I agree - I love added to and turning my compost daily - and I miss it in the winter. Mine freezes fairly quickly - really, when the ground freezes. This year, when I opened it, it looked like it was in the same state as I left it Dec 15th. I just added some kitchen trimmings to get it started - which didn't work very well. Next year, to get it jump started - and really, to finish-off what wasn't yet digested - I think I'll add a big bag of alfalfa pellets. All the Best, Theresa

Finally remodeled the kitchen in our 50s California ranch style house. Waited 18 years but it was worth the wait. Room is about 12 x 12, U shaped but the fourth wall has the fridge and some pantry space. BEST THING: repainting the original cabinets (creamy white, Benjamin Moore Pottery Barn Mascarpone) and hardware (that old black colonial stuff) to save $$ for top notch appliances. I replaced my old cheap wall oven & fridges in kitchen and laundry with a 48" Sub Zero. It is quiet and it is so flat -- I gained a wider walkway through my kitchen. Even though the fridge is smaller than the two fridges that it replaces, I can fit everything in there that I need (though now I understand the popularity of the "drink station" fridge!) I replaced my 42" avocado green cooktop with the La Cornue Cornufe 43" in Provence Blue with brass trim. I did not want to give up double ovens, but the usual Viking / Wolf etc. 48" would require me to give up too much cabinet space, plus I never liked the huge oven and tiny oven combo and cramming 8 burners into the space where I used to have four plus a big griddle (that I used to plop things down, mainly). Now I have 5 burners so I have room for big pots and handles. I was really nervous about having two smaller ovens. However, you get the half sheet pans from Williams Sonoma and they act as racks. The fitted roasting pans that come with the stove work fine. I roasted a big five bone prime rib in there. I use my ovens so much more now than I ever did before, especially for meats. That stove is a thing of beauty and a real show stopper in the kitchen. LOVE the blue. So YES, the appliances make all the difference. ALSO LOVE having everything look kind of old -- we have Carlisle wide plank hard wood in rustic white oak (knotholes and marks); we have Barroca soapstone with some white veining; my cabinets are not pristine but they fit with the overall look. Patina galore even with new things! GO CHEAP with the faucets and just get chrome. With everything else stainless, it's nice to have something more glittery on the countertop. We have chrome in every room with plumbing and all of the rooms "match" even though we have faucets from different manufacturers. Accidental benefit: We hid the trash can in a pull out inside one of the low cabinets. We just attached the door face to the pullout mechanism. Well, one of my undercounter cutting boards slides out perfectly so that I can chop and then sweep the trash directly into the trash can. Sweet! By getting the new fridge, I gained more countertop space to the right of the fridge. I was able to have a built in shelf made for my microwave to get it up off the counter. We converted one of the broom closets in the laundry room into a tiny little bar. We used a remnant from our countertops for the counter; we spaced shelves for wine and soda storage. My husband routered out a few leftover strips of the hardwood to make wine glass racks on the top of the cabinet. It's kind of cute. What I'd change? I don't dislike my Kitchen Aid dishwasher, but for some reason it is hard to load small things like pyrex bowls, small cereal bowls, etc. It is great for tons of plates and glasses. However, I like to cook and I use a ton of those little custard cups for prep. I store leftovers in 1c, 2c, 3c, bowls and they never seem to fit right. I did not get the dispenser on the Sub Zero because I think it will stay cleaner and also the dispenser takes up room inside. However, I do miss crushed ice more than I thought I would. I always dreamed I'd have a fancy backsplash behind the stove. However, this stove is so beautiful that I do not want to upstage it. I will just hang a pot rail behind it like you see so often in the ads for the stove. Also I did lose storage space -- we moved a hanging cabinet over the countertop peninsula. I lost my baking rack storage when I hid the trash can. I lost my pots and pans storage when I replaced my cooktop with the drop in stove. I have been getting rid of old things and making room for new things but I am still moving items around to figure out where they should go.

Thanks Guy's...:) Nicco's swim wasn't for pleasure.....medical reasons...:) I just walk along and encourage him from the edge as he does his laps.....Now a fun swim would be nice...might have to do that too....soon..:) He is doing much better now and if we can just get him to cooperate every other evening when I have to give him his allergy shots....life would be good....he knows it's coming and has no qualms about letting me know he does not appreciate it!...LOL A few more and then a knew thread...:) Tender Love Now this applies......LOL Will Return Rick

Keeping it to groceries, if I don't like it, it's a learning experience and I won't buy it again. I'd be embarrassed to return something simply because I didn't like it. If it's spoiled I'd return it only if when factoring time and cost of the return, it makes sense to return it right now. If it's more effort than it's worth to make the extra trip, I'll casually mention it to a department manager the next time I see him/her at the store as a courtesy. In an area like mine there are many choices for grocery shopping. I've chosen my primary two stores for a reason. As I see it, it's not in my interest to waste employee time and corporate expense on my trivialities. Again - These opinions limited to groceries, at stores where I don't pay for the "priviledge" to shop. Oh, and while I'm at it: If you're on the checkout line bickering about the price of something you thought was on sale, chances are you were wrong. So please do the half dozen people on line behind you a favor and pay for it and then go to the customer service desk to be shown you're wrong, rather than waste everyone else's time.