If you figure that you're going to need that CDIC back-up, better put your money into a small bank, for several banks have failed and I think that quite a few feel that if a fair-sized bank goes broke, the CDIC till will be bare. Being a gov't. agency, there'd likely be back-up, but that would cause substantial delay, quite likely ... and incur more debt for the U.S. gov't., which has taken on far too much, now. As most of that debt is held abroad, they'll have to start paying higher rates in order to entice lenders to buy their debt instruments ... and have been printing money, with the likelihood that they'll be printing a whole lot more, soon. These mortgage-initiating rascals in recent years sure make a bank robber carrying his loot in a pillowcase look like pretty small potatoes. I remember as a kid, when I learned to ride a bicycle down our country road, wishing that the gravel on the road would become gold ... but it didn't take me long to realize that if it were gold for me, it would be for everyone else, as well ... and that soon it would take more than a pocketful of gold to buy a loaf of bread. How long has it been since the U.S. Dollar was backed by gold? Or silver? Our Dollar - same game. And - when your economy gets a cold ... ours gets pneumonia. What's the expected time-frame when you'll need to use those assets? Almost 10 years ago, when I was 70, I called a financial planner on a phone-in radio show to say that I felt that I should plan to fund my life to age 100, which was six blocks of five years each. Fortunately, I was able to live on somewhat less than my three pensions, and expected to be able to do so for some time - now, 10 years later, same story. But it seemed to me that were I to need some of the assets to live on, I should not eat up all of the first block in the first five years, for it would no longer be there to earn some income for my future needs. In fact, I thought that I should try to avoid using any more than that first block of the six in the first 10 years ... especially considerig that inflation would cause me to need more dollars to live the same lifestyle, a few years down the road. You know - that "inflation" that has shrunk the value of each one of our dollars-in-hand in every year since the late 1930s. And money in the bank is like money-in-hand: each dollar of the principal doesn't grow (but it sure does shrink). Which means that I would not plan to use up 83% of my asset during that first 10 year period, and that a number of financial advisors feel that purchasing stocks for more than a 10-year time horizon makes sense. He said that my plan made a lot of sense, in his view. Short-term, if we fear losing capital, we need to invest in guaranteed dollars ... but long-term, those guaranteed dollar investments, after paying tax, and adding some to principal in order to maintain purchasing power, leave little for the investor. If anything. Now, at 80, I carry about 80% of my assets in equity-based investments. That would make many people have a hairy ... but I feel comfortable with it. Yes, I have some losses, but I have some gains, as well ... and the tax structure here encourages holding equities. A single taxpayer with no income but dividends on Canadian stocks can earn over $46,000. before being required to pay ONE CENT of income tax (and having a low-income spouse with transferrable credits, or gifts to charity or a political campaign, or eligible medical/dental bills over 4.5% [in that case - 3% ordinarily] of net income will push that $46,000.+ tax-free income level even higher). Some time ago, I wrote a thread either here or on "Money Saving Tips", I think, asking which ordinary person gained from inflation, and who loses. When you put your money in the bank, say $10,000., 15 years ago, they guaranteed to pay you back every dollar, in addition to the rent on the money. There's another guarantee, that they never mention - they won't pay you one dollar more, either. And the value of each of those dollars has shrunk, in every one of those 15 years ... as it has every year since the 1930s. That $10,000. would have bought a nice car, 15 years ago ... not now. I figured a while ago, when I could borrow at 6.25%, that most of the time I could come close to breaking even on such a loan, using it to purchase quality stocks. So ... now, when I can borrow for 4.75%, breaking even should be an even greater probability, no? If I'd borrowed your $10,000. from the bank, 15 years ago and paid only the interest in the years since (which I would never recommend, on a consumer loan) .................................................................................................................................................... ................................... when I go into the bank to pay off the loan, now, how much will I need to pay? Yes - $10,000. Which they will give to you, to pay off your CD, if you ask. I gained from inflation, because I paid off the loan in depreciated dollars - you lost, since each of those dollars would buy less than when you loaned it out to the bank, 15 years ago. The only value that your money would ever produce, relative to each of those years, was made right then ... and it was taxed - then ... and, in Canada, it's taxed at top marginal rate. When I used those borrowed dollars to buy quality (retirement type) stocks, and since I came close to breaking even each year on the loan that I made, on average, over the last fifteen years, my investment in stocks grew quite a lot, so now, when I sell them, after paying off the loan, I have quite a lot of money left in my pocket. Which asset was built with your money, not mine. Granted - if the stocks went down in value - I had to find the money somewhere else to pay back to the bank. But, as you know ... they didn't. And, over a time horizon of 10 years or so, they haven't. And a bonus for me - as the value of those quality stocks went up ... so did the annual rate of dividends that they paid. When I bought shares in a Canadian bank 41 years ago for $4.20 or so (also referred to below), they produced annual dividends of about a dime or 12 cents per year: now they pay $3.48. As the number of dollars in a CD doesn't change over the years ... the amount of interest that they produce doesn't change much, either. But - my investment in shares of a Canadian bank have gone from $106. in May, 2007 to just over $62.00 now ... why? They put substantial amounts into those sub-prime U.S. mortgages ... and that "asset-backed commercial paper" ("acid-backed commercial paper"??) that some of the U.S. financial scoundrels were peddling. That now the U.S. government, which can't afford to, is going to partially bail them out of. As some say - socialism for the rich ... private enterprise for the low-level guys who get stuck with the bill ......................... when the rich guys pull a big-time goof (but the rich guys get to keep their previously ill-gotten loot). Remember the savings and loan fiasco of, what, 20 years or so ago? Have you given thought to how much it has cost for the Mccain-Obama campaign over the past couple of years? Where do you figure that money came from? Apart from the costs associated with running for Congress or the Senate, etc. Good wishes for increasing skill in managing your income ... and your assets. ole joyful

One piece of wisdom I would like to add for those who are building a house, completely gutting a first floor, or adding an addition... Design the entire area together as one piece. Don't wait too long to plan the Kitchen...including the layout. (Door styles, etc. can wait 'til later, layout cannot.) You really should be planning the entire first floor (or addition) at once along with the Kitchen layout so you won't end up w/a Kitchen area that's difficult to make work properly. I've seen so many people who are building, etc. who just draw in a quick area and say, "that'll be the kitchen...details later." Then, when later comes, it's difficult to fit the kitchen they want in the space they've allocated for it. We've seen many posts where people say...our kitchen will be here w/these dimensions...but what I want won't fit, so how do I make it work??? (Or they go into denial and say, "It will be OK with these narrow aisles or dysfunctional layout.") They usually tell us they've either finalized all windows/doors/walls or that they've already installed/built those windows/doors/walls so nothing can be changed...and then want us to come up with some "miracle" layout that will still allow them to have what they want. The placement of those windows/doors/walls is important to all rooms, but especially the Kitchen, so do it all together. People forget that in many respects, the Kitchen is the most important room in the house. So don't treat it like it's the least important by putting it off until later & "making do" with what you're stuck with! Plan it up-front! (If we ever build again, the Kitchen layout will be one of the first things planned...not the last!)

Thank you all for posting the pictures -- it helps me visualize. The look definitely works for transitional or traditional cabinetry. I'm still trying to figure out if a modern look requires wider. Fouramblues, I asked my architect and GC a few times about whether our city has a MUA requirement. They both said they had never heard of one (and they both appear to be allergic to research). I tried researching myself online without any luck. We live in SoCal (no AC) and leave the kitchen window open most of the year for fresh air, so that is our MUA plan, lol. We also have a 50-year-old house that is not even close to air tight. Secondhalf, is that the Kobe RA-02-1? Are you satisfied with the finish? I was considering the 42" 1000 CFM version of that hood. I could only find 1 Kobe hood in a local store. It was a different model (pyramid with straight corner instead of beveled) and there was a visible seam all the way up the "corner" where the front panel overlapped the sides panel (i.e., the pyramid part was made with 3 pieces of metal instead of 1). Is that how your hood is constructed, or is the lower part seamless? Also, how much space do you have between your uppers and the hood? GreenDesigns, I thought I could offset size with higher CFMs. Would I be better off with a 42" 715 CFM hood? One hood in my budget that I find aesthetically pleasing (other than the mesh filters) is the Zephyr Venezia. I'm not sure I will ever use the grill on the range, as we grill outdoors year round. I only bought that model because it was a floor model at 35% off. If I had realized what venting my "bargain" range would cost, I would have skipped it. Now I wish I had bought induction, as it would have been cheaper to replace all my pots and pans if I could use a simple 600 CFM hood.

Yardtractor1: The classen slit seeder did an awesome job. Yes, there was a very visible corn row effect upon germination, however Classen recommends you slit seed at 45 degree angles, so the corn row effect is less visible. Plus, after the lawn thickens up in a couple months, you never see the corn row effect. Morpheuspa- as usual, your level of science & knowledge of analyzing soil test reports is scary, in a very good way. It never ceases to amaze me that you take a fair amount of time out of your day to help others that are in need. I will take photos of my lawn on an overcast day before I embark on this journey. I'll also take a few photos after seeding, and again during the spring and fall of next year. I will follow your plan to a "T", and I'm sure the results will be awesome. Hopefully the before & after pictures will validate the time and effort you put forth helping others. Dchall- Regarding the soil, let me put it this way: If my soil was light gray instead of brown, I'd swear it was concrete. I haven't done a screwdriver test after it has rained, however I have when it is dry. On average I could probably make it 1.5" to 2" down before I couldn't go any further. And that is no exaggeration. To make it easier to collect my soil samples, I ordered a soil test probe on ebay for $20. It is about 3' long, and has a T-Handle at the top. ***I was not able to drive it deeper than 2 inches in most places. Logan Labs recommends taking the soil sample at a depth of 6", so here was my Handy Man solution: I literally took my cordless drill with a 1" diameter drill bit and drilled 4" into the soil. Then, I cleared out all of the loose soil from that hole and then proceeded to use the soil test probe to get soil samples between 4-6" deep. I must say, for anybody else that has super compacted soil, the cordless drill trick will save you an hour, literally. The soil is usually very dry. I haven't used any magnesium products on the yard. We've been in the house for 3 years, so I'm not sure what the previous homeowner did to treat the soil. There is a possiblity that a very very small amout of salt got on a portion of the yard nearest the road (they do pretreat the roads during the winter in VA before it snows) but I seriously doubt it would have drifted 20' into my front yard.