Ello, ello, friendly neighborhood Resource Plus vendor here. Long story short, we're the people in charge of marking down plants at Lowes, and so here's how it works. (Located at the Orem, Utah location by the way.) It used to be that we could mark the 'distressed' plants down to whatever we wanted. Now, however, we have to follow the 1,3,5 rule. If $0-$4.99, it goes to $1. $5-$9.99 goes to $3, and $10-$14.99 goes to $5. Anything 15+ goes down by 50%. Now, if these don't sell fast enough, THEN we get to mark them down more, usually by about 50% off the current price each week. As for choosing which plants to mark down, it varies. I personally usually wait until the plants actually need some TLC to look good. My manager wants them marked if dying. If dead, diseased, or bugged, we are required by law and company policy to dispose of them in the trash compactor. Stupid, I know, as I have seen many savable trees, bushes, and flowers (not to mention benches, cabinets, toilets, ect...) crushed. But we CANNOT give them away. Don't ask. That bit about Home Depot getting credit back? It's true. They expect their plants to die, and are little better than Walmart about watering. This is not just me supporting Lowe's (as being seasonal does not bring loyalty), but from actual experience as a gardener. I don't like HD plants, never will. The success rate has just been too low. Walmart is fine if you catch them before they die of drought. (And yes, we will make deals on mass buys of clearance. We want them gone.) If you have any other questions about the program, let me know. I'll gladly help. And if you are near the Orem, Utah Lowes, pop in and say hi to the vendor. This post was edited by CinderSparx on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 18:52

Egads! More from WebMD (can you tell I'm bored. LOL!) "Lead is a very strong poison... A single high, toxic dose of lead can cause severe emergency symptoms. However, it is more common for lead poisoning to build up slowly over time. This occurs from repeated exposure to small amounts of lead. In this case, there may not be any obvious symptoms, but the lead can still cause serious health problems over time, such as difficulty sleeping or lowered IQ in children. Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it can affect children's developing nerves and brains. The younger the child, the more harmful lead can be. Unborn children are the most vulnerable. Children get lead in their bodies when they put lead objects in their mouths, especially if they swallow the lead object. They can even get lead poison on their fingers from touching a dusty or peeling lead object, and then putting their fingers in their mouths or eating food afterward. Tiny amounts of lead can also be inhaled. Testing shows that many children have too much lead in their blood. Overall, about 1 in 20 preschoolers have high levels of lead in their blood. Any child can be affected. Children living in cities or older houses are more likely to have high levels... There are many possible symptoms of lead poisoning. Lead can affect many different parts of the body. Over time, even low levels of lead exposure can harm a child's mental development. The possible health problems get worse as the level of lead in the blood gets higher. Possible complications include: Reduced IQ Slowed body growth Hearing problems Behavior or attention problems Failure at school Kidney damage " I think I'm gonna get some of those lead swabs and test those Christmas mugs :o) Here is a link that might be useful: Medline Encyclopedia : Lead Poisoning

About a year ago my 83yr old mother was working on a project and needed some supplies so off to wally world she went. Two and a half hours later she returned home (walmart is only 3/4 mile away) and she was livid. In fact, I don't recall the last time she was that mad about anything. I asked her, "Whats the problem Mom, can I help?" With that she flew off into a tyrade about the trained monkeys, misfits and absolute idiots they have working in the stores today. Finally about an hour later Mother calmed down enough that we could hold a conversation and I asked what had set her off? She says,,,I went to that damned wallyworld to get some yarn & some fabric for my project. After walking about 2 miles in circles around that store I finally stopped at the courtesy desk and asked, "Were is your YARD GOODS department?" She says, "I then set off again, following the instructions to the letter and when I arrived at the what they call the Yard Goods Department, what did I find? Lawn mowers, rakes, shovels, weed wackers and ferilizer, although I think the best fertilizer they have is the BS they pass out at the courtesy desk!!!" I said, "Well Mom, it could have been worse, you could have asked them where the "notions department is", I'll bet they would still be looking for that one.."

Are your aisle widths sufficient for traffic to flow b/w seated diners and the Living Room as well as b/w counters? Do you have an adequate seating overhang for eating (which means a raised surface at least 15" to 18" deep to provide room for plates, glasses, etc. without worrying about knocking them off the raised surface)? Other comments... The island really needs a prep sink b/c you don't have sufficient space b/w the cleanup sink and the range right now to make that your primary Prep Zone. In addition, b/c of your current sink/refrigerator layout, you will be doing quite a bit of zone-crossing and an island sink will help with that. DW in the island with cleanup sink on the perimeter...that setup is not very ergonomic. You will be twisting to go from the sink to the DW. The DW works much better next to the sink. Dish storage...with this layout, someone setting the table will be going right through your Prep and Cooking Zones - something that you should try to avoid. The Cooking Zone should be the most protected Work Zone in the kitchen, with the Prep Zone second. Between these two zones, at least 80% of the work done in the kitchen is done here. In the Cooking Zone, you are dealing with high heat - the range top for cooking and the oven for baking/roasting/broiling. You really don't want people darting in and out of that space and you don't want to be tripping over people while taking things off the range top or out of the oven. I do not recommend moving the range to the island. If you do, you may need a deeper island b/c you will need at least 24" from the back of the range to the edge of the seating overhang for the safety of your visitors sitting behind the range. In addition, be aware that downdrafts, even telescoping, are not very good at venting steam, grease, etc. The best are the ones with the vent that rises up through the middle of the cooking surface (b/w the left and right cooking coils/elements), but you cannot have one of those with a range. Downdrafts only work for pots/pans right next to the fan and for those pots/pans shorter than the top of the actual fan by at least 2 or 3 inches. If you have gas, you have the issue of the fan disrupting the flame when attempting to cook. Note that most downdrafts are designed for cooktops, not ranges. At one time Dacor made a range/downdraft combination, but I can tell you from personal experience that the fan was not very effective, it was loud, and it was particularly a nuisance if someone was sitting directly behind the range/downdraft. An overhead fan is much better and is especially needed when a cooktop/range is in an island or peninsula. Why? Because grease, steam, fumes, etc. are exposed to more and stronger wind currents, you don't have a back wall or cabinets in each side to corral the grease/steam/fumes/odors/etc. and direct them to the hood instead of spreading out away from the hood, and with seating the...