Rosewitch, England was definitely one of my favorite places I have ever visited. My folks took me there when I was 14, and I remember bits and pieces the Crown jewels, walking amongst the Stonehenge stones (roped off now, vandalism), Stratford upon Avon. Time for me to take my own 14YO. Im trying to think how I can get over there for a whole summer, LOL. Dlynn, I could have worked so much more. I didnt really look at night time stuff and there was loads to do. Greece: cant help you, but shoot Yasou a line, she went a few years ago. LOL Annie! Teresa, well go together. I wanted to explore more cooking and food shops/stores but didnt get to. Terri, here is more a link to Pictures of England, a website pointed out to me by Denise. I started it on Bourton on the Water, where we stayed for a few days. Thanks Sharon, I was actually thinking how can I even come close to posting her quality of travel guides, I dont do the pictures she does LOL. We might have sat at the same table in the Cheshire Cheeses dining room! Sawdust still there, but we didnt make it to the cellar. I missed a lot of the British Museum. It has changed.check out the new atrium. I couldnt keep up with DH and DS16. Afternoons, when I planned museums, I crashed. Next time! Pam, lots of people did more than we did per day! Theater every night, more attractions, I cant imagine. Gina heh heh yeah I need another vacation like a hole in my head. Speaking of whichDH has another week off in August. Nooooooooo! Kathleen, DH says he took an average of 200 pictures a day. Yup. Me, I just buy the post cards or Google the images, same thing (DARFC from the photo bugs here) Cathy, thanks for giving me the War and Peace moniker heh heh. Next time I go with CF friends! LindaC, I know. Im still exhausted. Speaking of the V&A, did you know there was a Dale Chihuly chandelier in the entrance room?

We replaced a 30" Jenn Air slide in range with a 36" Dacor rangetop. This meant that we had to have the granite cut. We had to purchase a base cabinet for beneath the rangetop. We also removed a 15" cabinet that was to the right of the range and made up the difference by installing a 9" pull out spice rack beside the new 36" base cabinet. The installation is in an island, so we didn't have to deal with upper cabinets. All in all, we are thrilled with the result. It wasn't cheap. Total installation cost was about $3000, which also included installation of a telescoping downdraft ventilation and reconfiguration of another cabinet to accomodate a new double wall oven.

Like Pesky, I'm in major pain at night; plus going through "changes" (45); sleep is not something I've been getting a lot of for a few months. I take a 5mg Melatonin; then a Lunesta an hour later. If neither of them work, I add a Tylenol PM. Going to sleep at 8:30-9 would be my ideal. I'm so exhausted by then. If I'm not allowed to go to sleep then (depends where my teen is), I will get a 2nd wind and will be up until hub's alarm clock goes off at 2:15am. I felt better going to sleep early and waking up at 5:30 - 6; but right now, that's not happening. As far as the 2nd subject that came up; I was falling asleep on the couch, usually have an icepack on my back; and when I went to the bed, I would get a 2nd wind or I was waking hub up when I got in bed. No matter how quiet I tried to be; he would always wake up. I also get up to use the bathroom, that wakes him up too. When you live with a truck driver; you have to adjust so they get enough sleep. If I fall asleep on the couch, I stay there. Sleeping after cancer - hub sweats a lot at night. There are times I have to change the bed daily. He is also very cold all of the time; I'm always hot due to flashes. We're anticipating his thyroid has been fried from radiation; but it usually takes a year before it will show up. Does it bother us that we can't always sleep together? Yes; but right now this is the hand we've been dealt.

How do you find a kitchen designer? I dunno. I haven't found one that I've hired yet. I'm interviewing one Monday. This person was on a list that I got at the Master Builder's Association booth at a home show. We have also talked to acquaintances who have redone kitchens. The "word on the street" was very mixed on the KDs they used. One co-worker said, "best money I ever spent" (but he lost her contact info). Another said, "I gave her 1000 bucks and I don't think she did anything to earn it." (so not interviewing that one) Hence, I'm starting with a random name on a list. I do plan to check references. Before I started looking for "paid help", though, I posted floor plans on this forum, and I got a free cabinet quote from a lumberyard to give me a rough idea of what semi-custom cabinets would cost for my space. I also researched appliances on-line and peeked at my top choices at an appliance store. Website searches on things like "floor refinishing" and "replacement windows" gave me some vague ballpark estimates to plug into a preliminary budget. But, now that I have a layout that I like, and a feel for a couple big chunks of my budget, I need some help with dealing with the tons of little details and options. I want to have my materials options pretty well decided before I start interviewing contractors, because if each contractor fills in their own materials, then the bids won't be apples-to-apples comparisons. My advice would be to figure out as much as you can on your own or with stores that offer free advice before you consider paying someone else by the hour for help. As you do your research, keep asking around and maybe you'll come across some names. At the very least, if there is a builder's association for your area, you might be able to find a list like I did. Good luck.