"For the causual observer on this site (I was a long-time lurker) the impression can often be: 'Bring your bag of KBG to the game or just stay at home'" I got the same impression. The outstanding lawn pics linked above, along with the thread here... Is there anything to love about perennial rye?href> were encouraging and reassured me that it wasnÂt necessary to kill off and reseed my perfectly healthy lawn. However, I should state that I do understand why people do go with the completely new KBG lawn itÂs just a preference in having everything homogeneous. Personally, IÂm just in the mindset of having a thick, dark green, weed-free turf and IÂm happy!

We ended up with only 33--one DS's family didn't get up from NC & one of the SSs was in Fld, 2nt son & DIL had to work as did one SIL & 2 GDs ,1 DIl had the flu as did a 4 yo GD so only 3 GGDs were here but the rest of us enjoyed ourselves & wonder of wonders only 1 cell phone conversation & that was from the SIL that was working to wish us all Merry Christmas & sorry he was missing the get together. We had enough snow for a nice white Christmas but it was a bit bittersweet as most of the grandkids are grown enough not to be out sledding in the yard. Had the usual buffet style as no way all 33 of us would fit around 1 table. Doc & I prepared a high heat dry rubbed ( minced garlic, rosemary,coarse ground pepper, sea salt, smoked paprika, olive oil )10 # boneless prime rib and roasted fresh Polish sausage, shrimp cocktail & antipasta platter with 2 types of salami, thin sliced hot ham, home marinated fresh motz , kalamari & lrg garlic stuffed green olives, Chase's dills, Linda Lou's sweet chunks & tiny homecanned pickled beets & onions. I also put out a cheese tray with blocks of swiss, extra sharp cheddar,a honeyed goat cheese log and 3 kinds of grapes-& a salad of baby spinach, pear slices , pomagranate seeds & spiced candied walnuts with carafes of a simple white balsalmic vinegatte & a bottled creamy blue cheese. Ann brought her always delicious cheese souffle-- DIL Deb brought deviled eggs, DD Deb brought a veggie & a pepperoni pizza--DD Judy did swedish meatballs & a veggie pasta salad. There was also veggie fried rice and a big bowl of wok stir fried chinese vegs-- Roasted garlic in melted Brie , chips & homemade onion dip, hot spiced peanuts, chocolate caramel tossed kettle corn & a cheesy chex mix. Kimelwick rolls & sliced provalone for beef sandwiches , garlic knots . Dessert was Cranberry Layer Cake from Taste of Home site (source Sandy Burkett) I did as cupcakes, a zillion Christmas cookie & rum raisin ice cream. The gals in the crowd each also brought 2 dz Christmas cookies for the cookie exchange we've been doing as a new tradition we started 3 yrs ago.-- so every family went home with cookies ( mixed) of 11 different kinds-- cause I contribute 3 differt kinds.-- and Jessie's fudge , my tiger bark, and cranberry nouget & Baileys truffles that someboby brought. A few local wines, Irish Coffee, soda for the kids, grape & apple juice for the real little ones-- and lots of love & laughter for all. Here is a link that might be useful: Cranbery Layer Cake

gweekie - Sparksal, welcome to Minnesota! (another "neighbor") I agree with you 100% with all the issues you raised. Here's to getting everything fixed, a speedy closing, immediate occupancy, and last, but not least, enjoy your new home! Thank you so much and thanks for your personal email! rose - I hear that! Selling the house has killed my back; I was glad it hasn't sold yet as moving twice would not do me any favors. They do a lot of good things with hips these days, unlike back surgeries where everyone I've spoken to that's gone in is as bad or worst. I haven't met one person that's felt better after back surgery. Hopefully once you are settled you can take care of it. I'm hoping the hip replacement fixes the problem with my back. The orthopod in Tucson, as well as my physiotherapist think that b/c my hip is so stubborn and doesn't want to rotate, that my lower spine is picking up the slack and that's why it hurts so much. I have also heard from others who had the exact same problem that their back issues completely disappeared after having the hip replacement. Glad to hear things worked out. Any clue as to why it tripped in the 1st place? I'd imagine there is too much stuff on one breaker. I imagine it was too much on the breaker. From the photos in the garage attic, the tonnes of extension cords and no junction box probably overloaded it. It's all almost over. It's been a really long few months for you, I'm sure you miss your hubby and are looking forward to spending some quality time with him in your new house. Yeah it has been a long haul and I've missed him alot. My BP has remained normal since I went on those meds. My doc in Tucson wants me to stay in them for a few months til things settle down and then get monitored to hopefully go off them once I find a doc here. kjmn - sparksals, another welcome to MN to you! I usually only lurk on these boards but I just wanted to let you know that I've never heard of a seller staying in a home after closing. It's not customary to do that here at all. Of course you would never wish the seller any ill will, you merely want to purchase what the seller has represented to you in the first place. Good luck to you and happy gardening - spring will be here before you know it!! Thanks KJ. I certainly don't wish the seller any ill will. She has just been extremely difficult and dramatic. All I wanted was to ensure that the seller has properly represented the home when the inspection determined things were not disclosed. pattycakes - I guess we can't expect everything to be all ice cream and roses, eh? Honestly, I did expect dissenting opinions, because as was stated upthread, that is the joy of a free country with freedom of expression and opinions. kgwlisa - I think you're right and the reason people may have reacted negatively to your post was because you called this seller a "dickhead" even while painting a picture of her that was sympathetic to some posters here. Fair enough. I dealt with a true dickhead seller. He used all kinds of manipulative tactics to squeeze every dime out of us that he could (in a hot market). He played mind games at every turn, "lost" the certified check earnest money (10% of the house price, certified check is not customary because it is held in escrow and will clear before anything can happen but his ambulance chaser brother lawyer insisted) that then took a month to replace while entertaining other offers even after he accepted ours and in general was a complete horror to deal with up until the final moments of closing. That sounds horrible! I hope there were no unfortunate surprises after you closed on the home. This seller isn't a dickhead. She's in a really bad spot, my guess that she didn't have the money to do the repairs is spot on and the repairs turned out to not be nearly as big a deal as you initially thought they were. As I said before, you had every right to stick to your guns, but there was no reason to be unkind toward this woman and I do believe that attitude is what some people reacted to. JMHO. I totally understand she is in a bad spot. I've been in bad spots before, even with my most recent house sale in Tucson. Prices were dropping FAST. No lookers, lots of stress anticipating showings and nothing happening. Fear of losing a boatload of money that would put us in aposition of not being able to afford another home. Fear that we'd get a difficult buyer (we were very lucky, she is very nice and loves the house). Fear that something would be discovered at inspection that we didn't know about that could kill the deal. Fear that her financing would fall through. But, with all that, I cooperated. I didn't have my realtor tell hers that I was in a tizzy and to not ask any questions. I disclosed everything honestly. I cooperated with the process and did not draw things out. I wanted my house sold in a difficult market. I do understand she's going through a difficult time, but the least she could have done was been at least a little bit cooperative. I was patient yet frustrated and came here to vent. I was worried about the HI and that the home was not honestly represented. I honestly believe my feelings have been completely justified. Luckily, it seems everything is going to work out. I have never had such a drawn out negotiation process before in my life. marieta - it certainly is stressful. I can totally relate! Good luck in your closing and your new condo! mfbenson - Okay, but that's an insult to the term "DIY". I do my own wiring when necessary and it is always at or above code. Then again, the only terms I can think of for the kind of wiring job you describe aren't politically correct. Sorry, didn't mean to insult DIY for people who are absolutely capable of doing those projects. When it comes to DIY'ers who are in over their head, like I think this previous owner was, that is what I meant. cearbhaill - What flummoxes me is than no one thought to flip the breaker on the garage electrical before everyone got all in a tizzy! That would have been almost anyone's first thought. Rose is right. I think I used the wrong terminology. It was because of the overloaded circuits/plugs in the garage attic. gweekie - Sparksals, there is really good health care in the twin cities and I encourage you to get this checked out once you move. I am having a partial joint replacement in my left hand this coming Friday - had the same procedure on my right hand in June, and it has really made a huge difference in my life! My only regret was that I didn't have it sooner. Also consider checking out the Mayo Clinic in Rochester - which is where I had my surgery. good luck with your surgery gweekie! That's next on the list once we are settled - to find a GP and then an orthopod. This is one of the pains of moving to a new city. It took me over a year to find my GP in Tucson. Hope it doesn't take that long because I don't think I can tolerate waiting another year for this surgery. kec - I've heard great things about the Mayo. I will definitely check it out. It was in the 40's last week and dipping down to -2F midweek. My poor pups are going to be freezing again. Poor things. Right now, I'm occupying myself tryign to figure out paint colours for the masterbedroom and kitchen. I was going to put new carpet in, but decided to hold off. I hoped to put it in prior to the move to make things easier, but as always with buying a house, that makes money a bit tight and with the weather, I don't want it ruined by the movers walking in and out, even if they can put down runners.

Lovely! The drapes are wonderful. I think the fabric choice is very nice - I like it a lot better than some of the patterned fabrics we had looked at before. I think the extra pillow on the couch would be nice, but I would like to see a lighter toned fabric that reflects the lighter feel of the two chairs, perhaps even a needlepoint with a lighter background. One thing I would try is moving the couch closer to the fireplace, rather than putting it smack dab in the center of the room. I think it will create a cozier feel as a grouping with the leather chair, and will also open up that walkway in front of the two chairs a bit. Also, you will be able to get a smaller area rug to define just the space containing the leather chair, couch and coffee table, and let the chairs feel like a bit of a separate seating space. I think the room will feel wider that way. I would consider a round coffeetable, to put some curves into that area and also compliment the round mirror and london arms on the chairs. One more thought. Take the glass display cabinet that is by the entrance to the space, and angle it in the corner. It has glass sides that will not seem too bulky when it is turned, it will be a visual compliment to the tv on the opposite corner, and it will fill the space better, imo. And if that has lighting in it, use it. It will add warmth to the room over there.