Facebook is a wonderfully addicting place to hang out! It's a "social networking" site, which means that you create a network with all of your friends/relatives and as you (and they) post little updates and pictures, everyone in your network see them too. It's a fun way to keep in touch with people, especially if they live far away. I play Scrabble on Facebook with a lady from the Rose Forum. I love it! There's a search word game too that I spend way too much time playing. Lisa

It's true that you can almost program an appliance to live a specific number of years. I don't mind paying a premium price for an appliance (Well, I mind, but I will do it) if I know it's of really good quality and will last. I remember the days of the repair shops and fixing them if you needed to. But, in the last decade or two, appliances are made much more cheaply and the parts to fix them are priced in such a way the consumer is encouraged to just pitch their broken appliance and buy a new one. Shame, shame, shame on the manufacturers. When I married my husband, both he and I had a refridgerator, so I sold mine, rather than move it. He had in his kitchen a 20 year old model and it was still running well. We kept it another five years, and it was so ancient, the interior disintegrated before the working guts died. That's how well it was made. Twenty five years old and still running! Since the compressor was fine, I was able to donate it to one of our utility companies to be recycled. Win/win. If I have X dollars to spend, I'd really rather get a very basic model of something with no bells and whistles, but made of really good components. It's hard to buy basic anythings anymore...........it's all designed with extraneous stuff many people won't even use with plastic bodies and nylon gears. Whomever came up with the idea of making gears out of nylon should have been committed!

Hi Plllog! "That is, I know it's possible, but might not be in your budget." See, there's the crux of it. This little beverage center idea of mine was not in the original budget. (Nor, alas, were new drywall in the livingroom and halls, the gorgeous walnut top on my used cabinet island, the matching gorgeous top that will soon be on the new media cabinet and the near full gut of the bathroom.) And we're still determined to get through remodeling our ugly duckling without taking out a loan or dipping into savings. Conventional wisdom says: Wait until the coffers are full again but that's so hard to do. First off, I'm a cheapskate. Even if the goose who laid the golden egg waddled up onto my deck and built a nest, I'm not sure I would willingly pay someone to mess up the walls I just paid to fix. Second, I'm not quite cheap enough. My new kitchen is starting to look pretty good but, gosh, it would look so much better if the microwave and coffee maker didn't take up so much room on that one counter. I'm willing to spend a little bit more to change that, especially since I'm going to have a piece of countertop leftover that should be just the right size. Still, it's nice to know that it's possible. Maybe when the coffers ARE full again I'll put a tile counter outside on my deck to shade the golden goose should she happen to wander by ;) Thanks for your help!

Lukkirish, I choose not to abuse my dogs with shock collars and other painful devices and methods. Not sure what your vet's opinion has to do with this as vets are not behaviorists. Educate yourself on the subject. I have. Gee Cynthia, I was trying to be nice with my replies but since you prefer to get nasty, I'm happy to be equally as blunt. If you can't understand why a Vet would have an opinion about how a puppy or dog is cared for, you are more clueless than I originally thought. :c) I know several Vets and they aren't in the business they're in for the money. While making a decent living is always part of the equation, most Vets become Vets because of their love of animals. Most are involved with them some how outside of work too. It's also really obvious that you have very little knowledge about this topic as well. More specifically, you have no idea what the credentials of my Vet are nor the relationship I have with her so who are you to comment on it? FWIW, she owns several dogs and IS very involved with training and local rescue chapters; more than most. I appreciate that she is engaged with her patients and their families. Her advise on general care and behavior training for our puppy has been invaluable. We followed her advise and now have a super happy, well adjusted, fully trained and non destructive dog. Hmmm...it would seem that maybe you don't have a Vet who is involved in the WHOLE care and life quality of your dog. Is that why your expectations of a Vets knowledge outside of the clinic is so low? We are not abusers and go to great lengths (and expense) to ensure our girl is properly cared for. I take issue that you would imply otherwise. NEWS ALERT! Shock collars are not used with invisible fences. A collar that CAN shock is. There is a difference! Of course you're entitled to your opinion, it's just not an educated one. LOL