Hi, yes, they are metal counters. And rusting! Yes, we want to rip everything out. The floor is linoleum tile but in poor condition, and below it is plywood patched with the old hardwood (but there is only a small amount of the old hardwood). One flooring issue I wonder about is whether we must rip out the existing floor/subfloor, down to the joists, and level from there -- the floor is about 1.25 out of level across the whole large space. could we level on top of current floor and put boards on top of this (even though it would create a step down to hall and adjacent room), or are there more than aesthetic issues here (could such a floor crack when heavy appliances put on it?) Ceiling: is amazingly horrible after decades of bad work. Was once lovely -- a cove plaster ceiling. But no longer...

I voted for the mums, but I also liked the outside branches brought inside. However, I thought the room was too overdone with the pumpkin light fixture and orange pillows. It bordered on too cheesy to me.

I have a small 50'x100' lot but grew up growing our own food. So I grow a few dwarf fruit trees like peaches, apple, and cherries. I have blueberry, raspberry, wineberry, blackberry and dwarf cranberry bushes, grape & kiwi vines, & strawberries. Perennial veggies such as artichokes, asparagus, leeks, garlic, oregano, coriander, fennel, lavendar, rosemary, sage, & thyme. As for annual vegetables, I grow cucumbers, eggplants, sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomotoes, zucchini, summer squash, spinach, chard, kale, broccoli, potatoes, green beans, peas, celery, basil, and plenty of salad greens. A coffee tree and 3 fig trees which I bring inside for the winter. Long lsland gets cold winters, we're zone 7, so I overwinter a lot of my sensitive plants in a small greenhouse. With the greenhouse I can grow spinach and lettuce year round. And of course of native pollinator plants to maximize production. So much better than growing grass.

We reside in Chicago, but our heart is out west. About ten years ago my husband had a Meyer lemon tree shipped to us. In lives out side from May through October inside through the winter where we enjoy the fragrance of its blooms if you are not familiar think gardenia. We average about 40 lemons a year we do share some while most are used for lemon drop martinis. It is a pleasure to share with the locals that citrus has varieties and for those who are very unfamiliar a band-aid after they encounter a spike. For those who are having trouble growing their lemon trees ours is potted, we use only organic potting soil and citrus food. We did pay more for a larger tree and had lemons the second year.