might be some politics of business involved eg.,. trying to discredit the opposing product? why they test this brand and maybe never any of the other myriad of brands one might well wonder, and testing is expensive and needs to be paid for by someone, so it comes back to who pays wins. ok there are residues in product, i use sugar cane mulch it is easiest and cheapest to get, it will be full of residue, as growing cane is a high end user of chemicals,even if i could get spoilt lucerne hay, what residues might it have? if not direct fall out from a nearby agriculture application or coal fired power station?? me not going to get paranoid about it i won't have anything to use even the mushroom compost we use. very doubtful if residues will be made soluble for the plants so the plants can't take it up, yes the gardener can end up with it on their hands and fingers remedy wash after using products or even gardening. as for recalling it the maker has a huge bill now for no gain for gardeners. maybe the epa should do independent costly testing of residues in at least fresh fruit & vege's instead? now that does effect our health. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens straw bale garden

I'm going to contradict, based on knowing your location, Darren. I wouldn't hesitate to remove the bottom sprouts. That's if you want it to be a tree with a single trunk. It's much easier to do now than when the shoots have become branches. It's also possible that your tree is grafted onto plain S aria, so shoots from below the graft won't be Joseph Rock. Can you see a graft union? Although theoretically every leaf is useful, in our climate this tough cultivar, which has been in the ground since last winter and is therefore fairly well established, is not going to miss a few basal shoots. Our climate allows us to be much meaner to trees because they don't have to face such rigorous conditions. No extremes of heat or cold and plenty of moisture.

Heather, I really love your ideas about the master bedroom. I really didn't think about my master door going outside right onto the patio where we will have family. We have a small family and liked the idea of being able to go outside from our master (maybe to a hot tub way down the road) but I'm not sure I will like that going right to the common patio. I love the fireplace idea! Our first builder talked us out of it in our current house, but I really wish we would of. Thank you for the reminder! Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of commonality between the laundry and the mudroom. Lots of discussion on how to separate the laundry from the pantry, mudroom, etc. I really don't have an answer for that one. Definitely difficult. We are sort of stuck having the back face east. Our lot is more narrow than deep. But our current home faces the same direction and our summer guests usually appreciate that we have lots of shade from the house in the backyard. We have really hot summers but we still get lots of sunlight in from the back of the house in the other seasons. Thank you so much for all you input. :)

Please consider what your needs are in retirement. I have lived in two retirement houses and have learned that as you get older you cook less; you may not need a dining room plus a nice eat-in kitchen space. Those are a lot of bathrooms to keep clean unless your budget for household help is very generous. My husband and I have a desk each; one in the "library" aka guest room and one in the living room. This is sufficient; no study or office needed. Be sure that your everyday living spaces get lots of natural light...good for your spirit and good for your budget. Think about how much stuff you have and when you move get rid of everything you haven't used in a year. Don't leave this chore for your children when you die.