Greg, Thanks for the well wishes. I do feel like I have been thru quite a bit, but I just keep telling myself "There's always someone out there who has it far worse than me." I try to always have that attitude. After both surgeries I realized how much more difficult my life could be if I permanently lost the use of my legs or my back. I'll tell ya what, I have my good days and my bad days but in general I try to keep myself in a positive mood. I see that you also like the plumeria forums on Face Book! It was nice to be able to put a face with a name. I especially like being able to see all your plumeria pictures there. I need to invest in a good camera so I can take the same kind of pictures! Anyhow, when I do find myself having days when I am in a lot of pain, I like to go to Face Book(and also here!) so I can see all the great plumeria pictures. They really do cheer me up a lot. Hi Qaguy, I will be contacting you soon. I am trying to get my hands on as many cuttings as I can right now. Reason being, they give me something to enjoy and to look forward to! I really enjoy watching cuttings throw out there first roots, leaves, inflos, and BUDS! Hi Mona, The way I see it right now is that ANY day is a good day as long as I am not a patient in the hospital that is!! Hi Irun, LOL, at least there is someone who knows how I feel! I am so glad to be off of the steroids! I was getting them 3 times a day, everyday I was there! Tomorrow I have to be at my first follow up. I have mixed emotions in regards to this appointment. In one hand, I know that there going to remove all 75 staples, and that right there will make me feel much better. The reason I don't want to go is because the nuerosurgeon's office is 45 minutes away and I have to ride in a car up there and back, not including the wait in his waiting room, and then the exam room! You know it doesn't matter if you have had major back surgery or not, and in all fairness, there could be a dozen other patients waiting to be seen, and there appointment could also be a follow up after there surgery. I will try and post after my surgery so you all have some kind of idea as to what is going on. Take care, Andrew

I sent off a bunch of window questions last night. We'll see what I get back. Dh is ready to get this thing started and I am well...nervous. gbsim-thank you for speaking to flow and thanks for the info on the sound proofing! We don't watch much TV now but I suppose as they get older they will! Pocket doors - I am hesitant to use them in higher humidity areas - such as bathrooms because I fear they will warp or 'stick' or something. I have heard some bad stories of doors in those areas so I was trying to avoid them. As for the master I stayed away there because I think sliding the door would be significantly louder than swinging and softly latching a swing door. Anyone have any experience with the pockets in bathrooms? Ontario (hello from across the lake, and well head south west a bit, lol)! Thanks for the pics-very cool! I am passing all of these window tidbits on to dh as he is the window decision maker. We have decided to divide and conquer. I have never seen anything like those. First time building so you never really know what's out there besides the 'standard' doublehung/casement/slide by. lyfia-I know - only slideby windows I had experience with were in college and they were cheap junk! So I was really leery of that but I think they have come a long way and I was shocked at how many there are around now that I have actually been paying attention to other houses (new and older builds) around. I'll be honest - I have a hard time visualizing these drawings in 3d. I know the covered porch is gabled and the other small porch is cantilevered but I can't really tell how the dining area roof ties in. I am still teetering on that angled window. I really don't have any place to hang much of anything - even a clock! I'm not a heavy decorator/fashionista so it mostly works in my favor but it would be nice to have a little bit of wall space. Dh is leaving that one up to me. We have a 'bump out' like that in our current house and you are right - they are much colder than the rest of the floor come winter. That is another reason why I am teetering with it. I am thinking about that very thing - adding a window to the north side of the dining room and removing that angled window. :( I need to just make up my mind! Renovator - thanks for the explanation (and for being gentle since we aren't using an architect :) ). I really appreciate your explanation. I have asked for clarification on the basement and boys bedroom windows to be sure we meet code and safety requirements. I will double check the dormer - I think it is that size because it's actually real and not a facade but at the same time we don't need any water or ice melt issues. I think we are close to signing off. I am just waiting for his feedback on the window sizes/adjustments I sent last night. Lisa

Well, I'll just come out and say it: I don't like this house. Although it's a reasonable size for an average family and is a simple, direct floorplan, a number of things just look awkward. However, having said that up front, I'll also admit that -- unlike another poster -- I do not understand winter. My lackluster reaction may be due to having lived my whole life in a very mild climate; thus, for example, I would never have considered that a north-facing garage could be bad, but I'd be concerned about west-facing windows. Keep my warm-weather knowledge bank" in mind as you read my thoughts: - Where is the main entrance? I'm assuming it's the door from the porch that opens into the great room. If so, good. But if it's the door on the other side that opens into the dining room and gives a direct view of the kitchen, I'd think again. - If that's the front porch, is it covered? In any climate, you want your guests protected as they enter the house, but it seems to me that'd be doubly-important in a cold climate. - Consider the windows on the front of the house (if I'm reading the front side correctly). They're very mismatched and will not lead to a pleasant elevation -- not "as is". As some other posters have said, the windows are disappointing. - Three hallways -- the entry way, the hallway to the master, and (to a lesser extent) the hallway to the secondary bedroom area -- seem bowling-alleyish. I fear they'll be long, dark and uncomfortable. Could you alleviate this with a bit of a niche somewhere? Just a little something for a piece of artwork /direct lighting? - I see that you've put in solar tubes in some of these spaces. I know they're popular on these boards, but I'm not a great fan. I fear they'd leak, and they won't give you any light after dark, which -- as I understand your climate -- is an awful lot of the time. Instead, I'd go with motion-detector lights. I can't tell you how much I love the ones in my pantry/laundry room. When I walk into the room with groceries or a load of laundry, light appears -- day or night -- and it goes away automatically after 10 minutes. Ours is on the ceiling (actually IN the light fixture) rather than on the doorway; thus, the lights don't stay on if someone leaves the door standing open. - Would the great room fireplace be better located on the other side of the window? I'm thinking that this is a big focal point, and as you enter the room, it'd be nice to look diagonally across the room and see it. - Okay, as I look at the last picture, the great room and the dining room are gaining on me. While I'm generally anti-skylight, I think the skylights above the dining room are a good choice. - I'm not crazy about a U-shaped kitchen with a large island. The inclination in this type of layout is to minimize the walkways so as to maximize the island (which isn't going to be particularly large in this space), and that creates a "trap" where people get stuck behind the island. I'd consider a peninsula / G-shaped kitchen instead. - OR go with an L-shaped layout and island. While this technically gives you less counter space, you have more usable space: You'd be giving up a difficult-to-utilize corner cabinet (which, at best, would've had a problematic and expensive Lazy Susan), but the payoff would be that the island could be perhaps 3' wider. - I like the large, well-located pantry. I would definitely outfit it with a motion-detector lights. - I like the secondary bedroom area and bath. Good move on switching the linen closet closer to the door. It doesn't matter so much for the linen closet, but it keeps the bath items closer together. - Good closets in the secondary bedrooms /good storage in the utility room. - Good call on going with one nice-sized secondary bath and skipping over the half-bath. In general, I think people on this board tend to over-bath, and I suspect most of those bathrooms sit unused most of the time. - Speaking of bathrooms, good switch bringing the closet "in" and moving the bathroom to the exterior wall. However, the bathroom could be so much nicer. I'd consider moving the tub to the end of the room so that you have it (and a window above) for a nice focal point as you walk into the room. And if you cut down the massive vanity, you'd have room for a nice-sized linen closet. Do you really need two sinks? Why? Does anyone ever use two sinks at once? I doubt it. Storage space is much more valuable. - OR consider going with a really big walk-in shower across the end of the room. I say this because you mentioned 36" doorways, so I suspect you're considering aging-in-place function. You have space to do a no-barrier walk-in shower. - I totally agree with moving the toilet. I'm imagining the bed under the window so it's visible /pretty as you enter the room, and that means you'd have a view of the toilet from the bed. No thanks! - Think twice about those 36" doors. They look oversized and are a little "odd" to open and close. If handicapped function is the concern, remember that you're much more likely to end up using a walker than a wheelchair, and a walker is fine with a standard sized door. A wheelchair is fine with a 32" door, especially if you use offset hinges. (Source: My grandmother's house, in which she used a wheelchair only when she was very sick /when she left the house.) Overall, the house's greatest strength is its simplicity and affordability; however, I think it has little else going for it. I think you could buy a house similar to this one and skip the headaches of building.

The plan is well worked out but there are some minor issues. I would flip the power room so the door is farther from the entry area and there is less of a view of the toilet when the door is open. That allows the vent stack a more direct route through the second floor too. The wall that contains that stack should be thicker. Is the fireplace gas? If so, the vent should be shown through the wall or passing through the second floor. Perhaps the pocket door in the hall could be closer to the entry so the basement stair door would be in the back-of-the-house and the hall shorter. The end view of the desk should be carefully designed since it will be in full view of guests at the dining table. On the second floor you might try to rearrange the bathroom and laundry (?) so the toilet and lavs are not against the wall of bedroom #3. The same goes for the master toilet. I would round the prominent corner of the first step of the main stairway. If the windows are double-hungs, I would put a bit more space between them; tight mulled windows is another detail made possible by modern manufacturing methods and it loses a lot of traditional charm. Even if the windows are casements I would avid putting a mullion at the center of the sink. An awning window will work better there. The wall between the living room and the dining room across from the entry corner will be an awkward finish/decorating challenge.