Hello dream garden, Around here, having had a skiff of snow over the past few days, the concept of a garden is pretty well a "dream" at present - though I think that it's past time that I should put some seeds into the earth that I stored in pots in the basement. Thank you for your message of appreciation. Yes - "stretcher" is an interesting site. Some years ago when my son and I had a display at a fall fair, mine being along the line of "Making Your Dollars Work Harder" and "How to Pay Less Income Tax", a man came up to me and asked me what right I had to call myself a financial planner. I told him that all that I have to sell someone is looking at money a little differently than they, for if I look at it (almost) identically, they won't pay to talk to me ... and if I look at it from a hugely different perspective, they'll clap their both hands over both ears and think, "Oh, Lord - no way am I even going to consider trusting management of my precious money to *this* flake!!". I said that it seemed to me that the time when I began to look at money somewhat differently than most city folks (my major potential market) was when I grew up on the farm. He replied, rather vehemently, that that had nothing to do with it! I told him that I thought that it did, for most city folk have regular income and if they miss a couple of paycheques, are crying the blues such that you think that the world was about to end, while for most farmers irregular income is an ongoing fact of life. Further, most city folk don't think much about the difference between cash flow and capital - their main capital issue being their mortgage, on which they make regular payments without thinking. They have no idea how one needs to consider, having enjoyed a little larger income than usual this year, whether to do an overhaul of the tractor motor, or trade it on a better one, and whether one can afford to get a better/bigger combine this year, or buy some more cattle, or hogs, put a new roof on the barn, make an extra payment on the mortgage, etc. I also told him that I'd taken the courses that stockbrokers take - much more complex than the training of most mutual fund sales folk. Plus six courses (passed 5) leading to title of Chartered Financial Planner - later revised, I'd have to start all over: at 70 or so (now 77), and receiving 3 pensions - I thought not. By the way, having done a preliminary calculation of my tax for this year, I find that I may be paying something under 10% of income in tax - about half of the amount of my charitable contributions (without considering the political ones, that are partially deductible, up to a limit, as well). Hope you enjoy your spring - and your garden. Mine, in the corner of a field of beans for processing (freezing, canning) got sprayed last year ... twice! ole joyful P.S. When you live among refugees for a time - it gives you a whole different outlook not only on money and its uses, but on various other dimensions of living, as well. Including being thankful for the accident of birth that had me born in this country rather than in many others - but they are God's people, too - and I owe them something o j

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts/suggestions! I agree the kitchen looks bland in the pics, but believe in person it is much warmer than in the pics. I am leaving it as is. It opens up to the family room which has a red (cathedral ceiling) wall so there is plenty of color in there, it just doesn't show in the pic. I got feedback from a showing last night that the lady thought the colors were "too bold!" How funny that is the exact word I chose too. I think the dining room might be a bit much for some, but am not willing to have someone come in a paint the cathedral ceiling wall in the LR. I could do the DR pretty easily and it would tone things down a lot Will add it to my list! Good news is that two realtors have told me it's priced right, so I am not dropping my price for a while. Thanks a bunch for your wonderful comments! Erin

HOA fees can be fairly predictable, they usually don't take huge jumps. We have an HOA on the lot we bought and there is a limit to the increase. It should be published somewhere. I think it is a consideration but I wouldn't think it is a vast swing one way or the other. Full disclosure - I am not retired, but I believe that most people go through several phases of homes - The starter home, the family home, and the retirement home and each of those phases are a departure from the things we wanted/needed before. It really all depends on what you want. My mind always goes to the financial perspective when thinking about these things. If you find a community that you like, there is nothing wrong with doing things for non financial reasons. There is no point in having a little more money if you are not going to use it to be happy. From a financial perspective there is no real difference. Rarely have interest rates been good enough to see a spread once you are retired and have a low risk appetite, but they are now. I personally prefer a small single family house, my grandmother turned 94 in a small "shotgun" house. There are some good Christmas memories as we packed a lot of people into that tiny house. I have lived in condos and townhomes, they don't seem the same to me. But that is just me.

I'm the OP of this thread, which was posted almost a week ago. I just saw this article, which I guess answers my thread headline question. It appears that no current American presence in active conflicts overseas, are being curtailed, but rather that military troops will be taking the best measures they can, to avoid becoming exposed to the Covid-19. My opening paragraph for this thread, referenced how the ongoing fighting in World War I, allowed the Spanish Flu to spread among the soldiers, who lived and fought in close quarters, for 10 months, before the war finally ended. Then the soldiers who had been exposed, but didn't die, returned home, unknowingly spreading the virus further, throughout America. So in learning that American military personnel in conflicts abroad, will remain on active duty there, I give my sincere hope that all of those men and women who may be fighting two battles at the same time, one visually apparent and the other invisible, will return home eventually, safe and healthy. My heart goes out to them all, especially the 13,000 troops serving in Afghanistan, as it is shares a border with Iran, where Covid-19 is so prevalent. Please know that if your family members are in service overseas, they are not forgotten. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/487700-pentagon-confronts-coronavirus-as-global-conflicts-rage