You know..at this point,we're in so deep that we're just not going to worry abou it LOL We have been at this remodeling goober for so long that I just don't want to compromise on anything to "get it done". If we've made any changes at all it's to scale up a bit by not doing a few of the things I was going to do (like the painting). We also corrected a few things that needed work but weren't in the main scheme originally. I figure if we've been at it for two years...what's a couple more months. We are actually inversely related to the economy income wise (high oil and gas prices are not something we frown upon...it means more exploration and enviormental work and we do both). I have seen the prices for my contractors drop a bit. I think they are seeing drops in workload and JUST LIKE US the adjust their prices accordingly to get the work. We have years when we can bid anything and we'll get the contract, and we have years when the penny counts so we bid very tight. Is that screwing my contractors? Not at all. It's what we all do in business and if I get some benefits there, I'm ok with that. I didn't skimp (or tried not to) on my contractors, but I have seen that the very best out there in my market are more available now at better prices. That's been a nice change. There are FAR too any flakes in the business and seeing them go under in this economy isn't hurting me a bit. My contractors aren't skrimping by...they can hang with us any day. Currently they're all great folks that we can't wait to have over for the dinner celebration. I know they also live in lovely homes and we shop at the same dealer for work vehicles :) My dealings with them don't change with the market...but their availability to me sure has, and for that...I'm greatful!

Coming in late here... we also have silly shallow closets in the MBR even though my house was built in 1993! Clothes get rather mashed and the shoulders on suits and shirts get all rubbed-looking if hung the "standard" way. We also lacked space for a dresser in the bedroom due to the poor layout of the room. But, the closets are juuuust deep enough to squeeze a ClosetMaid drawer set (the side supports just barely clear the walls) in one side and then two rods, one over the other placed widthwise on the other side. Skirts/pants go on one rod, shirts on the other; long things, dresses etc., are stored in another closet. I can sort of sidle into the closet partway to pull out a drawer to get my folded clothes or select something from the hanging rods, so I suppose technically we have a walk in closet now! LOL I need a little stepstool to get into the top drawers, where I put out-of-season or dressy things I don't use much (like the pantyhose stash LOL) but it's wasted space up there, might as well use it. Purses and such go up on top. I bought the materials at Home Depot - that is two 2815 4-drawer kits and two of the Shelftrack wall standards, I think it was about $100-120 total - and it took me about two hours to install including a few brief lie-downs in the midst of it. Keeping my wardrobe pared back is pretty important though. Took this picture a while back before I got the hanging clothes up, now they stick out several inches past the doorframe into the middle, about the same as the drawer thingies, so it's a little bit of a squeeze in the middle of the closet. Still, gets the job done.

I prefer to have more food and pretty decor and spend less on things people don't need. Everyone gets a small gift to open but it doesn't have to be the most appropriate or amazing gift they've ever seen. I know the stores want us to buy the latest most impressive gifts to show how much we care. Stores are depending on people to spend but it's getting annoying watching them start selling right after Halloween. I buy on Black Friday to save money but these are often things I planned to get and Black Friday is the best time to shop. More and more we are focusing on good food and getting together and less on presents. I love shopping but it makes it less stressful for family members who don't or don't have time. Casual friends like a pretty card and a sweet treat just fine. I always remember that these year end solar celebrations come from a time when humans struggled to survive the winter in small groups. Everyone was precious and mattered. Some food, some warmth, some hope was important. Living was the gift.

We have eight CMs a bit west of where the scale first showed up in 2004; it covered our lot from east to west in just over a season. In spite of now being on virtually all of the CMs in our neighborhood, it barely bothers many. Purely anecdotal, but seems like it was worse on all trees during the first couple years of infestation before they settled on their "favorite" ones. Resistance does appear to vary by hybrid/cultivar, though not much seems to be known about this yet. There are so many CMs in our area, I suspect eradication is very unlikely anytime soon, so will try to learn to live with these wretched beasts. The horticultural/dormant sprays haven't helped and I'm not a big fan of having to resort to regular/frequent applications of systemics. So, we're removing the three or four CMs that do get disfigured/discolored and, with the ants' help, will just live with it on the remaining trees that are not bothered much..... and resort to systemics only for any especially bad years.