I'm 2/3 set....well, sort of. I'm still working on the hand made item, but I found the cookbook yesterday. Like many of you, I had to get 2 of them, one for myself and one for my partner. I'm still puzzling over the local item. I've found a nice locally produce item, but I'm not sure about shipping it. I'm going to do some more research. I've thought of other things, but Texas is a big state, and I'm not sure if the other side of Texas counts as local. Unfortunately, where I live the primary locally produced products are McMansions. I know I can spend as much as I want, but I'm NOT spending THAT much! LOL. Besides, that would definately be hard to ship! Sally

Well, we did a mini "refresh" on our kitchen in 1999 to add a dishwasher and standard-sized range, as we had one of those apartment-sized ranges that DH detested. When we did the mini refresh, we also changed countertops, sink & faucet, and we had put in peel and stick vinyl over the hideous gold linoleum when we first moved in. That being said, we still had issues with layout, with the only really useable countertop being the 15" to left of the range and 5" to the right of it. There was a small swath of countertop across from the stove, next to the sink, but because it was right by the back door, it became a catchall. When I took anything out of the oven, it pretty much had to go on the stovetop. Baking cookies just wasn't very fun after a while. I sorta stopped doing it. :^( Then there was the wall between the kitchen and livingroom that made the kitchen seem so dark and cramped. The lack of storage was the biggest issue we had. I still get the heebs when I think of that cabinet where the plastic storage containers lived. I don't know how many times I sat on the floor and cleaned out that blasted cabinet, just to have it heave out plasticware all over me the next time I opened that door. I'm pretty sure that DH would open the door *just enough* to throw an item in there. We had no venting over the range, instead we had a cabinet directly over the range, and it was lower than standard. When we did the remodel, we could see big black burn marks underneath. Lovely. Our garbage was located across the kitchen on the stairwell landing. If I had gunk in my hands, I had the pleasure of carrying it across the floor, leaving a nice little dribble trail. Fun times! The giant fluorescent light box, with that hideous tube light. I tried to "tart it up" at one point, but in the end, it was just a big rectangle with an ugly light, so it had to go. My peel and stick vinyl tiles, so wonderful and bright when we installed them, were pitted and cracking in places. No matter how long I scrubbed on my hands and knees, there were areas where the tile was worn, and the dirt was embedded. Yuck. The kitchen wasn't awful; it just was not a joy to work in. Now I enjoy baking and cooking in there, and putting away the tupperware is not an exercise in frustration! Hooray! Oh, happy day! :^)

We've lived in several small cities in a number of states due to DH's job. We've utilized boarding kennels, pet sitters that come in, pet sitters who "adopt," multiple friends on certain schedules, exchanges with friends, and...I think that covers it! Although we've had a few bad experiences with kennels over the years, by and large the experiences have been good. Previous posters indicated that one should tour facilities and I heartily recommend that. At our last city, we drove past a kennel that was 5 minutes away to take the dogs to a kennel 45 minutes away just because the care was so much better. Know your dogs (or other pets) and know what a facility offers. If your dog can't play well with others and the kennel only offers open, group playtime, well, then that's not the facility for you. If your dogs enjoy lots of time moving around and getting some fresh air, then kennels that keep them inside except for 2x or 3x/day potty breaks aren't appropriate. In my own area, a lot of vet offices are like that. On the other hand, if you have responsible friends or relatives close by that can care for your pets or temporarily "adopt" your pets while you're gone, consider yourself very, very fortunate. Finally, if your pets have any special needs or temperament issues, be especially careful who you entrust with their care. The easiest solution may not be the best.

Bona Traffic - two coats - semi-gloss Bona Cherry stain on refinished white oak floors. The guys "popped" the floors before putting the stain down. "Popped" means they lightly dampened the bare wood in order to raise the grain so the stain would penetrate better, adding a deeper color. (Floors were Bruce prefinished.) Love the Bona finish! It has been about 3 years since we did it. We have 2 active Golden Retrievers who have left indentions in the wood, but the finish has not been scratched or penetrated. Dog nails typically do not scratch the surface of wood floors, but they depress the wood due to the pressure. From Refinished floors From Refinished floors