Sorry to hear about your trouble, Larry. I've received nothing fishy from you. I've had my email taken over a couple of times. My Facebook account, too. I was apparently stranded in London with the kids on a last-minute vacation. Yeah, that's something I'd do. Heh. We have Macs and have not had any viruses since making the switch several years ago. I'm a complete computer moron so it has to be pure luck that I've not yet caught one of the rare Mac viruses. I hear they're getting more common. Oh, I did have my debit card number stolen a couple of years back. The bank caught it and was very good about it. I guess I'd been buying up several hundred dollars in fancy underwear in Norway or something and they thought that might be a bit odd for me. Like old age, the internet is not for sissies, huh? Diane

can't he buy precut pieces? And simply stain them to match? Ask him to show you what sorts of precut pieces he could have access to, and see if there's anything there that will give you something similar to what you like. Maybe there's a custom millwork place he could turn to for just that piece? like this custom place or two? If it's going to add a lot to the cost (though these guys say "no matter what your budget"--though I see they show only doorways), you could decide only to have one, or something. Search on "curved" and "millwork" Here's another one: http://www.elipticon.com/ These guys look like they have a helpful and persuasive website. http://www.americantrimandwindow.com/ Then your cabinet guy could do the box, and apply the cornice. (of course, I don't know if it's hard to do a curved top of the cabinet, but he could do it w/ a slightly octagonal treatment, and have the curve be on the door and on the cornice. Here is a link that might be useful: some place like this?

Rosie: When I was growing up, my mother made me clean my room, help with the cooking, clean the kitchen after dinner and other miscellaneous chores (my mother didn't work). I did not however, mow the grass, scrub the floors, do the grocery shopping, wash the families (6 of us) laundry, help the others with their homework, pay the bills, plant the garden (although I did help weed and pick the vegetables), maintanin the cars and other household appliances. My mother worked very hard at home raising 4 kids while my father worked 12 hours, 7 days a week at Fords to provide for the family. I also went to school and got very good grades, participated in the band and played softball in the summer. At the time, I thought she was the meanest mother in the world, but when I got married at 20, I found out that I had no problem keeping a house, working full time, going to school at night and eventually having children. I was capable of doing all this because my mother prepared me for adulthood. I am very gratefully for that now. Take my stepdaughter for example. I entered her life when she was 15 (she is now 18). She lived with her mother for a few months in the beginning, but decided she preferred to live with her dad and I (and my boys)full time. She did not assist me in any way with anything to do with the house, but was very demanding about being driven here and there and asking for money as if it grew on trees. I asked for her help ie: taking her own dishes off the table and putting them in the dishwasher, etc, and she said she shouldn't have to do that because her mother made her do those things when she was 4 years old. This seemed to be a common excuse which her father and grandmother (who lived with them for 4 years) says did not happen. I didn't want to be a b**chy stepmother , so I didn't press the issue. She was getting good grades in school and was a cheerleader so I figured her time was better spent on those activities. Big mistake!!! She is now 18 and can't even make it out of bed for a 10:00 class at college. She has been late for work many times because she "just slept in" (I can't believe they haven't fired her). Her claim now is that she is 18 and is legally an adult and we cannot ask her to do anything. She began college in September and has now dropped out because she cannot balance, work (20 hrs wk), school 4 classes and socializing with her friends. She demands to be treated like an adult,but was never made to accept any responsibility, so she doesn't know how to act like an adult. I firmly believe that if she had been made to be a part of the family and take responsibility for helping in the running of the household, she would be better prepared for "adulthood". So now we have a disrespectful, inconsiderate, lazy 18 year old in our house that causes a terrible disruption to the rest of the family. How am I supposed to teach my boys how to be proper, respectful, considerate young men when they have an example just the opposite in the household? We have now thrown away $2500.00 in college tuition (which we can't afford) and she has forfeited a $2500.00 MEAP scholarship. What a waste!!! But let's not forget, she has lots of time to socialize with her friends now!!!!! That is really going to get her far in life. Kids need to know that life is not easy and having them help around the house is not going to cause them any harm.

Ugh, this is turning into a nightmare. I can't even begin to articulate the headache I've endured with this kitchen remodel. As far as the counters go, I purchased through home depot. The quartz I wanted was discontinued, so I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get HD to approve a switch to a different stone that they don't normally carry. Now, this fabricator has already ordered the stone. I don't know what i'm on the hook for and what I'm not. I called up HD tonight and complained that I thought the fabricator was lying to me to cover up his obvious lack of skill. We'll see how far that gets me.