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.