OK, I have an issue that does not allow me to purchase without over researching a product. So I did consider a few brands. I really like Miele, and they do have a larger unit. Nothing like the size of these, but I don't think you need something as big as these Samsung units to wash a comforter. Although I keep going back to Miele, the issue of their warranty and the lack of local people to sell and service the units takes them out of the running. I did look into Asko, but the small size and the bad reviews (over many years) makes them just an interesting read. I had a hard time deciding between LG and Samsung. I chose Samsung because of their Diamond drum technology. Although I was unable to find out much about it, it was similar to the honeycomb drum idea of Miele. That really closed the deal for me. I really felt that more manufacturers should have put more into their drum designs and make that information available. Sadly, only two lines have taken drum technology seriously and serious enough to flaunt it to the public. I ended up with the largest Samsung units because of the steam and the internet connectivity. (And frankly the deal I got.) I was hoping that if there was a problem, Samsung could just hook into the machine and tell me what is wrong. I'm not sure they can do that, but they can certainly update the units over the wireless. I would say that I was also impressed with the anti vibration technology. I wish they had explained the difference between the regular antivibration and the upgraded antivibration of these units. I imagine it is some computer sensing thing. I was also impressed with the warranty on the motors and the 2 year warranty. Oh, I just registered my units and got an additional 3 months warranty for registering. Thanks Samsung. I would add an extra year on my own by purchasing with Amex and eliminating the purchase of extended warranty. I looked into Speed Queen because they are American. Solid units but lack the modern technology and efficiency I was looking for. Rough sturdy brutes was all I could imagine from what I could find out about these products. I think the companies do themselves a disservice by not putting out all the information they can on their products. This is one case and point. I went as far as looking into purchasing commercial units, but when all is said and done, I felt that the Samsung units were a better deal. Service and warranty work is much different for commercial than on consumer models. Here is a really cool washing machine I found that I really wanted to get. I have a friend in CA who used to own Laundry Mats. He said, "That's a commercial unit. What do you need a commercial unit for?" Well, it looks so cool and is so well engineered etc. It was too much of a machine for my needs, but I really would have loved to have one. The Crossover Washer. (http://www.laundrylux.com/crossover.html) The world's first small chassis washer engineered to commercial laundry standards for your business needs. I think for the person who wants to have what no one else has, these units would be an interesting choice. Here is some more information on the Crossover: 3 Engineered to be superior to all competitors 3 15,000 cycle machine life design 3 3 OPL liquid chemical injection ports and signals 3 3 compartment soap drawer 3 4 professional wash programs + 2 cycle options 3 Field adjustable water levels 3 Top quality SKF bearings in heavy duty assembly 3 3 seals with 5 lips 3 Professional grade 8-point suspension 3 Pump-drain standard 3 Solid steel counter-weights�no concrete 3 Energy Star compliant The costs were about 2,000 a piece or less from what I remember. Stunningly beautiful beasts these are. They are made I believe by LaundryLux. I also looked at Miele Little Giants. Just amazing little laundry units, but way out of my price range for what I want to spend. I think these are made for people with yachts. These are also stunningly beautiful. The bottom line is I spent months looking at units. For me, with the space that I had and the money I wanted to spend, I settled on the Samsung. I had to use my Samsung units again tonight as the baby had an "out of diaper" experience. Not something for the faint of heart. Loved I could go and select sanitize on the computer screen and choose extra rinses and steams and prewashes and super hots etc. If they had nuclear radiation I would have chosen that too, but as of now, it is not an option on my units. I got a 3 hour cycle and trust me that is exactly what the job called for. I think I'm very happy right now with what I purchased. Look, as long as the darn units stay working without needing service etc, anything you buy will be fine. Again, I'm not happy about having to stand on a stool to see the dryer screens, but it really is not a big problem. The anti vibration on these really works great and the noise level is very good. The calming music the machines play to signal the end of the cycle is still OK with me and I'm not ready to beat the machine to death if it plays that tune one more time. Just if anyone wants to see how these machines do on a soiled white one piece baby garment, here is how it just came out of the washer. I don't think I can believe how clean and white this is. You cannot see where the mess was. I have had experience in the past with my other machine where the white clothing was stained yellow after such an incident. All I used was about 1/4 of the recommended amount of ECOS plus natural liquid from Sam's and a tiny amount of delft liquid softener. No bleach. I did hit it with some Oxy prewash spray before putting it in. Look, I have a laundry upstairs that I am doing. I decided to make it a "sound proof" room because of my experience with my old front loader. It was loud! Probably had gotten worse over the years because the bearings were going. So I double sheet rocked with green glue and put heavy clay on the backs of the electrical boxes. I put in a sound proof floor which I am waiting to tile right now. Well, I did all this because of my fear of the noise I would get from the front load machines. I think had I placed these Samsung units upstairs, the sound proofing would have been overkill. I'm hoping the GE unit I have for upstairs will be as quiet. I bet most of the better machines will be quiet. I think that the other companies caught up with Meile and have incorporated many of the concepts and bring these machines at a value price. Will they last the 20 years Miele says theirs will? I don't know, but these machines have a longer warranty then Miele and they can be found everywhere. This means that your chance of getting service should be good.

>>Just buy a long term care insurance policy and set aside funds for your eventual care needs. >> Umm....I'd be cautious about such a statement. I can't believe that anyone who has actually applied for an LTC policy would say such a thing. For one thing, all carriers stop writing LTCi policies at age 79. For another, if you have ever seen an Age Progression Preferred Premium chart for LTCi, you would know that the costs for a policy from an A+ rated company go up gradually through about age 58, then climb dramatically for every year after age 60. I used to pull insurance quotes for clients who had $5+M of net worth with a minimum of $500K investible funds (meaning no 401k, only IRAs and taxable $$$). The only people who could afford it were well under age 55. A mere eight years ago, a quote for LTCi that I pulled on a healthy 68-yr-old male came back at $9,000/yr. His wife's quote was worse, because she was 4 yrs older - about $14K/yr. This was for our standard: unlimited benefit (being dropped as an option by almost all carriers), 90 day exclusion (self-insured for the first 90 days), compound inflation protection, home healthcare, and $200/day benefit. Premiums have risen dramatically since I pulled that quote. Property taxes pale against the cost of LTCi when one is elderly. We have LTCi policies, but we bought them in our late 40's. They are unaffordable now, for almost everyone. If you are going to move ANYWHERE, I'd suggest investigating not only the medical facilities but the skilled nursing facilities and availability of home healthcare assistance. That means I would actually visit the skilled nursing facilities and look up their record on the Medicare website. I personally wouldn't suggest moving anywhere just to be near kids - at least, as long as those "kids" are still employed. These days it is common to have to move to get a new job or keep an existing one. You can't depend on your kids being locked into one location for decades.

It sounds like you are having one heck of a rough time. I wish I could say I don't know what you are going through, but.... I bought my "fixer-upper" before I met the man who is my DH. He got a lot more than he bargained for. I sometimes joke that it would have been a lot easier and maybe a bit cheaper if we had burned it down and put in a modular. LOL. Quite frankly, I think the hardest part is living with the knowledge that you are stuck. If you have an otherwise happy, healthy marriage, then there is no reason you should give up. If I can offer some advice.... I would suggest writing a list of the good things that have happened in your home, the positive moments. It helps to relive the good things. When we get stuck in a moment of despair, we have to look beyond it to get the whole picture. I am speaking from experience. My home is constantly in a state of partially finished projects. (My roof is only half done!!!) I have to sometimes just let it go. Think yoga or meditation style thoughts. I can't do so many of the poses but the idea is the same. LOL. It would probably help if you could treat yourself to a day out of the house. Go visit a friend who will listen to you vent. It would also help if they like your home, so they don't convince you to hop the first plane out of there. LOL. I thought of it a time or two. I also have a strong aversion to odors. I can smell things that no one else notices. I found a mouse in a friend's home that they hadn't even smelled. I found it by tracing the smell. (To their credit, they are very clean people, who keep up with things, but the surprise gift from the cat may have been the hitch in the system.) Maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to log onto the housecleaning forum to maybe find away to get rid of the odor in your room. Not sleeping in my bed, cuddled up to my bear of a husband would be enough to make me frustrated. I am not certain that any marriage wouldn't be tested by sleeping in a stinky bedroom. There is a lot of literature out there that says your sense of smell is connected to your mood. That would do it for me! I don't know what kind of smell you are talking about, but I know I can't handle quite a few of them. I have asthma and terrible allergies that make life difficult sometimes. I am not sure I made you feel any better, but maybe I made you laugh. As far as the whole being out of money to work on the house, I think we have all been there, unless you are independently wealthy. I really would suggest taking a look around and look back at how far you have come and don't be afraid to laugh- this coming from the lady who got sprayed in the face by a loose water line just 2 days ago! Try to enjoy what you can and try to hold on. There have been some dark days for most of us, but they do pass. I also included a link to get rid of those dang beetles. Here is a link that might be useful: How to get rid of things

I have never heard or read, here or elsewhere this topic has been discussed, anybody acting like touching an obese person is gross (like sharing an armrest). Does anybody think it's catching? Sharing an arm rest is fine. Not being able to use the arm rest at all because the person next to you is using the whole thing, is a different matter. I totally agree that one of the main problems is the seating widths and leg space on planes. They are not designed for most people and certainly not for comfort. A few months or a year back, I read an article about the Washington State Ferry System and how they were in the process of changing their passenger occupancy limits due to the fact that people are much bigger now than when the ferries were built and, thus, capacity needs to be reduced. I think planes have done the opposite and are cramming more people in. More people fly these days because flights are cheaper. if you compare fares to income, flying is much more affordable today than it was 40-50 years ago. The reduced fares are, in part, due to more seats being squeezed into the plane. The more flyers, the lower the cost. To be honest, I love to fly in spite of all of this because flights take me to fun and interesting places. I usually find myself falling asleep on planes because I have so much to do to get ready to go that I'm usually exhausted by the time I board and I want to rest up so I can hit the ground running and then, when I'm on my way back, I'm exhausted from playing and exploring. I guess, as a society, we need to ask ourselves if we're willing to pay more for larger seats and more leg room or if we want the deals so we can travel more. When it comes down to it, for me, I'll take the deals.