I decided against the bagger, so I called the store up and canceled the order. I already decided that regardless of what the guy at Lesco says, it is better for me to mulch mow, and right now I shouldn't be plunking down about $300 on something I may only use twice a year. I'd probably only use it in the spring for cleanup and if I had a red thread problem again next year, but it's not worth it. If I can water correctly next year unlike the beginning of this year before I got my irrigation system, and fertilize on schedule, it shouldn't be a big problem. I usually also hire a guy to do cleanups in the spring because aside from driving the mower around to suck up leaves, sticks, and pinecones, I still have a hard time raking and doing other additional cleanup things due to a disability, so I'd have to have someone come out anyway. The nagging doubt is still in the back of my mind, but I'm glad that I just saved myself a few hundred bucks.

Thank you all for your comments (except for vhehn - seriously, if you want to tell me I'm an idiot (or, conversely, that you are the smartest person in the world), why hide it, just tell me you think I'm a moron and be done with it. You don't know me, and you assume that I'm throwing away perfectly good (and hard-earned, mind you) money because I'm a d*mb*ss. If gloating in front of someone who's down is the way you roll, I'm so glad I don't know you in person.) - 15 hours after the initial discovery of "OMG, it's happened again" (and the resulting pit in our stomaches), our anger and sadness has mellowed a bit, abut we're both intent on salvaging this situation in a professional and drama-free manner. I probably haven't chewed on the situation enough, but after digesting your comments and putting all the pieces together, I'm inclined to do the following: 1) wait for her response (except I really really really want/need to know if we submitted, and/or if we're submitting on Monday, omg......), 2) unless there's a fantastic reason why Friday didn't go as agreed, request an off-site coffee meeting with the architect and synthesize your comments in to a conversation that says, basically: look, we think you're a really talented architect [she is!], but it's clear you're extremely busy, and maybe too busy to devote the type and timing of attention on our project that we need. It's causing us a lot of unnecessary stress and heartburn, especially this early in what we know will be a stressful year and a half [between the rest of planning and the build]. We see a couple of good solutions: a) now that you know how difficult the slipping of schedule has been on not only the timing of our project but on us personally, if you'd like to continue working on our project, we'd like to continue working with you, but we need hard milestones. [and then discuss the milestones, timing, etc....maybe these need to be in writing.....]. 2) if you're just too busy and don't see that changing, we'd be disappointed but would be willing to transfer the plans to another architect to complete - do you have any that you'd recommend? How do we properly transfer the plans? As you can tell, I do soft-pedal rather than throw blame in situations like this - I'm very willing to be firm, but it needs to be in my own voice, and unfortunately (I guess), that's my voice when dealing with people that I actually like (err, you "heard" my other voice above, when responding to others!). chisue - thank you for understanding, and yes, she's licensed, has a nice boutique business, and is actually really talented. she just sucks as client service. We found her as a referral from a neighbor who has (in our opinion) the prettiest new build in the neighborhood - we live in a 50's era rancher town on quarter acre lots in a part of the country where that's considered really big - most of the Bay Area is on 4000-5000 sq ft lots). To his credit, he DID warn us that while she's a terrific architect, she'd be "tough to get a hold of, as she's very busy" (maybe that was neighbor-code for "she'll miss every deadline"). dixiedoodle - agreed, I'm not planning on getting any $ back, so that's not what I'm after. Actually, for the $ we've paid thus far, we ((heart)) the house plan. Yes, in hindsight, the comments that translate to "they're more important than you" are, at best, inappropriate. At the time(s), it seemed more like casual chit-chat. feedingfrenzy, sue36 and sovra - thank you all - your comments and thoughts are the basis for the planned conversation. We actually *would* like her to see the plans through, just need to figure out how to tell her that we can't continue this way, it's too painful. I will go post this in Conversations to see in M-A has additional thoughts. What do you all think of the planned conversation, and how would you tweak it?

Marie i am sorry to hear of your loss.I lost my mom to cancer 2 years ago and she also expierienced a collapsed lung during a bronchoscopy.She had a emergency chest tube inserted and was never the same again.This all happened on my birthday.Mom died 5 weeks later.For closure and to prevent the MD from hurting anyone else i sought legal advice.The lawyer said Mom signed a consent prior to the procedure which explains all that can go wrong and a collapsed lung is one of the things listed on the cosent form.Very weak case if any he said.It would cost more to prepare than would be awarded.As if that was not enough--in October 2004 my Dad died,and a month ago i ended a 3 year relationship with a wonderful man who has the disease of alcoholism but denies it.I was numb and calm when mom and dad died,but fell apart after this relationship ended.It all came to the surface,and i do not know if i will ever stop crying.I am depressed and angry and feel very alone.I know these emotions are normal,but wonder if i can cope.

I hope I'm understanding you correctly. Some faucets come with plates that are optional. Generally, the plate is used either because you like the look, or because there are holes in the sink that you're not using and you need to cover up. A double bowl sink should have one hole that is positioned properly for a faucet to reach either bowl. If you find that there are holes under your plate, you should be able to move your faucet to the proper hole. If this leaves a hole uncovered you can either purchase a small metal disk to cover it, or add an accessory such as a soap dispenser to utilize that hole, or move your sprayer to a different hole. Obviously I don't have any expertise in this area, so I hope my comments are helpful and not confusing.