I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

alexandria58

The Gospels were written many years after the time that Jesus allegedly lived, as has been pretty well documented. The strongest authorities believe they weren't written in the same century as the one that Jesus is reported to have lived in.   I think there is evidence in the Gospels themselves  of the fact that these were not written contemporaneously = and probably not by Jews or people very familiar with Jewish customs.  So, for the sake of argument, look at the consistency and logic of the scene described earlier - where the disciples take out their swords to defend Jesus from the soldiers. 

1.  Does any other part of the New Testament describe them as having swords?  In fact, weren't they basically living lives of poverty?  Four were fisherman, one tax collector, no word on the others, but they were not soldiers.  Why would they even have swords?  They're walking around preaching, healing the sick, etc.  Did Jesus need an armed guard?  In fact, to the contrary, didn't Jesus tell them to sell everything they had and follow him?  Wouldn't they have sold their swords if they had had them, which fishermen, who would have been pretty poor, wouldn't have had anyway?  So, did they go out and buy some swords - or did they magically came up with swords?  Must be the latter.

2.  Not only did they magically come up with swords, they magically came up with them at a Passover seder.  So they're planning to celebrate the Seder and they think, hmm, need some bitter herbs, some wine, some matzoh, a nice brisket for dinner ... and some swords.  Really? For the celebration of the most important holiday in the ancient Jewish calendar, you're going to get a sword - and take it to the seder?  Where'd they get the money to buy swords, anyway?  Oh wait, forgot.  They got them magically.

Just rambling, but I thought it amusing.  Almost as amusing as the fact that so many of the followers of the Prince of Peace do not follow his teaching about the poor, non-violence, and lack of judgment towards others.  (Anyone who genuinely follows those teaching will forgive my impertinence.)

pip57

Thanks for asking ladies.  We are absolutely loving our new home.  We are pretty well settled except that we don't have a kitchen yet.  (And I am the one who said "move in ready"only)  However, we are making out quite fine without it for a while.  My dh does all the cooking (he got a new BBQ) and I have one of the bathrooms set up to do the cleaning.  The weather here has been beautiful.  We swim in the lake or the pool most days.  I have learned the proper way to play bocce ball and will join the teams for next summer.  The neighbours are very friendly and helpful.  My mom is very happy being back at the water where she started her life 85 years ago.  We go for a long walk every night and not one car will pass by.  Oh yeah, and the misquitoes are barely noticeable in our little community.  We will still add on a screened in porch but it isn't as urgent as I had expected to be.

I will send a couple of before and after pics when my dh is handy to help me.  It will be MUCH quicker that way.

alexandria58

Pip - congrats on the new house.

kad2kar

Where does the the Tower of Babel fit into the timeline?  God did that so maybe Mother Nature,Buddha,Mohammed and all the Deities were created in the new languages of the Supreme Being's plan for all the new people. JMHO

GG and Pip----enjoy your nesting time!

ATHENA and ENJOYFUL and everyone get better, we ALL Love you----kad2kar

Enjoyful

Silly hoomans, guns are for kids.  In Mark (forget the precise reference), Jesus urged us to turn the other cheek when we were assaulted.  Now, why would we turn that cheek?  To better reach our guns, of course!  Therefore, God, through Jesus, supports our right to own guns.  Simple logic, people.

Lots of pain in my ribs and spine and lots of fatigue.  My couch is my new best friend.  I did manage to ride Sampson Wednesday, and we had a lovely trotting exercise without stirrups.  Such a good boy.

Where is our ATHENA??  I miss you, dear girl!

E

suzieq60

E - I hope that lovely man is looking after you. Glad you can still ride Sampson - go for it when you can.

All quiet on the home front - we are finally visitor free but miss the babies terribly. Poor Poppy has taken a day or so to realise it's safe to come out from under the bed.

Been having neck trouble, so doc visit followed by physio visits x 2 - he cracked my neck both times - meanie.

alexandria58

E- hahaha.  You forgot about the sermon at the Dead Sea where Jesus took a gun with nine rounds and multiplied it into thousands of AK-47s.  "And the people were amazed and sore afraid."  (The Gospel  of George, 10-5).

Sending you good thoughts and hugs.  Hoping you feel well enough to take Sampson out for another spin.

bluedahlia

That's the Gospel of Nugent dear!  Ray's daughter is visiting, so my time on computer is limited.

IllinoisLady

gardengumby

Hubby and I are now in discussions about flooring.  The house we are buying has carpets everywhere and our allergies pretty much preclude carpet - so it's going.  The question at hand now is where do we put tile and where do we put hardwood.  I'm pushing for tile in the kitchen, dining room and family room.  Hardwood or bamboo for the living room and hallway - and I'm a bit in a quandary over bedrooms - but they'll probably end up being hardwood or bamboo.  The real estate guy was trying to talk him (hubby) into hardwood in the family room and dining room - he thinks tile isn't good for resale.  I think he's wrong.  Especially so, since the exits to the backyard/deck are in: the master bedroom, the family room and the dining room.  I don't want all three ways into the house from the backyard or deck to be onto hardwood.

whaddayall think??

Pip, your place sounds lovely. 

RetiredLibby

I agree with you - tile the places with exits to the yard/deck (except for the bedroom - hardwood or bamboo there, I agree).  Is the dining room a formal kind of room or a casual kind of country kitchen/great room flow?  That would be my only consideration.  If the dining room is formal, then hardwood or bamboo. If it is country kitchen/great room flow, then tile would be fine.  I like tile in the family room for resale, too.

L

lassie11

I like hardwood wherever possible because that's what is in most parts of my house. Vinyl tile is in the front hall, kitchen and upstairs bathroom - it doesn't shatter things that fall and is softer on bare toes. There's no problem cleaning the hardwood in the dining room - it has survived three children growing up and now two grandchildren spilling on it. (This house has no eat in kitchen so the dining room has had much use).

pip57

We put down a laminate floor everywhere except kitchen, front hall entrance and bathrooms...they are all tiled.  The laminate is an inexpensive 'hickory' that is super easy to keep clean and is very forgiving when wet.  Every single person that has come in has made a comment about how they love the floor.

 We have had hardwood in the past.  Not easy to keep and very unforgiving if you have kids or pets. 

I now hate carpets.  It is unbelievable how much dirt and dust they hold even if cleaned everyday. 

gardengumby

Libby - the dining room is not formal - it flows into the kitchen and family room - kitchen, dining and family room are all basically the same room - with a great huge brick surround with wood burning stove.  Lassie our last house had a lot of hardwood, and hubby's statement when leaving was that he didn't EVER want hardwood again - he worries too much about scratches - so it's not really what DOES happen, more what he worries about happening.... and for some reason he doesn't like laminate - I think it's the same worry about what might happen.

The other consideration is that hubby can/will install tile.  Hardwood/bamboo must be laid by someone else - so cost is higher.  Currently the entry and master bath are tile.  Kitchen, dining, laundry room and main bath are vinyl.  I don't know what hubby's plan is for main bath, but I asked him to leave vinyl in the laundry, and I'm fine with him leaving it in the main bath as well, if that's what he chooses. 

I do prefer tile in the kitchen and dining room - though, of course, you are totally right about things shattering more easily when dropped.  But because the family room must be refloored - and it's really all one big room, I prefer the flooring to be the same throughout that room (right now the family room is carpet while the kitchen/dining is vinyl). Hubby is very persnickety about different levels of floors, so removing vinyl to put down either hardwood or tile is more difficult, because the subflooring has to be torn out as well - otherwise the floors end up different heights (and I especially trip on them - cuz I'm a klutz).

alexandria58

I like tile a lot.  Big advantage is ease of care once it's down.  Depending on the amount of use, wood floors need periodic resanding and refinishing.  Tile's just there unless you break it.  And if you get the right pattern, doesn't show all that much dirt.

Anonymous

Enjoyful & Alexandria - I am still chortling at our posts - just fantastic.

E- so sorry for the pain, but happy you & Sampson got to play for a bit.

Now; Alexandria "Not only did they magically come up with swords, they magically came up with them at a Passover seder.  So they're planning to celebrate the Seder and they think, hmm, need some bitter herbs, some wine, some matzoh, a nice brisket for dinner ... and some swords.  Really?"  SIMPLY THE BEST. You gotta be writing some delicious comedy in your current novel - Seder dinner will never be the same!!!!

I vote for bamboo floors - and WHY in the universe would you be worrying about 'resale' b4 you've moved in

lassie11

I forgot to mention that my hardwood is old and full of marks so that one more makes no difference. If it were that shiny kind that shows every little mark, I absolutely would agree with your husband.  And of course it makes sense to ease the costs with your inhouse skills!

QuinnCat

GG - I'm going to reply to your flooring question without reading the other responses first.  I basically remodeled my whole house, which was previously carpet and vinyl.   I put wood floors in my living, kitchen, and hallways.  I would have put it in my bedrooms too, but I ran out of $$.  I absolutely love wood.  It is warm, easy to clean and looks fantastic.  I'm surprised, but I love it in the kitchen too.  My kitchen and living are open to each other, so I did not want a change in flooring type.   Better to have one kind of flooring where the eye can travel.  I think this is a decorating rule - do not break up floor types in one living area.  The only exception might be if you have a step down to a different area, but on the same plane, same area, same flooring.  Especially in a smaller house...especially, otherwise it gets choppy looking.

Tile is cold and very hard.  Things break when you drop it on tile, that don't on wood.  In the PNW, I would want the "warmth: of wood.  Having neuropathy (from chemo), I'm thankful I have something soft to walk on and I can definitely go barefoot on wood.  Never on tile, or rarely, in this climate.

As far as the tile in my bathroom, it is a practical solution and it provides all kinds of decorating opportunities.  In my new bigger bathroom, I put heated tile in.  I never use that feature!!  I probably would, if I used the bathroom more on a regular basis and used the timer to have it come on, but that brings me to the nature of tile - it is cold on the feet and this is no small matter in the winters.  As far as water - it is a very good thing.

If I lived in a old-fashioned house, or had a separate kitchen, I would consider marmoleum (the original linoleum) in a kitchen and/or bathroom.  It is totally natural (linseed oil), so no weird offgasing issues.  It is warm and comfortable on the feet.

Most people prefer carpet/rugs in bedrooms, so If I had the $$, I would have put wood with rugs in the bedroom.  I do love wood.  So easy to clean and after having carpet (and still having it in my bedrooms), I know nothing is lurking anywhere with the wood.

btw, I used douglas fir wood, as I've always coveted the Craftsman's of the PNW and OG DF was the standard, but no one sells OG (old growth) DF these days because what is left is left for the owls and wolverines, but 2nd growth is very similar, but it is soft soft soft.  I knew that going in, but didn't realize how soft, so dropping even a fork can sometimes dig in.  Better to go with oak or some other hardwood, unless you put throw rugs stategically placed around the sink, refridgerator and DW.  I love my wood, though, in my kitchen. 

As far as resale...wood wood wood.

Edited to add - I did put tile in my entryway.  If your entryway is your mudroom (i.e. don't have a separate entrance, then it is good to have somewhere to take off muddy and wet shoes.

QuinnCat

Oh E - missed your post.  Did you get any news from your CT Scan?  So glad you are having great times with Sampson.  I find my animals to be my best therapy.

gardengumby

sunflowers - hubby ALWAYS worries about resale.    The last place we lived 14 years, but the one before that only a few months before he realized it wasn't the place he wanted to be.  The one before that was 12 years....

We could end up in this home for the rest of our days - but there is right now an equal possibility that we move permanently to Hawaii - so we're trying to be cautious.  One of our criteria for purchase was resale value....

Chickadee

Our final house is a small inexpensive ranch. Tile is common here in the hotter climate. Our carpet smelled like dogs. So I was glad to finally rip it all out. We tiled everything but the bedrooms and they have wood like laminate. Area rugs take care of the places where dropping things is a problem like in front of the fridge.



I find wood of much work, but that's just me.

crazy4carrots

We have engineered hardwood in the living/dining/kitchen/hallway and original hardwood and tile in the rest.  We were lucky, when putting on the main floor addition, to find the same engineered hardwood (manufactured in NC) to match what was here when we bought this house 12 years ago.

I find the only thing that does not leave streaks on the hardwood is Swiffer changeable mops.  Weird, huh?  I find the bathroom tiles too cold (even in summer) for my liking.  Wish that our previous owners had installed in-floor heating!  Area carpets are great.  I'd never, ever have broadloom again.  Well, we did put it throughout the basement, but I wish we hadn't.

gardengumby

yeah - my last house had tile through the entry, kitchen and dining room.  I liked the easy care.  I did break a few things, though. I'm also not fond of keeping light grout clean, but the counters in this house have black grout and I think we'd continue that theme - though with whit(ish) tile instead of the blue of the counters.  I like wood, but worry a bit more when moving things, as it can scratch. 

But, Kam, as you say, wood is much more warm to the tootsies.    We normally wear birkenstocks or keens in the house, anyway, though (a carry-over from a couple bad cases of plantar fascitis a number of years ago) so don't worry too much about cold feet.  I grew up in a house that had fir floors, and it was very soft compared to the oak of our last house.  I understand bamboo is harder - especially strand bamboo - but I also understand that strand bamboo is impregnated with resin - so I worry about off-gassing - has anyone heard of any problems with that?

pip57

I was unsure about no carpet in the bedroom. But, I am actually liking it.  It is amazing the (sorry, going to be disgusting here) little hairs and skin dander that the bedroom floor holds from our dressing, undressing, hair brushing etc.  So much easier to keep clean.  If I find it cold in the winter, we will buy runners to put beside the bed and just toss them when necessary. 

My dh is also picky about the flooring.  He replaced all the subfloors so that everything would be even throughout the house and no seams between rooms.  The tile in the kitchen has the proper subfloor so that even it is a smooth transition between wood and tile.

gardengumby

Pip, our last house had wood floors in the bedrooms and I never seemed to need a runner beside the bed - though Ontario winters are undoubtedly much colder than Seattle ones....

suzieq60

GG - we only have tile in our bathrooms and downstairs family room/laundry. I would never have tile in the kitchen/dining room. When you say bamboo - do you mean the stuff that looks like wood - I've seen it at my aunts in NZ and it looks really great. I think it's really tough. Why have real wood when you can have look alike. Our house is very old and we have polished wood floors upstairs in the dining room and lounge - they are the original floors.

IllinoisLady

Ah....the joy of going carpetless.  Due to ( thankfully slight for the most part ) allergic reactions and animals, we chose to forgo carpet.  It is dirty and the only people I've seen being very successful with it are the ones who never walk over it with their shoes.  The shoes come off in the mud room. 

That was too much for me, though I didn't mind when I went somewhere.  Since we had our animals too....I would not have been able to maintain a "clean" carpet anyway.  We have inlaid and laminate farm-house planks.  We put the laminate everywhere.....means kitchen, living room and two bedrooms with the bath and half bath getting inlaid along with the smaller office/storage bedroom.  The laminate has not been difficult at all for cleaning.  Using a soft mop and lots of vinegar in the mop water.  We did have a got flooded issue in the kitchen....but a pipe under the sink burst.....and by the time we could get the water all the way off......whoops.  It is ok, but does show slight rasied areas.....one of these days.  Good thing we can live with it. 

As we essentially live out in the woods....we do not have drapes either.  We have some longish valances that work quite well and our bank of windows on our deck has the long plastic vertical panels that open and close  -- have to admit, it is more to keep the summer sun at bay than privacy.....as we pull them all the way back.....even in winter and leave them.  They are easy to remove and wash though.  We have an eat in kitchen, but could use the area in front of the bank of windows on the deck though it is technically part of the living room.  My rooms here are on an L shape pretty much.  Foyer is long and turning to the right is the living room and going to the end of it and turning to the left puts you into the kitchen.  All open to each other save for one living room wall ( one doorway leading to a bedroom and the other doubledoor-way leading to kitchen ) and it makes the house seem huge when it is not.

I think we will never again have carpet.  As a former Realtor.....carpet does tend to make homes seem inviting --- but so very often, what you pick out is never quite the shade someone else thinks is best.....and oh the times I've had people choosing new carpet to be layed....the minute the house is their's.  If there is to be a change.....my view now is let them change tile, or laminate --- or even carpet. 

Jackie

pupmom

Our house is 100% hardwood floors on the first floor, aside from 2 tiled bathrooms (the kitchen bathroom is also hardwood). Our finished basement is all carpet, except for the bathroom down there. Before we bought this house we looked at several beautiful houses that had tile floors throughout the living areas (carpet in the bedrooms). I would have been happy with that option also. I don't like carpet because of potential pet accidents and we have always had at least one dog. How fun to be remodeling a house!

QuinnCat

GG - my contractor (whole remodel) also owns a flooring store.  He knows wood floors.  Whenever I would gravitate to the bamboo he steered me away.  Honestly, I can't tell you why.  I see him often, so I'll ask him.  The little I know of them, you have to be careful they don't come from China (chemicals).  Maybe they are difficult to fix, match?  I don't know.  P.S. He did not favor cork flooring either.

A long time ago I put wood laminate in my bathroom.  Do not put wood laminate anywhere where water might be!!  That was a disastor.    This might be true for real wood too, but I think real wood is far more forgiving.  I just wipe up the water spills in the kitchen. I know people who put real wood in their bathroom, but I think that is asking for trouble.  (Not that you asked ) My gf has had oak in her kitchen for 20 years and it looks wonderful.  P.S. You cannot refinish laminate.

Oh, then there is the argument of pre-engineered (pre-finished) hardwood versus finished in place.  I went with the finished in place, but that's because I grew up with wood floors and that's what I was use to.   I've wondered about dirt getting into the seams of the pre-engineered, but I have no experience to say if this is a problem or not.

As far as marmoleum, I can't say enough good things about it (after real wood).  It would be great in a kitchen, bathroom or family room.  You have to have a professional lay the sheet stuff, but I think a handy person could lay the tiles.  In the olden days, they only had sheets. 

I've just instituted the no-shoes policy in my house.  That really helps to keep the floors in the best condition of all.

Here's a reasonably good article on bamboo floors:

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-benefits-problems-bamboo-flooring-5732350.html

gardengumby

Good article, Kam.  Thank-you for the link.  I wonder why your friend nixed the idea of bamboo - maybe because of what the article said about possible bad chemicals...  which would certainly be a concern for us, as I have chemical sensitivities.  Maybe back to oak or maple.  I'd prefer maple, but oak seems to be much less expensive.

About the laminate - hubby is down on it period.  The townhouse we are living in now has bamboo laminate in the kitchen/dining room - it's a nightmare.  I think I mentioned that I'm a bit of a klutz...  well, if I drop ANYTHING on the floor it dents it.  hubby is very sensitive to dents in his floor... and if it is dented, he wants it to be easy to take out that piece and put in a replacement piece - with laminate you have to take out the whole room and replace the bad piece, then put it all back...  another reason for tile....

We have indoor and outdoor shoes - and don't mix the two (well, mostly, unless we forget.... )