I'm not a cold weather person, either! I detest winter, with snow and ice, and wind that bites and seems to go right through you! Having lupus makes it worse for me... my joints and bones just can't handle it, and the older I get, the worse it seems. If it weren't for my little indoor garden, and my other hobbies, I don't know how I'd get through it! I keep the thought in mind, though, that my lovely Lilacs and other outdoor garden plants require that cold dormancy in order to bloom in spring... and I do love spring! Can't wait to see more photos!

Holy cow! You all are so generous & kind -- thank you. I have to say an especial "thank you" to my sister-in-special-mothers louisianapurchase. Seeing your name was such a warm fuzzy! How are you? Your kiddos? I'm thinking of you! I always love love love seeing amysrq, who has got to be one of the warm fuzziest (and most gorgeous) women around. And now I have a bunch of new friends, too. Thank you lyban, jenny and auntjen! nancybee: the summer of '09 we made my long-awaited pilgrimage to see Smithson's Spiral Jetty. It is a hard trip and you have to really, super-duper want to see it to make it there. I'd been waiting my whole life so for some dumb reason all five of us, inc. our dog, went. (The dumb part was going with anyone else -- kids, dog, partner, but esp. the kids & dog. No offense.) We met another pilgrim there and while she was walking up to us she asked "which one of you is the artist?" Without missing a beat my then four year-old replied "me." My own kids don't see me as an artist so I probably just have the soul of an artist. I think I'm creative and I love artsy-fartsy stuff; one of my BAs is in Art, but I was a jill-of-all-trades artist. Glassblowing? Let's try it! Goldsmithing, silversmithing, tinsmithing, cast sculpture, fiber, oil / acrylic / watercolor / charcoal, etc.? I'm on it! I like(d) to dabble but was / am not committed to any medium, to any vernacular. I lead a soccer-mom-minivan-driving-special-ed-advocate life. But from the bottom of my wannabe-artist heart, thank you, nancybee, for thinking I could be artistic. oldhouse -- thank you and bless you for your wishes for my son! We'll take them. He's a good egg who has a peculiar encephalopathy called Penelope Syndrome. While he sleeps at night, all night long, he has massive seizures (invisible -- the only way to know he's having them is through EEGs) which remove from his brain everything he learnt that day. One of our district's Special Ed directors calls it "a nightly data dump" and she's right. He can still walk but his gait is affected; he can no longer speak / sign / gesture nor understand any longer speech / sign / gesture. He can no longer use utensils to eat so shovels food in with his hands; he lost the ability to either feel the need to urinate / have a BM and / or respond to that need, so he's back in a diaper, etc. In many respects it's like having a big baby, except this baby can reach and run! He is very, very sweet, cuddly and I love him to bits, but it's changed everything for us (esp. him) so that's why I put it all out there, open to and receptive of all and any kinds of good wishes and help. In '09 we went to meet with a Navajo medicine man and in '10 a Lakota medicine grandma -- my eldest son was taken with the grandma! He loves his horses so he rides (doing hippotherapy) 2x a week. This was today: LindaC -- thanks for asking about our masks and bells. The masks are from Nepal, Japan, France, Mexico and Mali, the yak bells (on the left) and the wood temple bell are all from Nepal. The yak bells have the most beautiful sound, all different. It kinda creeps me out that the clanger in each is yak bone, and the live yaks (and zos) are forced to wear these bells with their dead brethren inside ... but they probably don't think about it as I do. The wood bell does not produce an attractive sound but it sure is nice to look at! I lived in Nepal in '02: my partner and I spent the spring climbing Everest, then I alone spent the rest of the year there, all summer / early fall volunteering in Royal Chitwan (animal conservancy) and the rest of fall, winter and early the following spring studying woodworking in Patan (city right next to Kathmandu). I love those Nepali papier mache faces: my favorite is probably the little blue face (with star ray corona and crescent moon necklace) because his nose is missing and it just makes him that much more charming. lynn -- thank you again for being interested and allowing me to share so many personal stories! It makes sense you live in SF -- talk about magical.

Marcolo, this isn't necessarily for you, but for someone who might be considering linoleum type counters in the future. When we were first married, we lived in an old farmhouse that had red lino floors, and red lino counters, perfect U shape postwar remodel, sigh. (It looked like they used the cutout of the floor to do the counters!) I don't know if the problems came with the age of the lino, or what, but every time I tried to lift something warm up off the counter, it would stick fast. So, things like a bowl of soup or a bowl of oatmeal would stick. When I'd finally pry the bowl up, a small chunk of linoleum would be stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Yuck! We were very happy when we could replace those counters with some laminate. I hope you find that durable finish you are after. Have to wonder if hard wood countertops might be a good option. I think they'd still give you somegrounding with the colors you are considering. This kitchen is especially bright, is it grounded enough?

@Denise Meyer, I have the 30" gas F&P range. Things I love about it: Powerful, responsive burners. Stainless steel top (I much prefer it to the black enamel) Telescopic oven racks (come standard with the range) Soft close oven door Things I don't love about it: No low simmer burners (1,000 BTU is the lowest) The oven isn't real large but it suits my needs. I don't bake much or cook elaborate dinners where I need a large oven.