Not sure if a cidp would make it, but some other date palms might. Still its a very marginal family of palms to a zone 8 and the most cold tolerant of them is probably best suited for a zone 8b and up. But with protection I dont see why you cant try one! Good luck! -Alex

A consideration in smaller baths with an open shower design is shower overspray getting onto the tub. Or elsewhere. When done showering can you rinse it away with a handheld? Or will it self-scour? Overspray of just water isn't much of a problem, but if it's blobs of soap suds, body lather, hair product, etc, when the water dries those things can leave a scum residue. If everything is well-designed and properly pitched to drain, it's quite easy to give everything a quick rinse with a handheld and you're done. If not, then things can get dirty after just a few showers. A couple of comments...the bidet...if space it at a premium, consider a washlet. Often times Toto's washlets are discussed here, they have both "all-in-one" products as well as "add-on" washlets, where the washlet simply replaces the seat on your existing standard toilet. Excellent products, and I think better than a bidet, as once you sit down you're there until your done. No shifting from one fixture to another. Only one fixture to clean. The Toto Neorest is an all-in-one, but it's pretty expensive. The S300 if probably the most common add-on seat, it's more affordable. Back to the tub faucet being in the way...code requires the tub water to be able to be controlled from outside the tub. You can't be forced to step into the tub to turn the water on. It's a form of scald protection. That's why they have the faucet offset to the entry side and not located on the back wall. The design you show, the tub faucet location could be tweaked further to provide easier access to the tub. But that's the basic requirement for locating the tub's faucet and controls.

A darning stitch is just like you would use to darn a hole in a sock....I,personally, make lines of stitches, fairly close together, all running in the same direction...these go beyond the weak parts....and you've placed the underfabric also beyond the edges of the weak part.. Then, do lines of small stitches running at right angles from the first lines....it's a sort of weaving, and as you are going through both the old and the new, you are adding strength to the old fabric.

Big hugggs!! I too hope your BF can get a parenting plan soon and will do something to move it faster. Your lives, your family time will be much more relaxing if he does. Your story sounds too familiar. This too happened to my brother at about age 6 of his daughter. BM was so controlling. There was no parenting plan, but of course a child support order. His wife was at her wits end. He didn't want to set clear boundaries with BM in fear that she would take his child away. He let her tell him when he could see his daughter, on her terms, which ended up almost being never. She refused to allow his wife, my SIL who actually was never a threat to their daughter at all. Only a threat to BM in BMs mind. She would call and call. She demanded this and that. So finally he gave up. He just decided his daughter was not worth all of the fighting and the turmoil from BM. He didn't stand up to her and my SIL was do fed up with HIM allowing this woman to control him and his family just to see his child a few times a year. Now she is 15 and she is a bitter teen who thinks her dad walked out on her. No doubt thanks to her mom. She was alienated from our entire family. He had no means to fight for parental rights. He regrets it but until she is older and maybe the bitterness has worn off, he is not in her life except for the occassional medical bill and a text needing to ask a question about something. I hope for your BF and SDs sake that he sets clear boundaries. Gets a parenting plan in place and enforces it. She can't do anything to him that she isn't already doing. She is already making him and you miserable. She is winning! Your SD is worth it for him to take off work to fight for his rights! I also think counseling for you would be beneficial. Especially since you may be pregnant. Remember during pregnancy your hormones are going crazy directions and you may be overly emotional about sensitive subjects. Or even not so sensitive subjects ... Counseling is a wonderful resource for me. A lot of people think I am wack for even talking about therapy. 'only crazy people go to therapy'. Absolutely not true. I'm more sane than anyone I know because I did what I needed to do. I sought help. I fixed my inner issues that weren't brought on by me. I learned to forgive, which is a very powerful tool. And to relax. To thank my blessings big or small. To see a different perspective. It helped me so much and it's a great release. It's confidential and I don't have to worry about being judged if I show a weakness. Check it out. At least it may help to clear up anything inside your head that you can't deal with with anyone else. Good luck! Don't give up, take care of you and those babies. If your BF is interested try couples therapy. Maybe hearing from someone else what a disservice he is doing to you as his partner, that might make him realize what he needs to do. Giving up on his daughter should not be an option for him though.