Hi, I have the SE-270D. I just purchased it a few weeks ago, but it seems to work great. It does have a 4x4 design area, but you can buy a bigger hoop as an accessory. You will find software, fonts, & designs are expensive. You can download designs free at many sites. I would recommend this machine to a beginner. I can see where someone who really gets into embroidery would want to upgrade, but I think it will be a great learning tool for me without breaking the bank. I found ebay to have the lowest price :) Also, if you are going to download designs, you will need software and the memory card to transfer the images to the machine. Be sure to look into all of that. Good luck and I hope this helps :)

So how would one do "character" outside the house - yes it's a modest house without insane detail I see sorting through other posts here. This has always been a working town, homes were built originally for the market here rather then as they might have been in a wealthier city. Frankly I don't care if anything happens on schedule I work for myself and have a lot of time on my hands, every other month with little to do. Work has always been a hobby to me, I'm used to working more then I do now because my business is established so I need a second job and why not work for myself on an old house? Does it matter that I'm naive so long as the numbers are making sense. Other then this site I haven't found anyone in the real world - my builder friend, a friend who studied construction management, realtors I know who can figure out how I can lose on this home. But real estate is local and I'm sure this town doesn't make sense in the real world either. This town has it's own set of rules, many outside investors avoid it, I spent over six months studying the market, with paperwork to the ceiling and back to the floor. I think it's odd that there's so much pessimism - I don't know what life would be without a risk. What taking someone like me who's traveled a lot of the world, who's run a company since 23, who's not the type to live in the suburbs (tried that house on the hill thing and it wasn't me) and saying it would be "more fitting" to buy a modest cookie cutter house. They are all the same, they just move the kitchen here to there in one home, the garage east rather then west... does it matter that I'm quirky, does it matter that the fixer is a modest fixer without much historic value? I don't know what this is, didn't realize people were so into historic values of homes. I grew up in one. It was a money drain, double the size of this house with far more issues starting out. it had to be lifted, cranked up, windows put in, everything... I grew up poor in that house that is now called "victorian" and then one day the rich people wanted to live in a house like that. Before only poor people lived in those homes. So apparently something happened from my childhood to my early 40s and I'm still a bit stumped. But I'll soon research more and will find out what all of this is. Yikes I sure upset a lot of people, I'm still scratching my head as to why at an old house website most people are against someone wanting to on a budget fix up an old abandoned house who has cash and time on their hands. Maybe not enough but with good enough credit to get a loan - I must have come across as a complete nutcase. I'm sorry for that. Guess when I started this post I was in panic mode. I like the house, my gut is usually right in life and I enjoy risk. As a realtor friend of mine emailed today - everyone wants a risk free investment - life doesn't work that way... why do you think I got the house at a steal because it's an obvious risk, if it wasn't and it was fixed up it would be double the price if not more. It is what it is - if I wanted some huge historic house with more detail now that I know more I guess that's what I'd go find. I like the simple life - I'm not an ornate person, I've been to third world countries and I don't believe in huge American homes - it's not for me. I want to live debt free - and you know what, if people for thousands of years lived without heat, without this or that that we might consider to be necessities in our "homes" and that over half the world lives in poverty compared to us... maybe during these hard times it is actually time to go back to our roots? And to the person that criticized me for wanting to go back to a family home, to my roots, to live in my means - heater working or not - maybe I represent something. I didn't make a mistake and buy a house at peak, sorry to all for profiting off of these times. I think I found a freakin' good deal for my boy and I and after sorting through hundreds of homes I'm going to take the leap - life will go on... if not I'll cut my losses and without losing my shirt.

I also remember the "friends don't let friends buy Ford" and a myriad of other names. For a long time there's been the anti-GE sentiment but I bought a GE frig and stove. Around $900 for both of them. They're both working flawlessly and are closing in on 10% of Joyful's 40 year frig life requirement! Plus for the cost, compared to what they cost years ago, I can replace them at 5 years and be on par with the amortized cost of use. Plus it's using noticeably less electricity than my old frig too which will also offset CoO figures. And if I had a 30-40 year old frig, I could probably pay for a new one just by electricity (/"hydro" for my Canucklebuddies) savings. And for the ones who are so anti-GE, I'm curious - do you refuse to fly commercial airlines? Many planes use GE engines. I'll gamble that you don't even check on what you're flying! I think I'd be more concerned being 30,000 feet in the air than being in the house with something I don't trust the name. GE has had times where they were extremely reliable. I have a 33+ year old GE washer that is still going strong. Never a repair. My sister's Maytag couldn't last that long and required several repairs as did her dryer. And they were the "Dependable Care" line, known for reliability. Maytag of course went way downhill and destroyed the company until Whirlpool essentially bought the name (the only value left) and made it a respectable name again. The thing people don't understand about many companies, but appliances especially is you don't always know who makes what. People tout the "Kenmore" name. But Kenmore is not a manufacturer. They have their appliances made by a variety of companies, including GE, Whirlpool, Panasonic, LG and more. The GE Harmony is made by LG. Maytag, Amana, Inglis, Jenn-Air and a host of other names are made by Whirlpool. There's a lot of things I won't buy. Tomato paste in a tube. What a rip-off! A tube is about the size of a can of tomato paste at 8-10 times the cost. I'll open a can, freeze the remainder or I'll toss it for the cost difference. I'll bet you don't get 8-10 uses out of a tube very often. Most "As seen on TV" things, I won't buy. Granted there's a few things and some are OK. But just like my policy of email is false until proven true, the ASOTv has to convince me first. And I sure won't get sucked in on that "Free 2nd unit... just pay 2 times the cost of the unit in shipping and handling"! Starbucks. Need I say more? I believe most people spend way more on most appliances than they need to. For the average consumer and cheaper TV, refrigerator, computer, etc will serve the same purpose and last just as long and be just as reliable or better. My microwave cost me $20 and it works better than any of the expensive ones I had. Stainless steel. For the people who want to look like a pro instead of cook like a pro. And I was reading a few months ago that the SS fad was wearing off. The new gimmick is stainless steel and white. And talk about ugly. But I'm sure lots of people will rush to the appliance store to spend $10k to replace perfectly good appliances to keep in fashion. Funny thing on those "Eggies" thing is Grainlady has them and loves them. I didn't like the idea of 4 parts per unit to have to wash but she doesn't mind. She sprays them like you should and she has no problem with them sticking. She likes that she can add things to it and even scramble the eggs first. More don't buys": Cell phones for 6 year olds. New cars for 16 year olds. Etc. I try to avoid "one trick ponies" whenever I can, but I also avoid things that try to do everything but does nothing well. OK a can opener is one-trick exception and no, not with that useless bottle opener on the big name one. That's a joke. But a crock pot is a silly purchase when you can get a roaster oven that does so much more. Special chip clips? That's what clothespins are for. I'm sure there's more specific things I'll come up with on what not to buy but basically this says it all: If you don't need it, or can use something in it's place, or already have a functioning one, or if you can borrow for an occasional need, don't buy it!

Well, Yes Donna I am; thanks for asking! I didn't feel like I had anything that relevant to share until I started reading here. It's funny how so many of the little things you make choices on translate into a simpler life. I live by Talley Sue's ROI rule...for clothing, my sister calls it CPW (cost per wearing). I recently hit the summer sales because I had some events I needed clothing for, but didn't want to spend much money on. I hate to clothes shop so much that I usually end up paying far too much to buy an item for an event, simply because I don't want to invest the energy or the time. I decided this year to take advantage and make a marathon of it and really think about my purchases. Listing all the events I knew I had coming up, I went from there. I purchased items I never would have in the past, yet shopped much smarter than I ever have. For example, I can never find jeans...and on that trip, I bought two pair of outrageous designer jeans that fit. (I have never spent so much money on JEANS, but it was the right thing to do.) They were on sale, I got them altered for free, they look fantastic and I'll wear them until they fall off in tatters. On the other hand, because of the sales, I bought two dresses, one for a party and another for a wedding I'll be attending in the fall; both for $16 ea. That made me feel great, since I won't wear those much. I filled in my wardrobe with some black pants, and a number of tops that will take me to most events, all at ridiculous 75% off prices. I tried everything on, and refused to buy anything that didn't fit perfectly. What this did for me was allow me to pull any of those clothes out of my closet and wear them without a moment's hesitation. I went home and vowed to spend an afternoon in my closet trying everything on so I could purge ALL my clothes to that same extent. It's a lot more fun to shop my closet now! You know, I dressed for a party last week and didn't even look in the mirror before I left. There's a lot of freedom in knowing everything fits and looks great! Another discovery I made recently had to do with the number of hummingbird feeders I have. I hesitated to put them out this year because I have quite a few and have to clean them often to refill, especially in the heat. Since hummingbirds are one of the highlights of my life, I decided to keep half of them on reserve in the fridge. That saved me a bit of a chore, I have a place for the reserve food, and they're all ready to go. The hummers eat until they're empty, and resources of food and energy (mine!) are saved. That definitely made my life easier and simplified the process for me.