The funny thing is, my Mom was also one of ten children! My grandparents took literal interpretation to "Go forth and multiply".

Stones is the British standard for measuring mass but, it's use is confined to people's weight. One stone translates to 14.7 lbs.

I've been to Japan a few times, but only in transit to and from the States when I attended school in former British colonies in the Orient as a child. Those were the days when it was more common to see Japanese women in kimonos than western attire and one walked the tarmac for the stairs to board a plane.

In the UK, we are only allowed a maximum of 15% extension to our houses and it must be one employed that would not significantly alter the frontage. So, my house was walled: downstairs from my kitchen to the living room which included three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. My son took the other part of my house which included the family room, utility rooms, the downstairs bedroom and three bedrooms upstairs. The extension and alterations are on his side of the property and they have a side entrance. It took sometime for the postman to get used to their letterbox. I only had to alter my kitchen to include a utility room. We share the garden. Or rather, they tend to it ,along with my elderly friends, whilst I sit and enjoy.

I would have opted to build a granny flat behind my house for when I am older but, I have a restrictive covenant on my property and cannot erect a new building on the land. I also have restrictions on the trees I have so we could really only partition the house. Or pay £20,000 penalty for each tree that gets felled in the process. Apart from estate planning, refurbishing the house was also a security measure. I lived alone and had an attempted break-in. My children thought it would be best if my son rented out his property and moved closer to me.

mom and lola, I've been listening in on your conversation and wanted to join in.

Our daughter who is 22 is livng with us now and probably will be for quite some time. She is in her original room and is trying to take over another room. She's busting out of her room, and I'm trying to contain her to one room. HA. She works part time and is in taking couple classes.

Our oldest lived home and saved for a down payment after college. He now has a home in the city with renters. It seems to be working.

Our youngest is 21 and lives in Brooklyn as a director of photography/camera man. He has an apartment there but freelances and travels most of the time.

I was a stay at home mom and totally loved it. I can't tell you how much I enjoy having the kids around. We see quite a bit of our son in the city. In fact, we're going to help him paint his living room this Sunday, and I'm happy to help. Our youngest we get to see in spurts. He'll work for weeks or months, but when he's off, he loves to be home her in MD, and we love having him around. He's on a 52 day gig and finishes December 7th. HE is coming home that day, meaning here, not Brooklyn, and I coudln't be happier.

I understand the love of family.

mom, happy to have you aboard.

I'm going to start a forum about Thanksgiving.