Interesting how many of us have Fibro! Lucky us! Kat4kittens, what's going on with your neck? My oldest daughter and I have both had cervical fusions...several years ago now...due to degenerative disc disease. We both did well with the surgery. DD had her right after having a baby, is a cop on the streets and doing well. She also had 2 low-back surgeries when she was younger. I'm due for more neck surgery now. It keeps getting stuck! OUCH! Oh oh...got off the beaten track here! I have four DDs, whom I raised by myself for close to 10 years after their father walked out when they were very young. (All four girls were born within 2 yrs. and 3 months.) I finally married DH #2 who was raising his two DSs. At one point, we had 6 kids in the same high school! Oldest DS 4 months older than oldest DD. Younger son 2 days older than twin DDs.) Somehow, we survived their teenage years...and let them live!! Let me tell you...it was tough and go there for awhile! We now have a bundle and a half of grandkids...eleven actually...so far! The two youngest DDs are identical twins...who have lived directly across the street from one another for 11 years...and delivered baby girls 2 days apart 10 yrs. ago. How's that for planning! Middle DD had a baby boy a couple of weeks before that, and oldest DS's wife had a baby boy a couple of weeks after the girls were born. Four new grandkids in 11 weeks...made the newspaper...and have kept us all on our toes ever since! Oldest DD, not to be outdone, had her first baby on her own birthday a couple of years later. In spite of pain from degenerative disc disease, arthritis from head-to-toe, Fibro and some other nusence things, I manage to keep going...out of sheer determination! (Someone has to keep everyone else in line!) Because of an ulcer, I can't take painkillers and try to keep going by using "mind over matter"...which sometimes works better than others. But...like I said, I'm determined! We have half an acre that was pretty much naked when we moved in 7 yrs. ago, but presently is covered with leaves! (I wish I had thought to take a picture of all the leaves out there when it was daylight!) There were lovely gardens a couple of weeks ago where the leave are now! Hmmmmmm...I wonder where all the flowers went! And...how the heck did those 5 Eastern White Pines grow so fast??!! Definite animal lover here! Had four kitties, 3 of which I inherited when my brother died. Sadly, we lost 2 of them this past year...one just a couple of weeks ago. Good heavens...did I neglect to mention...I'm a frustrated writer? Sorry...I got carried away! ~Sandy~

I don't much care about saving 15cents a month or whatever. I should be lucky enough to live long enough to receive that payback. I do care, however, that we have plenty of hot water when everyone visits so I am not scheduling everyone for showers the next morning at dinner the night before. Can someone please just give me an honest answer about whether tankless would likely work for us. Uh, Wldsyd, I'll repeat what I wrote 4 messages above yours. That is that the President of Rinnai America himself said you should not buy a tankless heater if your goal is to save money or to save gas. Particularly in a cold climate, the gas usage for a tankless can be really high. He said you should buy a tankless because you want endless hot water. Also, it has the advantage of a much smaller footprint than a traditional tank. That should answer your question. If you are all so angry that you can't even stomach and tolerate questions from homeowners who truly do not understand the technology and are simply trying to make good, long term choices, then why hang out on these forums? Can't you imagine that after 11 months of living in the middle of a major remodel I don't need anybody attacking me. Thanks for the sarcasm. In defense of Peteyboy's response to you, what I saw in your message was a challenge that said that despite all the previous 140+ posters, you still weren't provided enough information, despite posters' links, despite professional plumbers and installers opinions, despite lengthy explanations of why people felt pro or con, despite explanations of the necessary venting and gas line changes involved in tankless, despite opinions from the tankless owners who'd been living with them. You dismissed it all by saying people had "personal agendas", that the several professional responses were "those that are simply hell bend against change b/c they don't, perhaps, have the expertise to do the installs". With 140+ responses, none of which you found helpful, I cannot blame Peteyboy for his message. BTW, you can also do a search on this Forum for "tankless", and you will come up with many more threads if you seeking more information than what was provided in this one.

Rules For Visiting Minnesota 1) Don't order tofu or pasta primavera at Johnson's Cafe. It's a diner. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day. Let them cook something they know. If you upset the ladies in the kitchen they'll kick your butt. 2) Don't laugh at the names of our little towns: Fertile, Moorhead, Climax, Cummings, Gentilly, or we will just HAVE to kick your butt. 3) Don't ask for a soda here. Up here it's called pop. Accept it. Doing otherwise can lead to a butt kicking. 4) We know our heritage. Most of us are more literate than you. We are also better educated and generally a lot nicer. Don't refer to us as a bunch of hicks or we'll kick your butt. 5) We have stoves and use them. We have well over 10,000 lakes and enjoy fishing them. Fresh cooked fish is a delicacy to be enjoyed by all. Don't try passing off sashimi to us, we call that "bait". If you try to get us to eat it, we'll have to kick your butt. 6) We are fully aware of how cold it gets here in the winter, so shut the heck up. Just spend your money and get the heck out of here or we'll kick your butt. 7) Don't order the vegetarian special at the local diner. Everyone will instantly know that you're a tourist. Eat your steak like God intended and have some potatoes with that, for heaven's sake! Also, don't ask what a hotdish is or we'll kick your butt. 8) Don't try to fake a Minnesota accent. We don't have an accent. Stations nationwide come to the midwest to get people because of the lack of an accent. Do NOT mention the movie "Fargo" as that will incite a riot and you will get your butt kicked. 9) Don't talk about how much better things are at home because we know better. Many of us have visited big-city like Detroit, New York, and LA, and we have the scars to prove it. If you don't like it here, Northwest Airlines is ready when you are. And don't call it Delta. It's been Northwest since it changed from Northwest Orient. If you don't like it, move your butt on home before it gets kicked. 10) Yes, we know that ice fishing is "not your thing." We don't care. If you don't understand the beauty of being out on a lake when it's 10 below zero then you should go home and try fishing in New York Harbor. Also, if you hog the beer in the fish house we'll kick your butt. 11) Don't complain that Minnesota doesn't really have 10,000 lakes, we actually have around 22,000, so if you whine we'll kick your butt all the way back to the desert you call home. 12) Don't ridicule our mannerisms. We only speak when spoken to. We hold doors open for others. We offer our seats to old folks because such things are expected of civilized people. Behave yourselves around our sweet, little gray-haired grandmothers or they will kick some manners into your butt just like they did ours. 13) So you think we're quaint or losers because most of us live in the north woods? That's because we have enough sense to not live in filthy, smelly, crime-infested cesspools like New York or LA. Make fun of our fresh air and we'll kick your butt. 14) Last, but not least, DO NOT DARE to come out here and tell us how the Vikings and the Twins suck (only Minnesotans and true fans can knock'em down). If you do, this will get your butt shot (right after it is kicked). Just mention this once and you will go home in a pine box minus your butt. and 15) Have a good day now!

A friend told me I looked tired one day about two years ago and I still think about it, wondering what made me look so tired! I didn't find it insulting exactly, just puzzling because I wasn't feeling tired! I often think it's time to spruce up my look with a little more makeup -- with age I have acquired paler lips and fewer eyelashes. But I'm too lazy most of the time. My makeup routine takes about 3 minutes -- tinted moisturizer, blush, a bit of concealer, and done. Before I leave the house I add some lip gloss, which I reapply a few times usually throughout the day. If I want to put in more effort, I'll do a quick swipe of eye shadow and mascara. I know I look better when I wear a bit of eye makeup, but usually I just can't be bothered. Fortunately I have dark eyes, lashes, and eyebrows, so nothing disappears when I don't wear makeup, but I do look nicer when I "enhance" my eyes. I wear makeup to prevent others from being scared of my face. I was makeup-free for much of today (working at home, waiting for a delivery) and when I glanced in the mirror, I found myself scary. I have noticed as I get older, too, how much what color I wear (in clothing) affects how my face looks. For instance, I look much better if I wear a bright pink or orange/rust shirt than I do when I wear a gray shirt. I have been trying to be more conscious of that, and I really do feel better when I wear color. (And I probably look less "tired"!)