We live off the grid. Have 40 acres in the white mountains of NE Arizon. We love it. We have solar panels mounted to a tracker for electricity. We have a wind generator and also a propane generator for back up. We use our gray water for some gardening. Satelite for tv and computer. Need the computer as we make our money on it with our website. We just love it! It is quite expensive tho to get started. We just had our well put in this spring. Prior to that we had water brought in on a truck. Do you actually get enough sun in Chicago to keep batteries charged? Good luck to you.

Kenny your are a true enabler, LOL. That is awesome about Puu. send me an email sometime about what I owe you and we can work out something. If you or I dont make it down the turnpike I can send you postage also. Thanks for doing that I am so stoked!! My divine opened a few flowers from last years inflo and the rest are slowly waking up. No signs of new inflo's yet. As far as new ones. I would be looking at maybe Thai splash Gina, J105, and Purple jack in that order. Of course Inca Gold for the one I lost first. I was excited about Jim little's new website but then i see he only accepts Paypal and I dont use Paypal anymore so that will help me save a little money, LOL Mike

It's going to be hard to find a book that offers all the minute details about renovations because each home is different and especially in older homes, it's normal to have unexpected surprises. I'm sorry you had that experience with the roofer. Yes unfortunately, there are a lot of bad construction people out there, but there are a lot of good ones too. As hard as it may be, try not to let the experience paralize you. Your interest in learning the in's and out's of what's taking place is a very good first step towards protecting yourself in the future. When hiring help, I believe in letting the professional do his job but I too learned the hard way TO ALWAYS UNDERSTAND WHAT HE'S DOING to the point that you'll know when it's wrong. Right now, our bathroom is also ripped down to the studs and it's a first for us too. At first it was very overwhelming, but once I had a plan of what we wanted asthetically, it was just a matter of splitting the bathroom into sections and reading as much information as possible about each section in the forum. I started with something simple like the tile, then the vanities, once I knew what we were doing there, I learned about building in the shower and got quotes from the contractors. Now I've just ordered the fixtures and am researching the lighting, shower doors, vents and finish work. As I started to interview contractors, I posed questions to the forum for feedback about pricing, as well as the process. I search endlessly through the different sites looking at styles and prices of things, and when I find something I like I check the forum to see if anyone has information to offer about that particular product and it's been a hugh help. Thanks to posts and advise from Bill Vincent, Mongo and a few others, I have been able to question the process and products my contractor wants to use to build in our shower and he honestly believes I know what I'm talking about! In regards to the book idea, I can honestly say SAVE YOUR MONEY! You have LIVE people, some who are professionals in the industry here that can and will help you through the process HTH -- Lukki

I remember a while ago a member asking for a particulr golden book and was just able to find it but now can't find the member. I know between my book adict mil and my self we have hundreds of books. I was thinking with the down turn in everything, wouldn't it make us all feel better if you could find a book for a new friend and send it her way and some day pss it along. I think that this would be easy and fun. Or if there are other books that you are looking for list the, we could copy the book o send a copy. I am looking for The Man who didn't wash his dishs. My grandp Deno used to read that to s all the time So what are you looking for, maybe by making a childhood dream come true it would make our day better:) Stacie Sich The forgotten loved book project