Nancy: sorry about the colds. After I made all these wonderful plans last week, woke up Friday AM with a doozy! Bruce has been wonderful and I did find taking a Mucinex D in the am, got me through the stuff I had to do. Hope you are both on the mend.

I love the idea of the concrete patio. Terrific idea. Our deck is not enclosed, but we do not have the insect issues here that you do. Little bug spray at dusk takes care of it. Not that we do much dusk sitting anymore-lol. Like you, we used to do it all the time. I wanted a patio put in just outside the back door, but that was pre-stroke.

Please let me know how it goes. Debbie

we actually have a beautiful patio and a gazebo attached but it is a little hard access- but the problem with the bugs is the issue now - they come up from underneath the patio wood spaces and the gazebo isent screened.. and even if it was it is just more difficult to get there... and sreeening it with our ND wind ( you have no idea) it is normally at least 20 mph daily blowing - we have very few trees and we are completley flat... but misquetos and gnats and horse flys ( the biters) we have a plenty and spray unless you go nuts doesent help... i even buy the commercial stuff the farmers can get ... and i keep it all mowed but with no luck.... for us that can "swat" we survive but poor dan would get eaten alive... i kinda want to put a metal roof on it with the four corners of it braces and then screen it off . one step at a time -I'll start with a simple screen tent then if we use it then we'll invest... because later the summer the plan is still to do the addition for a bedroom and bathroon and extend the family room... dan can be so much more independent then with SPACE...my cold is improving but i'm coughing - dan seems to also be improving but i'm not hearing any deep lung cleansing coughs so i'm alittle worried about that ... time will tell

Nancy, I forget what part of ND you are in. I do remember plenty of bugs when we camped near the Missouri River a few years ago at Ft. Lincoln State Park. Between the bugs, the heat and humidity, it really got to me!