Dang my DH.... I was saving a bunch of those... and he threw them out..... he said. , DUH SORRY - I thought they were trash.... and of course... I said " WWWEEEEEEELLLLLL.... if they were trash - they would have beeeeeeen cut into little pieces so the birds would N O T get hurt by them... and of course..... if they were Real Trash..... they would have been in the TRASH CAN... not the cabinet...>>!!!! you know what he had the nerve... to say....OH I THOUGHT THE TRASH CAN WAS YOUR STORAGE PLACE !!!! OHHHHHHHHH that man.... but ya know... I gotta LUV Him!!! anyway.... KirK: the idea is FANTASTIC>>>> I appreciate the directions!!!! I can still make a come back ... from this smaaaaaaal set back!!!!! Stay Happy!!! Happy * * * ** Holidays * * * * *!!! M E R R Y + C H R I S T M A S !!!!! God Bless YA'LL!!!! susiesunshine

Hi - Do a google search, under IMAGES, for "apple gourds" and up will pop lots of pics of apple gourds and quite a few that are painted. When I painted an apple gourd I just used "apple red" and then overlayed that with a couple of other shades of red. For the leaves - you can just paint them on, make out of clay and attach, or even use silk leaves. I have seen apple gourds done all three ways. Wish I had a tutorial to share with you but I don't. I just muddled along and mine turned out wonderfully! I forgot to take a photo of the one I did! I made it into a bird house and painted a green worm on it! I have one right now that I plan to cut the top of and make a hinged lid and fill it with candy for my granddaughter to give to her teacher for Christmas. Do share a photo when you get yours done and tell us how you did it - colors used etc. Rita in Michigan

@ worthy Thanks for your insights. We discussed the possibility of adding transoms above the bedroom doorways to bring more light into the hallway. The concern was the expense of adding more height to the second floor. A solar tube (not visible from the street) might be a cheaper option, although I always worry about roof leaks. I have mixed feelings regarding a basement laundry. I like the separation from the living spaces to minimize noise and potential water damage. However, I agree that bringing laundry up and down flights of stairs can be annoying (this is our current situation). At our next meeting with the architect we will reopen the discussion of laundry room placement with the options of: 1) keeping it in the basement; 2) moving the guest bedroom to the basement to make space for a laundry room on the second floor; and 3) using the suggestion of @MrsPete to install a dumbwaiter. Regarding the house footprint, we have tried to be as efficient as possible with the space available. With a narrow city lot (80') in the historic district (zoning requires two story) the house footprint is constrained. We also really enjoy the backyard for gardening and kids play and do not want the house to swallow the entire lot. Overall, I think we have achieved a good balance of a nice size home (3,000 sq. ft.) with most of the features we desire, that also blends into the existing historic neighborhood (the newest house on the block is 100+ years old).

We have no bus service in our entire district!! Luckily the elementary and middle schools are less than a mile from our home. And they have adult crossing guards posted at every intersection along the path to the schools. But most of the time we walk with, or drive our kids to school. As far as costs for school....it is ridiculous! We pay VERY high property taxes. School supply kits for next year came out and they want $50 or so dollars per supply kit!! No thanks, for 4 kids I think I will go on my yearly scavenger hunt through the dollar store and Walmart and save money. Field trips are ridiculous priced, probably partially because we have no regular bus company. Every other week I feel like I am getting dollared to death! Last week was state testing, this week each kid brought home money requests for class parties to celebrate the end of testing. I would not give it to them, but then they do not get to eat the treats that the money is buying. And how am I going to let them be left out? Our school is doing that book creating thing too. Kids required to make a book for reading class. $20 for each book if you buy it (and of course you have to buy it or your kids are asking you why you don't want the book they made!) Then there is the constant book fairs that the kids walk through during the day and come home and want to buy books from-which we say no! WAnt to read the book that bad, then we will go to the library and check it out! Then there is also spirit wear (overpriced sweatshirts and t-shirts with the school logo) they try to sell and reward kids for wearing on school spirit days! We do not buy those. We tell them to wear school colors on spirit days. And last year they had candy bar sales at their old school. (we moved into our new home during the year so they transfered schools-thank goodness) They tried to say each family HAD to sell 1 box or donate $25!!! How in the heck can a public school try to require that! Then they sent home a box with my son and both sd's. When I called about the error they said that since my sd's were at different schools they both have to sell-one per school. And my son had to sell because he was not "really related" to sd so it was not considered same family! I sent all 3 boxes back to school and told kids to return to office saying we are not participating in candy sales. They sent home a note about the money we "owed" as part of our contribution!! That went into the recycling bin!! My contribution was school fees at the beginning of the year and all the other fundraisers we participated in.