Just a comment about apples with a "waxy" feel, while I know that commercially apples are sometimes waxed, it can be a natural wax that apples develop. I just checked some apples that I have had stored since Sept. and they have a waxy feel, but I know that they were not treated, I picked them myself at the orchard. I thought that I remembered reading that as some varieties of apples age they will develop this covering, here's what I found:"Most apples look and feel waxy because the skin secretes a protective covering of wax; this layer serves to hold water in and keep disease out."This is an excerpt from Whole Foods Companion... by Diane Onstad. I thought I'd never see the end of the 200 lbs my DH and I picked, but I'm down to about 5 lbs, made some yummy low sugar Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam the other day! Lea

Thanks to you all for replying, cpartist, salex and suzanne_sl. As hokey as this sounds, it really helps to not have a feeling of being alone through all of this. I showed DH the latest development this evening, and he silently just shook his head. We can't even get on with such a simple (yet gratifying) step as hooking up our UCL LEDs. cpartist: It'd be interesting to know what led your neighbors to choose Showplace, which is sold at a 'value' price point while allowing semi-custom choices. This is my first and last kitchen reno: I don't have anything else to compare with regarding price, value, etc. In the expansive world that is cabinets, I'm trying to figure out what the minimum benchmarks/expectations are for a value line. This is not to say I'm complaining about what we paid: if I balked at the price, I would have expressed this at the outset. It's night time now, but I'll also post tomorrow a few pics of the current cabinet interiors. salex: Thanks so much for reinforcing all the research I've done about screws, threads, etc. Regarding pre-drilled holes, I had to laugh (in a maniacal way, at this point): DH is the only person in three years (of folks who've held a drill in this kitchen) who as EVER pre-drilled a hole. I completely understand folks are working by the hour, time is money, etc., and they're willing to roll the dice when NOT pre-drilling; but the cracks and chips in the wood tell the tale. suzanne: Thanks for taking the time to post your pics. Not knowing exactly how cabinets are constructed, I don't want to automatically conclude that gaps are inherently bad (except for the one I posted Feb. 23/9:26 a.m. - above fridge).

I have a neighbor that over two decades ago put black, thick waterproofing on the exterior of the visible concrete blocks of her basement (about 10' high and 20' wide). ( I understand waterproofing also comes in white but would choose the black because it would show dirt less.) Originally her waterproofing was black but has faded to gray … but it's still there. That said, they don't walk on the basement wall. I would think that you could probably apply waterproofing at least to the more visible front and sides, smoothing them as you do so, perhaps painting the top with porch paint.

Update: This quest kind of fell off my radar but I passed a Vera Bradley store today while shopping and popped in and came home with this: It is very roomy and in their new waterproof fabric so I will give it a go and see how it works for me. Kind of looks like a middle school lunch bag but I wasn't inclined to spend an additional $20 for their solid quilted line. We'll see.