Thank you for the recs, whitecap. I will certainly look for the Sperry book. After doing some more reading, I'm feeling good about the sage but the lavender and rosemary are already wilting and acting like they hate it here and hate me, so I'm already anticipating replacing them soon. The husband wants to put giant agaves out there but I personally am not crazy about that kind of look. Our sprinkler system (almost working) is really good (when working, ha) and I'm actually more worried about overwatering the sage once it's time to program it and let it run on a schedule. I'm also considering a few pencil holly trees behind the sage.

I am not sure why you are not using your Central vac on the rug. I can understand if you only have a suction only rug nozzle, but a power nozzle would do well. If you have the electric power nozzle, make sure that it is running properly. Check the belt and make sure the the brushroll is spinning while going over the rug. Make sure the bristles have not worn down so much that they are not effective at cleaning the carpet. I would not suggest getting a new unit if you are only going to be there for a few years and money is an issue. A regular vacuum cleaner can be taken with you. There are different levels of people with allergies and how much reaction they have. Personally, I have some allergies, but only require a thoroughly cleaned environment and a vacuum that filters well. I do not need the super duper tremendous filtration vacuum cleaner. There are others who must have the best filtering. If you have carpeting and floors, you probably want a canister with power nozzle. If your child's allergies are terrible, look into a vacuum cleaner with a sealed system. This insures that any air goes through filters and does not escape through cracks before leaving the vacuum cleaner. I do not know your cleaning routine, but you should make sure that you really keep the dust down. Dust often and vacuum everything. That means vacuuming the rugs, floors, furniture drapes, walls, etc. The walls do not have to be done every time you vacuum, but they do need to be done occasionally. Vacuum your mattress once a month. It is very easy to do. Don't put off vacuuming, because you do not see dirt. Dust is there, because dustmites are there(unseen). There is no need to remove carpeting, just vacuum more often. I love having carpeting. I do not want to be dusting floors daily; chasing dust across the floors. A Miele vacuum cleaner, with a power nozzle, would work for you. I just do not care for their expensive bags. They have come out with a new and improved bag, decreased the number per package and raised the price. A better idea, for the customer, would be to give them a choice. Remember, earlier I said that people have different levels of allergies. Take a look at Tacony's Riccar and Simplicity brands. They offer some canisters that have a sealed system like the Riccar Pristine or the Simplicity Verve. Go into the vac shop and take them for a test drive. Do not pay attention to the website prices, because they are MSRP. A good vac shop should have a better price. Cost of bags and filters are cheaper than Miele. Another brand would be SEBO, but are expensive also. I would suggest that if you look for a vacuum, take your child with you. See how the child reacts after the vacuum is turned on. You cold do this if you test the Kenmore line. Another cheaper vacuum would be the Hoover S3670. It does have the high filtration "HEPA" bags and filter, but it may not work for your child. It does filter well, but may be a problem if any dust escapes. Dysons filter well, but the problem is when it has to be emptied. You would have to make sure the dirt bin is emptied outdoors. I do not care for the performance of many of the models on rugs except the DC17 and DC28 uprights. Take your time when looking for a good vacuum cleaner. Here is a link that might be useful: Simplicity

Re some of your Bluestar questions: I've had my 36" RNB about eight months now, the open burners are truly a pleasure to cook on, and very easy to keep clean. I love my griddle, and use it often, although I believe the Platinum has an interchangeable griddle/grill? If so, I'm not sure if that griddle is the same set up as the full time one I have though.

Snidely, You are partly right but miss an important aspect of the Walmart Effect... while many consumers demanded products/services be ever cheaper and cheaper no matter what, a portion of consumers were and are still willing to pay more for better quality. We used to be offered that option but as cheaper and cheaper was more widely adopted the companies making higher quality products were forced to either lower their quality in order to maintain sales or folded cause they wouldn't. Now we often don't have the option of a better quality product and are stuck buying lower quality products and having to endure the compromises that come with doing that. Water heater Brands like A.O. Smith and Bradford White are only available through the plumbing supply channels and not through the mass market or discount channel. People I know who own a plumbing supply company tell me that they see plumbers recommending whichever brand realizes them the most profit, but using the story to their customers that they'd stopped carrying several brands - insert brand name here - because they were getting too many call backs to replace defective units. The plumbing supply owners don't care what the plumbers sell cause they carry both brands but they chuckle when the other brand has a better price now and the plumbers have to backstroke on what they told their homeowner customer regarding brand x being less reliable than brand y, but now brand x gets the plumber more profit so that's what the homeowner should get now. The problem with some plumbers is that when they lie to a customer they can't remember a month later which lie they told the customer when they ask the same question again. Whether you believe it or not all water heaters are not the same quality. Cut a few different brands open, as I've done, and the difference is obvious even to a homeowner.