Well I bought a Valencia Pride tree today from my local nursery here in East Central Florida. I had pre-ordered an Alphonso mango in a 30 gallon container and a Phoenix mango in a 7 gallon container. As it happens they had received a huge delivery of mangoes that also included my order. So in addition to the previously mentioned mangoes I also purchased a second Alphonso in a 15 gal container and a Valencia Pride in a 15 gallon container. I ignored the Haden mango tree next to it because I thought that tree gets too big. I had been thinking about getting a Valencia Pride for a long time. I didn't realize they got so big though. No matter I have an empty spot in my front yard where my old Aberquina Olive tree used to be. That tree died earlier this year and there isn't much around it so that is where I will plant it. Normally I don't like to put mango trees in parts of my yard which are not fenced because my past experience in South Florida tells me the fruit is likely to be stolen by random strangers who live near by. They seem to think that if the tree is accessible then it's ok to steal the fruit from it. I think in East Central Florida where I live now though things might be different. For one thing there are fewer people here and second there are no sidewalks in my neighborhood so few people take leisurely strolls around the neighborhood. But most important of all though the paved street in front of my property can serve as a heat source during cold (such as it is in Florida) winter nights. The sun will bake the asphalt during the day and the asphalt will radiate that heat out during the night. That will hopefully keep the air temperature a little higher around the tree and prevent limb damage or the death of flowers. All things considered I am happy I purchased the Valencia Pride. I grew up in South Florida and we always had mango trees in our property. One of my favorite varieties from when I was a boy is the Kent mango which makes a really big piece of fruit. By all accounts the VP makes a similar large fruit. That's good because I have also have Glenn mango trees right now in my property which makes rather small fruit. It is nice to have a mix it up a bit and get a tree like VP that will make a big piece of fruit. Unlike the Kent which has more roundish fruit the VP fruit is sigmoidal. Some people think that looks pretty but I don't care that much about the shape of the fruit. I just care about what it taste like.

Good for you IÂm glad it was that easy for you. It took nine months of the GE repairman coming to my house every Monday before GE finally replaced my less than 2 year old refrigerator. My neighbor thought I was having a fling with the young man and ask DH about it. LOL He replaced everything in the refrigerator and it still froze everything I put in it. I havenÂt any reason to believe that the new one will last five years and you bet I will never buy GE again. Claudia

Well...when DH was in the Navy, we always went 30 days at a time! (And yes his job was pretty darn important.)Which shows there always needs to be someone to cover that time. When I worked, vacations were on seniority basis. We had to sign up every January for when we were taking it. DH works for a company that does the same thing. So are you saying he decided earlier than you when he was going, or are you trying to change your dates now? I wouldn't push the issue at this point, especially if they are laying off senior employees! Kathy

Have you actually priced out all new flooring? When you do please price out the vinyl and price out an engineered hardwood or high end laminate as you may be surprised that a real wood isn’t that much more. The bulk of a new floor budget will be tile removal and floor prep. Let budget guide you and then when you have it narrowed down post back with photos of your options. New paint color(s) throughout that lighten things up would be a huge improvement if you decide the floor budget is too much.