For those of you wanting to use a ceiling paint that goes on one color but dries white, you might want to try Valspar, goes on purple, dries white. I just used it for the first time, and am very pleased with it. I do think it takes a bit more paint than regular ceiling paint though, although in my case, it was new primered sheetrock, so maybe would have taken more paint anyway. I also wouldnt call it purple. It is actually a light lavendar color when applied. It did dry nice and even.

I like what you're doing with the house, architecturally. The decks and overhangs are vast improvement. They give the house much more character. Color choices are very subjective, but I prefer the red over the pewter. That said, I don't care for the red in just the one area. I like to see complimentary colors used as an accent - for example, on the window trim, door trim, corner boards and fascia. That's traditional, maybe a little boring, but it works for me. I don't think factory-color siding is worth the extra money, which is considerable, and you still have to caulk and touch-up the cuts and joints. Everybody makes fiber cement siding now, and the basic pre-primed stuff is really cheap. If you use good quality paint, it'll last for decades. If you want interest, vary the lap and color. For example, space the siding seven inches on the first floor, then five inches on the second floor and use a slightly different hue of paint. Hope this helps. John

"safe tv" yep! Father Knows Best gets a lot of flak for being goody-2-shoes & paternalistic, but it did, very mildly, address some things that weren't even recognized as issues at the time. (This show came on late at night for a while, too!) In one episode, if I remember correctly, the gardener, Frank, won an essay contest when he wrote about what it meant to him to be a citizen of Springfield. The winning writer was to read his essay at the Fourth of July celebration... but when the town fathers found out that "Frank" was Hispanic, & that he talked with a very strong accent, they went nuts. Of course, Jim reasoned with them, spoke intelligently yet passionately about what it actually does mean to belong in Springfield, & Frank read his essay.

Agree. As I said, I'm from a small, rural area, and we are known for our extreme thrift. As such, it's not uncommon for a family to move in with grandma and grandpa to help them in their old age ... and to add on a family room to make space ... and then to stay on after the grandparents have passed away. Growing up, many of my friends lived in old farm houses that'd seen 3, 4, 5 additions. In fact, that's the type of house in which I grew up. My grandparents built in, then they "took in" the screened porch to enlarge the living room ... then my parents took it over; and they removed some walls and created a larger, open kitchen; eventually another enclosed porch and two more bedrooms were added ... then after we were out of the house, our parents redid the kitchen, keeping it the same size but making it nicer ... and now one of my brothers owns it and has put his own touches on it. Looking around yesterday, I could see that some families have added on gracefully -- while others haven't. I totally agree that some of today's houses are going to "fall out of favor" in future years. I tend to think it's the overly-done types that're going to be labeled "dated" in the future. I suspect Craftsman will stand the test of time, but -- oddly enough -- I didn't see even one of that style in all the neighborhoods I drove through yesterday.