Laura, I've been meaning to write ingredients to rid Mites. Sorry, I didn't get to it sooner. Everytime I was about to, something came up. :) I've used this recepie so many years, I no longer measure. But, adding a little more of this or that won't harm a plant. That is, all but Fish Emulsion. I'll get to that. The night before spraying, I fill (about 3/4ths full) a 16-20oz spray bottle w/warm water and add 1-2 cloves of peeled garlic. Following Day: 1/4-1/2 teas Hot Pepper. 2-4 drops Dish Soap, 'Not Dawn.' 1/4-1/2 teas orange/lemon/lime or grapefruit juice. As a preventative or to kill Scale, and some other types of insects, 1 capful of Fish Emulsion. Mix thoroughly before spraying plants. Spray under and upper leaves, stems, and trunk. This mix can be kept for weeks, but shake the bottle so ingreients are even. Fish Emulsion: To prevent/kill Scale, in addition to above ingrdients, I add 1 cap of Fish Emulsion. WARNINGS: Leftover insecticide w/FE should be discarded. Fish Emulsion has a fishy odor. The smell can last 1-3 days. Although I'm not thrilled about the odor, I'd rather deal with it a few days, than find Scale on my plants. Since FE is organic there's no need to worry about inhaling or pores. It's totally harmless, won't burn roots/leaves. BTW, use a new or well-made spray bottle. Old bottles, especially when used frequently, don't work as well, or can drip. I used to use peeled citrus rind, but the peels clogged up spray bottle. In its place I use citrus juice. Mostly Lemon. The lemon that comes in a yellow plastic, lemon-shaped container. Preferably unsweetened. The same thing happened w/garlic. I used to chop 1-2 cloves, but pieces clogged sprayer top. BTW, before adding garlic to water, I squeeze each clove in water bottle so liquid blends in. Toss in squeezed garlic cloves, too. Hot Pepper. I've been using Cayenne Pepper powder, but any hot pepper will do...the hotter the better. These ingredients deter and kill Mites. Mites dislike the scents, so they steer clear. Eish Emulsion prevents and kills Scale. A friend who owns a Citrus nursery in Fl told me they use FE on ALL their citrus to keep Scale away. Not long after she told me about FE, I ordered an Olive Tree. It was delivered at night. I set it between two Citrus trees. While misting, I noticed a brown lump on a leaf. Taking a closer look, the entire Olive was Scale-packed. Not to mention the closest citrus branches. I phoned her to get the exact Fish Emulsion dossge. The Olive and Citrus were first isolated then sprayed. Within two days, all signs of Scale were gone. Since spraying, none of my plants had this awful bug. Ever. This happened, I believe, 1999. That's it. Spraying every other week should keep Mites at bay. (without FE) BTW, Fish Emulsion is an organic fertilizer. I spray plants w/the complete mixture before coming indoors for winter. Not only to keep insects away, but a last foliar feeding. If a plant is budding or flowering, don't spray, or refrain from hitting buds and flowers. Anyway, this recepie works for my plants. Considering the amount of plants I have, and each from diferent nurseries, I either have a Plant Angel or plain lucky..lol. Give it a try..can't hurt. I avoid chemicals, 'except a few fertilizers.' Let me know if you decide to give it a try and how it works..Toni

DH and I talked about a cherry kitchen in our future, but after he convinced me to completely replace our white cabinets so we could start fresh, I couldn't see that much brown. I've always been partial to white kitchens and when I went through kitchen photos, at least 80-90% of those I was drawn to were white. Sooo.... I would call our kitchen transitional I had never seen or heard of Christopher Peacock and white kitchens were not so popular, but I think the shaker and similar plainer front cabinets were, so going simpler seemed a popular choice. It was driven by hating the heavy moldings on our custom cabinets (wall trim used on cabinet doors). It made a statement, but that and the short counters meant every drip got caught on the paint and stained -- and there were lots of grooves to clean. DH is s slob in the kitchen. I had to have something very simple so the choice was desperation, not fashion. Our tile had to be patched in the reno and was done poorly, so we later replaced the floor. The dark wood was probably a popular choice then, but it fit our house. Risky -- did white marble counters in both the cooking and clean up zones before it was making every magazine cover. I am not a granite person, didn't like my mom's Corian and the cool recycled glass was uber expensive and didn't really go with our house. I saw a slab of marble with squiggles that reminded me of the stray marks on old ink drawings and thought of Da Vinci (my boys and I were into him) and I had to have it. End of story. Other not so safe choices -- I did three cabinet finishes (wall of tall blue storage surrounding my fridge and knotty cherry island and hutch in the breakfast room, did a 3 tile combo (from 2 different sources) for the inset in my backsplash, and mixed metal finishes on hardware, lighting and faucets. All of the above plus the fact that the layout was designed by me to maximize every inch of possible function for the way we wanted it to work and adding fridge drawers to our hutch made it right for us. I designed it to make me happy and with no consideration for resale or what others would think. My favorite design element -- the different cabinet finishes -- the wall of blue as a backdrop plus the knotty cherry -- and the custom leaded glass in the uppers of the hutch. But my favorite thing is how it functions. DH even said out loud last night (8 years later) how he loves the way we designed the kitchen. It just works for us. I'd say the marble and the three cabinet finishes were a bit of a ledge, maybe mixing metals -- no regrets. We didn't name our kitchen, but we had in mind a couple of things -- an old bakery or ice cream parlor and kind of the gentrified plantation/ranch style of the rest of our home. I also kept saying I wanted a workhorse, not a showplace. It needed to be almost understated and yet, at the same time, go big or go home. Probably doesn't make any sense, but no sissy stuff here. The sparkly bridge faucet, chandelier over the island -- beautiful, but didn't fit here.

My father built my cabinets last summer/fall, and I'll try to answer some of your questions. 1. Any good resources/books/sites you found particularly helpful? He was already en experienced wood worker, but most of my reading, to keep up with things and learn on my own was done at sawmillcreek.org How much of a savings can we expect? I guess it is all relative- savings compared to 15K or 50K cabinets? :) My costs: $80 waterlox finish x4 (exteriors) $90 waterbased finish x2 (interiors) $55 bushes/applicators/steel wool/sand paper $82 shelf supports/brackets $32 glue $1600 -ish wood $460 hinges and slides $160 drawer handles We used certified sustainable mahogany that I *think* was about 6/BF, and plywood was about $60-100 each(1/4" vs 1/2") and 1/2-3/4" birch ply for the interiors at about $40 each The total above is about $2560. This was for an 11x13 kitchen, framed shaker cabinets, lots of drawers. 3. Level of difficulty or learning curve? For me it was tremendous, but for my "boss" not so much 4. Absolute must haves, should haves, and would have made it so much easier if I had tools? I cannot think of any thing to add to the tool advice you have already gotten, except that having a big, usable work area and a lot of room to store the cabinets as you make them is really helpful. 5. Time frame? you dont want to know mine......LOTS longer than planned. 6. Tips? As already stated, PLAN everything as well as you can, measure twice, cut once.......:) 7. How much should we expect to pay for wood? You saw my costs, but I really dont know how regional lumber tends to be, or what red birch costs. I got to know several lumber yards, but it was my dad's old standby favorite that served us the best. 8. Good sources for blumotion hardware and good hinges? cabinetparts.com Rockler (walk in store, or online) I got my handles on eBay. Good luck!!!!!

House: Insulation (interior walls) - we hired the spray foam done Prime and paint All trim install, sanding, caulking, painting - after this 'project' I can say with 100% confidence that I HATE sanding, sandpaper, dust, dust cloths.....I will run the other way. :-) Hardwood floor installation Tile installation - floors, back splashes Fireplace surround, stone Cabinet and hardware installation Mudroom lockers/bench Wainscoting Landscaping, under ground sprinkling Screened porch, stairs, railing All clean up which was throughout the build Barn: Framing, shingling, siding, electrical - pretty much the whole thing We were owner build and that is how we were able to do that much. I know some builders will not allow it. It sounds like yours is giving you good leeway for what you are comfortable with. There are many times we were so sick of it but now that we are in there are some nice memories (and some not so nice ones - hehehe) and fond feelings when we look at say the fireplace for example since WE did it.