I like the Software running the forum, I find it Fantastic. I do. -- Someone in their estimation decided Not to give to forum users many of the options that are given to them in other forum Software. E.g. to quote each other in subsequent posts by clicking on "quote", to post twice with no barriers to doing so, to use spaces to express meaning (all extra spaces get deleted, and extra carriage returns too, so you cannot easily add extra interline spacing), to post without reading & reviewing one's own post first, to know how many "times read", how many people have clicked on a thread. Between now and the 22nd Century, human society might begin to choose what is ultimately useless information, like how many people have clicked on the thread since it was first created. Let's understand that we don't need to know that level of detail. What we really want to know is whether the thread is worth reading and that depends on concepts and quality of contributors' input: these two things can be tracked on the side -- and eventually included as a tool in a far future version of this forum. I'm assuming you are prepared to look into the future. There are some irritants but they are of little importance. E.g. CAPS in subject line get bounced to lower-case. It is easy to program into the software a few text management constraints that then surprise You and some others, but that ultimately are a Good Thing to work around and to accept as a good thing instead of thinking that you ought to have more and more options like text formatting. I personally vote in favor of programming that brings us all back to basic text, so all use of Upper Case IN ENTIRE WORDS be converted into lower case so that upper case only be available for word-initial use. Don't love the search function here... the way it's date-oblivious and doesn't allow you to select a date-RANGE. Hits for a particular keyword brings up a thread from 5 YEARS ago, followed by one from 5 DAYS ago, followed by one from 5 MONTHS ago, etc... But workarounds are easy, and in the future an access tool would get around it easily. Let's discuss bigger things: what would be useful to help you track the things you want to track and to find the information you want and to call upon the right community (people) when you need them and to be relatively sure that your requests are well received -- this would be a tool for which I would pay to have special access.

I do the same thing in spurts with my knitting. I always have a project going, but I'm always looking around on the internet for different patterns, and in here also for new ideas. I find something that I like and then I order the yarn and there it sits, because by the time I finish my current project, I have found something else I want to do. I have enough yarn to make a prayer shawl and I was going to make a booga bag and then felt it so I have some noro kureyon and I have oodles and oodles of sugar and cream yarn for making dishcloths. I like to make them in sets and have a few for quick gifts. But yeah, I do like you do, buy the yarn and then wonder what I'm going to do with it. I subscribe to about 5 knitting magazines and there are lots of ideas in those all the time - some of them way too advanced for me, but I pick the ones I think I can handle.

Melinrk, there is a real difference between stating what you spent on your reno -- either from the whole thing or to each minute part of it -- and literally bragging about how much money you have to burn. Hardly anyone here engages in the latter but it has been known to happen every now and then. When it does, I find that kind of show of tell to be rather obnoxious. OTOH, unpretentious sharing of what you paid for your faucet, countertops, cabs, a GC, ID, etc. is very much part of the GW experience! Heck, that's totally valuable information which helps other members to figure out what they should be paying for the same or similar products and services. And, in fact, this is information that members consistently ask for. That is why I was disturbed when rmkitchen first posted to this thread with an unnecessary apology for having shared the cost of her reno. As I said earlier, I found her finished kitchen thread to be one of the best "give back" submissions on GW. FWIW I would put your thread into that same category. Thank you! BTW, I confess to being one of the guilty parties who failed to acknowledge your totally gorgeous kitchen when you posted and I now apologize for the public withhold of my admiration! You see, the longer I stay here (and it's been several years at this point), I find I no longer comment on every kitchen I see -- including many I consider to be fabulous! Sometimes it's just a matter of my schedule. I may have the time to look and appreciate the member's work but not enough to draft a meaningful statement of praise. (Often, I'll promise to come back and do so at a later point and somehow forget to do so. Or, when I finally get around to it, I've also arrived at the party so late that there really is nothing especially meaningful for me to to say -- no matter how hard I try.) Bottom line, if I don't comment on a particular kitchen it just shouldn't be assumed that the reason why is because I don't like the kitchen! Having seen this same subject discussed here many times, I know that goes not only for me, but also for many others of us. That said, let me be clear: I LOVE your kitchen AND your presentation of it, including your sharing of its associated costs. I'm sure that took a lot of your time as well as a desire to give back/pay forward to your fellow GW members. IMO, that was hardly bragging! :-) HTH

Well, this has never happened to me before, but I've VERY glad to know I'm not alone. It's quite frustrating, tho, isn't it? Hi Dana!! I wanted to respond to your response from last night about the 'folds' in your drapery panels, but the thread is on the 2nd page right now. I'm STILL fooling around with my panels trying to get them to look like yours and I still have one more to alter.