or jam (and only because that's what I have made). We're not into fancy foods, but I love to use basic ingredients to explore ethnic delights. (Having difficulty coming up with things to do with all our eggplant this year). Just learning about fermenting reading about it here. So far have only done sauerkraut and 14 day pickles. So much to learn. So much to read. So much to do.

If you don't have kids, you wouldn't know the amount of "junk" that they come with! :) I don't know if society has changed, and I don't think it's better or worse, but I think we just live differently than we did 20-40 years ago. For us a playroom is essential. May be this parallels the fact that we have also done away with the idea of an unused living room that is there for show. Since we don't have a living room for show, we don't want our one and only living space to be the same area where all of our kids toys are. We want it to look somewhat inviting. As much as you'd like your kids to be creative and play in the woods with sticks, etc., they love toys and will have toys. The smaller the kid is, the bigger the toy is (megasaucer!). Many toys, especially for babies and toddlers defy the ability to be contained in any standard storage unit and must be left out or in some big open basket, etc. So, since we don't want our living space to look like a daycare, our playroom is essential. In ourhouse, the bedrooms all open onto the playroom. This way also, the kids can keep their toys in a common area and they are available for use by everyone. I remember playing in each other's rooms. It was not a good thing. We generally played in my sister's room, left her room a mess, and got her in trouble for having a messy room. :) Or, if there was a good toy, there would be the debate about whose room to keep it in. So, unless you intend your main living space to be a playroom, then a playroom is not duplicated space. It has its own function. We have 4 kids ranging in wide age ranges. If we had to store the toys for 4 different age groups simultaneously in our great room, it would drive us insane.

My fiance and I have been looking to buy our first home for almost a year now. We have been looking for an older home (pre 1930's), because we love the historical feel, especially victorian architecture. A lot of us have that same dream. When I was a teen, I was dating a guy that was in a fraternity that was out of a beautiful Victorian. I remember the stairway, the flowers that were engraved in the wood. I remember the "dome room" and while it was a PITA to put furniture in, amazed me every time I went into it. I remember beautiful moldings, everything was etched and 3 or 4 fireplaces. It had a decent sized kitchen from what I remember, also had a servant room. Man I loved that house and swore that one day, if I could afford to have the house moved I would. The house was located in one of the worst neighborhoods. You had to lock your doors to drive there and run in the house. I bet that in it's day, it was one of the grandest houses. They ended up knocking it down, don't know when but I drove by about 16 years ago, there was nothing on the lot. Anyway, a lot of us have the same dream, to own a beautiful, grand house. Reality is the lack of things needed to live in it in today's world as Tricia said. Since you are not married with kids yet, it wouldn't really matter much, you would probably get by fine. Once you have kids and they start getting older is when you will notice how hard it is to raise a family there unless you luck out and get a house that has larger rooms where you can make closets, or one that has a decent kitchen. I wonder then if my fiance and I should actually change our dream to accomodate the current economy and the deals available? IMO, this might be a good idea, at least for now. Being newly married can be stressful. Unless the 2 of you are currently living together, you have to learn to live with your partner. How do both of you handle stress? Buying a house that you are working on all of the time is very stressful and could eventually start pulling you apart. You'll come home from work some days so tired but you have to sand & throw another coat of spackle on, or paint, or run out to the home store to buy supplies. Hubby & I worked on our last house starting 2 years after I moved in. We removed paneling, faux brick, painted, put in floors as well as putting a new floor frame on a concrete slab in the laundry area to build it up so that we could put a floor down. By the time we sold we were tired & cranky. Add to this a roof, electric upgrade, plumbing, which was a job in itself since there was only 1 shutoff valve, which meant we lost water for the day. We also did central air, a hot water heater as well as new furnace, and had planned to redo all of the baseboards as well. Are there any houses that are in between the old house and new construction for a compromise? You might be able to live a little bit more comfortably and not have to work as hard. It will also give you an idea of how the 2 of you work together as a team (or not). You can save the Victorian house for later on

This is a bit off the ? I posted of collectibles, but really I guess related too! I too have used Ancestry.com earlier but found a few things I had asked them about but wasn't sure of the accuracy... they then posted it as factual & not as the question posted by me?! I have also gone to the local Mormon churches here & they are very helpful but a lot of more info. must be kept in Salt Lake City too. The genealogist in Sweden that did my genealogy a few times used Ancestry I noticed though also. Since my grandfather came as an adult to the U.S. from Sweden & my Dad a first generation here in the U.S. and I am a second generation & as our families are small, it was fairly easy for her to trace my small 'tree' here in America & go way back in Sweden where the families didn't move around much! I only paid for her to search back 3 generations in Sweden & then to America but may some day have her go back further & also find some very distant cousins living there in Sweden today! It becomes addictive, doesn't it! I find by my making a family 'Tree' (drawn like/as a tree!) on poster sheets, that for me it is so much easier to trace the ancestry than in the genealogists' way I guess in a book-like form. My Mother's tree (Drake) goes directly back now from me to the 1500's in England & was done by one of her uncles years ago. Now that DNA is available & getting a bit cheaper, wouldn't it be interesting what other things are in our ancestry to add to the 'tree'?!! As a little girl I always was interested in the people in the old photos & listened to the conversations of the old relatives at get-to-gathers & have always made sure all photos were named/labeled & perhaps dates (so many photos kept of 'people' but no writing on the backs: worthless!!) Fourteen albums (so afar!) all arranged in order & with a 'directory' I made to help to retrieve something if I need to. My family has found it so helpful to find current family photos w/o going through ALL of the 14 albums! Sure glad I have some others out there with my passion! Thanks everyone! -Vieja