From a single room, a 200-year-old house in Westhampton still fits families

Standing silently for more than 200 years, a house in Westhampton has been witness to the joys and tragedies of many families. It has heard the laughter of children, the music of pump organ and guitar, and the voices of adults raised in anger and in jubilation.

Farmer Timothy Phelps built his Colonial-style house in 1796.

Get Growing: The five 'S's

A year ago gardeners were stir-crazy, praying the snow would disappear by planting season in April.

This February, despite a mild winter without snow up to the windowsills, we are just as eager for spring. That was evident last Saturday when about 25 people turned out for a lecture on big yields from small spaces by Master Gardener George Kingston of East Longmeadow.

Gardener's Checklist

Anxious to see if we are going to have an early spring or six more weeks of winter, I set out early on Groundhog Day to find the portly rodent. Unfortunately, I couldn't locate one, so I returned home, picked up my cat, Cobi, and tossed him out the door. Before I could check to see if Cobi cast a shadow, he shot off in pursuit of some fat furry creature.

Get Growing: Global warming

Snowdrops always poke their noses above the ground at my house in January, but this year they are actually getting ready to bloom early in February instead of waiting until March.

Is this a sign of global warming?

Gardener's Checklist

Mix up a solution of fertilizer. The first week of each month from November to March is when I make an application of water-soluble fertilizer to many of the plants I have growing indoors. Notice that I said "many," not "all." Some houseplants, especially tropical plants, grow very slowly through the winter.

Having it all: Modern, cozy, indoor-outdoor living

By LISA BOONE Los Angeles Times

Megan Schoenbachler is distracted. While giving a tour of her family's Marmol Radziner-designed house in Venice, Calif., she notices the light and the angle from the second-floor master bathroom, looking over the courtyard hot tub and toward the kitchen on the first floor.

What to consider when replacing a furnace

By ALAN HEAVENS The Philadelphia Inquirer

The winter has been virtually snowless, but the temperatures haven't been high enough to give your furnace a three-month vacation.

How well has your heat source been performing?