nhbabs: Do you think the hawks are hunting something, like voles, near your house? Or maybe considering a nesting site close by? I saw the first Baltimore Orioles of the season today! and it's before the hummingbirds show up - usually the orioles come a little after the hummers. The grackles had gobbled up most of the suet outside and the orioles were picking at the scraps. I raced out and put new suet in all of the cages and added some apricot preserves in a dish. This one came back but didn't seem too impressed with the new suet. He did seem to be looking down at the preserves in the dish in the middle of the feeder. When they start showing interest in the fruit I'll phase out the suet in those cages to discourage the grackles. I have another suet feeder up in another area. Claire

Our 12 year old KitchenAid washer is again on the blink, so we are in the market for a replacement. The first place we checked was the February 2008 issue of Consumer Reports, which rates 20 front-loaders, 22 top-loaders, and 39 dryers. The LG's rated especially well. We also checked with our appliance repairman, a local independent who services almost all brands and who has done a great job for us for 12 years. He recommended that we "steer clear of LG." He said it is very difficult to get their parts since they are relatively new to the washer business and have not yet established a good service network in the US (they are Korean made machines). He also said that many of the customer service complaints you read about on the web are valid. He will not sign-up to be an authorized LG serviceman until they overcome their startup (for washers) difficulties. Here are a few other points he made: -- He bought a Whirlpool front-loader at Costco a couple of years ago and has been very satisfied with it. -- Although each maker comes out with new models with new technologies all the time, he generally prefers the Whirlpool line. -- Some of the top rated top-loaders do not have the typical center agitators. He said that those machines have a relatively new technology, but he has not encountered any reliability difficulties with them so far. He did say that, although they clean very well for most kinds of loads, they don't do quite as well as the agitator-type machines on extremely soiled loads; i.e., your kids love to play in the dirt and mud! Just thought I'd share this information. Good luck!

I have had my Motorola Droid for close to two years now. The free turn-by-turn navigation app. that terriks mentioned has never let me down. The Google map app has been a lifesaver when looking for restaurants, coffee, gas stations, banks, & places of interest while out of my immediate area. I use the Google Sky Map frequently to identify stars, planets & constellations. Google Translate and Google Goggles - a visual search engine as well as Google Earth are all free apps on the Droid. If you are a football fan the NFL mobile app is free too. A friend of mine just got the Motorola Droid Razr and it is slick, my Droid is like a dinosaur compared to the new one! I have Verizon, no dropped calls & the voice quality is like any wireless device. My lap top is a MacBook Pro so I don't have a problem with Apple products, (actually I could never go back to a PC), for me the best choice in a smartphone was the Android Operating System. When my current device bites the dust, I will replace it with another Android.

When trying to fit an island in a kitchen, keep in mind the following...... (It's kind of generic, so there's probably stuff in it that you don't care about, but I wanted to be thorough!) First, the NKBA recommends minimum aisle widths of 42" for a one-worker kitchen and 48" for a multiple worker kitchen. However, many here swear a minimum of 36" will work in some cases*. So, here are minimum kitchen widths with an island: Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on one side and no seating: Minimum aisles* and no traffic: 25.5" + 36" + 27" + 36" = 124.5" (10'4.5") [basis of next numbers] For one aisle of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one run of cabinets (on larger aisle side): + 6" = 130.5" (10'10.5") For two aisles of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one or two runs of cabinets: + 6" + 6" = 136.5" (11'4.5") For one aisle of 42" and one of 48" (for frequent/heavy traffic): + 6" + 12" = 142.5" (11'10.5") For ideal aisles of 48" (w/multi-worker kitchen or frequent/heavy traffic): + 12" + 12" = 148.5" (12"4.5") Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on both sides and no seating: Minimum aisles* and no traffic: 25.5" + 36" + 27" + 36" + 25.5" = 150" (12'6") [basis of next numbers] For one aisle of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one run of cabinets (on larger aisle side): + 6" = 156" (13') For two aisles of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one or two runs of cabinets: + 6" + 6" = 162" (13'6") For one aisle of 42" and one of 48" (for frequent/heavy traffic): + 6" + 12" = 168" (14') For ideal aisles of 48" (w/multi-worker kitchen or frequent/heavy traffic): + 12" + 12" = 176" (14"6") Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on one side and an island with seating** (i.e., empty wall behind seating): With run of cabinets behind the seats and no traffic or counter behind seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 48" + 25.5" = 175.5" (14'7.5") [basis of next numbers] With run of cabinets behind the seats and either traffic or counter behind the seats (but not both): 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 54" + 25.5" = 181.5" (15'1.5") With run of cabinet behind the seats and traffic and counter behind the seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 187.5" (15'7.5") With ideal aisles: 25.5" + 42" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 193.5" (16'1.5") Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on both sides and an island with seating** b/w them: With run of cabinets behind the seats and no traffic or counter behind seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 48" + 25.5" = 175.5" (14'7.5") [basis of next numbers] With run of cabinets behind the seats and either traffic or counter behind the seats (but not both): 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 54" + 25.5" = 181.5" (15'1.5") With run of cabinet behind the seats and traffic and counter behind the seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 187.5" (15'7.5") With ideal aisles: 25.5" + 42" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 193.5" (16'1.5") Notes: * The "minimum" aisle width of 36" only works if the kitchen will always be a one-person kitchen and there is no through traffic in the aisle (i.e., no more than one person working in the kitchen at a time (this includes prepping, cooking, cleaning up, getting a snack, etc. and there will be no traffic going through the kitchen to get to another part of the kitchen/house). Some people have varying aisle widths. They'll have the minimum recommened 42" in most places, but 36" at one place (like b/w an island and range) where there will only be one person in that particular space at a time and no traffic going through the area. ** Assumes counter-height seating with 15" overhang, the minimum recommended by the NKBA. Please do not skimp on this overhang. It doesn't really help. People still take up the same amount of room when sitting at the island as they would if you provided the minimum overhang. People can be "squeezed in" just so much...the stool & their bodies will still stick out into the aisle just as much as if there was a 15" overhang. All you do when you skimp on overhang is make it uncomfortable for people to sit at it for more than a few minutes. To adjust to the reduced overhang, people have to sit sideways, "straddle" the cabinets, or sit further back and have to lean forward farther to get to the counter...none of which are comfortable after a few minutes. (If you expect people to sit sideways, then provide 36" of linear space per person rather than 24".) The NKBA guidelines were developed for a reason, not b/c the NKBA was trying to give us all a hard time. They also were not "grabbed out of thin air"...they researched this and other items in the guidelines. One more thing, if you think the shallower overhang will be OK b/c you only expect your young children to use the seating, then remember that children grow very quickly (ask any parent!). Before you know it, your children will be adult-sized teens and still trying to sit at the counter (and probably w/friends). So, don't be shortsighted when planning, look into the future as well. [The NKBA recommends an 19" overhang for table-height seating (30" off floor, note new overhang recommendation), 15" for counter-height seating (36" off floor), and 12" for bar-height seating (42" off floor). They also recommend planning for 24" of linear space per person for counter-height & bar-height seating; 30" for table-height (again, note new guideline).] One thing to note: Bar-height and, to some extent, Counter-height seating are not very comfortable for very young children, for older adults, and for those with certain mobility issues. They also are not the safest seating for young children (clambering in/out of the seat and even just sitting at the counter at a fair distance from the floor). So if you can, try to provide table-height seating fairly close as well.