Yeah, you're probably right. DH managed to fix the computer (He is very handy at many kinds if repairs,) but I didn't order from High Country (they had up to 30% off, but I have a couple orders coming from American Meadows that need planting first.) The rose bands are very small, but they grow fast, and I love the own root concept. In fact, that is why I buy from heirloom. I have my eye on a few more too, but I think I will plant what I have now, and look again in a little while. I do still have a good bit of work to do on the new bed yet. Almost all of the edging, and, you kniow I like to lay small stepping stones in my beds so I'm not stepping on the ground and compacting it, so that will have to be done too...but not until it is edged, and the soil in the iris part is all worked and enriched and ready to plant... then I'll lay the stones. kay

The salesman intially said the demonstration would take an hour. 3 hours later they were still at my house, convincing me to purchase this vaccuum. Dont get me wrong this was an amazing Vacuum!!! However the salesman had no concerns that i most likely couldnt afford this vaccuum. He had all these different priced plans, advising the price would normally be 3000.00, however he would bring it down to 2500.00 with fewer payments. He could see that i was still struggling to figure out how i was going to finance this vaccuum, He appeared to be making phone calls to head office to bring the price down and at the last minute bought it down to 2000.00 After calcluating the interest, it ended up costing 3000.00 anyway. My main problem with this is that it felt rushed. I couldnt find 3 forms of ID and desperately wanted him to leave after 3 hours and done a stupid thing like sign the forms just so they could leave. He didnt care that i didnt have ANY form of ID, he didnt care that i didnt know my bank account number, he advised as long as i purchased and signed on the dotted line, then everything else would fall into place. He advised he couldnt come back again as this needed to be done asap. They also took my old vaccuum with them. Everything seemed dodgy, and i had my kids running around hungry so i felt extremely pressured. After they left i sat down looking at this machine thinking what the hell have i purchased??!!! I looked around on websites like trademe (nz) and found other types of machines at the price of 500.00. By this time i was pissed! I immediately called headoffice and cancelled the order and they advised someone would call me to inform me of cancellation procedures. The next day after work these two guys came over again. (no call or notification to say they were coming) They were standing asking me why i wanted to cancel the machine STILL trying to convince me that there is no other like this. They even had the nerve to sit inside and say they called head office and they would lower the price another 200.00. I ended up telling them to take their vacuum and leave my house. I asked them where my original vaccuum was and they asked me what colour it was? I told them to leave and advised them to bring back my original vaccum or else i would make a complaint and slammed the door. 5 days later i still havent recieved my old vaccuum. This whole ordeal was a horrible experience for me and these salesmen were dodgy as!!! Never again

No, bee. I'm rather adverse to blogs. Wayyy too much like Facebook in disguise: No one needs to know my every move. OTOH, you all do here! I guess someday I could consolidate my posts, trials, tribulations and triumphs and put one together. javachick, don't be afraid. It'll only slow you down. Just realize that if you break it, you gotta fix it. See, I started behind the 8-ball. Every time I turn around I find I must either pay to have something redone my DH [ahem] did, or figure out how to do it myself. I admit to saving for big redos, like the plumbing, roof, electrical, windows, drywall, etc., but I'm handling the things that don't scare me to death or I can lift myself. Building and hanging my cabinets, my counter top, lower drywall, I'll paint, and figure out how to install the moldings and trim. Then we have the outside that's not finished... Don't be scared -- but don't settle! Angie_DIY, that is way too funny. Sometimes the things I do have me thinking that. "Oh, Christine, can you be more stupid?" or, "owwwwwwwwwwwwww". Yup. Today I'm going to clean up a bit so I can drag in some of the base cabinets and try to fit them in. :) YEAH! All this under an existing counter top....

If you're thinking Arts & Crafts bungalow, you can always look to some of the originals, many of which now have painted trims (though honestly I *wish* more of them still had their original stained trim, ours included!) It was also very common to paint trim and cabinetry (and thus use "lower grade" wood, which in those days meant redwood or fir instead of oak) in the kitchen, bath, and bedrooms and have stained trim and casework in the dining and living rooms, and that worked fine. That might be a way to manage costs while still getting the look you love. And I've seen some gorgeous kitchen remodels using cherry or fir cabinets with painted white trim and white built-ins that mix it up a bit in houses where the trim had already been painted but people didn't want white kitchens (and didn't want the cost of replacing original trim!) Fir in particular is one of my faves with soapstone, though it is a soft wood so it will ding. We also have a painted gray and white kitchen, which mixes it up a bit in a different way. There's no rule that painted cabs must be white---and honestly, a lot of the reason that listings for houses of that age have painted cabinets (especially white) is that it's a very easy way to clean up and "modernize" older cabinets for resale. (At least, that happens a lot where we live---people paint and put on new counters to sell an older kitchen.) Some of those were probably put in as stained kitchens, but had woods that aren't "trendy" these days and thus dated the kitchens. I love our painted kitchen, but if we'd had the resources, we would have seriously considered QS oak or fir (even the fir was far more costly than our paint-grade poplar). I'd be sure you're okay with the tradeoff before switching gears.