"Although I wonder how you manage to create straight rows with a town behind dethatcher on a rider. I can't even mow in straight rows, I have to do the zamboni mowing method because of the layout of my property." Like what Morph said, the straight rows don't really matter that much. Once the grass comes in you can't tell what pattern it was planted. We had our house built 1.5 years ago. So I've been going all out to get it in prime shape. We had sod in most of our yard but the first summer (last year) crabgrass totally took over my front yard. We did not actually move in until the fall but closed in late spring so I was not there to take care of the yard. Just now does the front look as good as other areas. It took a year to clean up the crabgrass problem. Next year I'm going to start scaling back what I do b/c I now have what I call a solid base. My lawn looks perfect (to me) in every area. Now I know during the summer it might thin out a little in some areas or a dog may mess up a spot but the amount of seed I buy each year is going to be cut in half. Oh yeah, one other thing. My lawn is very healthy and during the droughts I usually only watered 2-3 times a week. My water bill (3 months) was usually under $200 while some of my neighbors were >$500. Read some of the threads about watering and training your roots to grow down deep into the soil. Frequent watering can create shallow roots. The dethatcher is a very helpful tool and I'm always shocked at how much crap it pulls up out of the yard. Although I think the aerator has done the most to make my yard thick and green. This is not recommended but I used my aerator in July b/c my lawn was burning/turning brown and no amount of water would help. I aerated and applied a summer fertilizer and watered it really good. Within a week my lawn and bounced back and looked great. A few of the neighbors asked me what I did so I did their yard and got the same results.

Live-Wire-Oak, I thank you for your post. I finally do get it at last that it does not matter if the white is perfect but what matters is how everything in the kitchen goes well together giving that elegant pretty look. The recent kitchens posted made me realize this and the new reveals came at just the right time. The KD and I talked when he came by for his sample doors and he had more changes he made but I told him I did not have time to go over them if I had to order only today before the price went up. I needed to do my work as I like to get done right away what is given to me to please my clients. He agreed that if I could not decide which white door but I still loved the Shiloh Flat Panel beaded inset cabinets, then I should wait and pick out my counter first and then decide how the counter, floors and cabinets look altogether. Apparently each change takes him hours as he does it manually. I explained to him that I had told you to leave everything the way it was but take away the blind cabinet and kept the Lazy Susans. He told me he was trying to make the new kitchen better with other cabinets a little bigger but he sees I did tell him that. He is sorry he heard me tell him a 36" opening and saw all my emails and pictures of the refrigerator I wanted but he remembered the one I had was 33" wide so he wanted it to look build-in so drew the lesser space. I felt bad since he looked like he was going to cry and I told him, timing was so wrong and the pressuring was not good for me and if he gave me the designs right way a few months ago, we could have worked together to tweak it to be what I wanted and then had more time to pick out the right white door and counter but I am too busy to do it right now as my clients are my priority at the moment. I guess I would be more comfortable sitting in front of a computer with a designer making changes to show how it affects my room and my budget. I am that much closer to having my new kitchen with new floors as soon as my tax season ends. I am now finally seeing the forest and not lost in the trees. I did reread all the posts above many times and plan to before looking again after tax season. I still love the Shiloh beaded Inset door in the flat panel. I remember when I picked out my home office desk about 19 years ago. I walked in the store and fell in love with the beautiful Scandinavian teak desk that had a big rounded edge in the front to have more room to go over paperwork with clients. I did not like the price but was told I could get a cherry veneer. I ordered it on the spot and I still love it. When I chose my home, I had looked at 10 houses and disliked them all. When I was faxed the layout of my townhouse, I loved it. When I finally decided to be open to a townhouse, I loved the outside as they all look a little different where I live. I loved the inside layout and the way the home office is separate from the rest of the house. I loved how clients did not walk through my living area and have a bathroom to use in the home office area. I loved my private back yard with the privacy fence and woods in the back. I loved the location and how it was only 6 miles from where I was living and near so many highways but still country like. I went home to measure everything and came back the next day to be sure everything would fit. I then knew this is where I wanted to live and I am still happy here even after over 16 years. BUT when I chose paint and floors, I could not see how it would look as I could only see a small sample and I have been needing help. I get lost in the trees like you said which is so true! I was able to pick the BM Bone White color on the wall as a painting designer on the paint forum of Garden Web told me it only looked dark as I had a big spot on a big white wall and it was actually very light and peaceful and I should just go with it. I then thought, I would listen and I love my wall color. I am finally seeing that once everything goes well together, I will be happy and the perfect shade of white does not exist. I just want someone that listens to me and I guess maybe I need to communicate better what I want since I am a number's person and not a spatial person. The kitchen designer told me when I am ready, he is still willing to work with me if I want to call him and gave me another card. I felt bad since he thought I was buying today but I wish he would have realized that I needed to pick out a counter to tell which door color would be for me and he should have emailed me the new changes to have time to go over them to be sure I liked them. I should have not let myself be pressured and told him that it does not matter if there will be a price increase, now is not the right time as it takes me awhile to go through the process of finding what I want. This forum made me realize it was the whole picture I needed to see and not the individual pieces that would make my kitchen come together. I just wish I had room for an island but I wanted to live where I live and you get so much less for the money. I just reread my post and I can't believe how long it is. I type over 100 words a minute on a big screen computer and I eat my meals as I post. I am eating dinner now before getting back to work. I will leave it as I want to be able to go back and read these posts over and over again before I get back to choosing my kitchen when tax season ends. Thank you!

We have kept our finances seperate since the beginning, as we have both been divorced previously-not that there is much to seperate but yes I have my own account etc.. We both chip in to pay household bills/groceries/car ins etc, he pays the house pyt since he makes much more than I do. The only account that is joint is DH's business account and that is strictly for convienece for him, I make deposits etc while he is gone. I would never clean out the bank accounts and leave like that. It's just not my style, my DH works damn hard & I couldn't leave like that. The bottom line is I still love him regardless of whether it works out or not I wouldn't do that to him or anyone. Just wanted to update although there is not much to update. SS26 joined a football/baseball & bowling league, got lots of new hunting equipment and a new handheld GPS, trip up north sigh.. Though he is doing some work for DH (and being paid handsomely for it). I have figured out why they are not planning to move out til Oct, hunting season is a few weeks into Sept-priorities. DH is working out of town still and not sure when he will get home. I do have to say though DH has covered my bills this past month while I've been off without a complaint. He has been quite supportive regarding my knee injury & not just financially, so I really feel kinda crappy complaining about the SS's though I realize it is completely different. At least I know they will be moving out in Oct (hopefully) I'm resentful that they continue to live beyond their means instead of saving up to get their own place, though it's beating a dead horse and it would be a arguement if I mentioned it to DH. Not much new to report, surgeon reevalutes me in 2 weeks. It's feeling a bit better and I am hoping to avoid surgery (as I have had 3 surgeries in 2 yr.s-I'm sick of the whole sx deal) he say's it's unlikely this will heal on it's own. Either way I am picking up a couple of shifts to see how it holds up and will decide if this is a level of discomfort I can live with for awhile or to bite the bullet and get it fixed. I am planning on setting a counseling appt for DH & I when I know he will return home, though he may or may not attend that's up to him. I'll go either way, it certainly won't hurt. Thank you all for all the support, it is good we have this place to talk & vent.

I figure that as long as most of the items I purchase are made somewhere in the USA by some type of US based store, whether it's online or not, that's good enough. I consider "local" to be my tiny town, but there are NO appliance stores within its boundaries. I don't care about supporting the suburb fifteen miles away any more than I care about supporting the economy in California, which is where I purchased my appliances (I live in Michigan). Put another way, I don't see the difference about helping people who live a little bit closer to me than those who live farther away. However, if I could buy a particular item in my hometown for a good price, I would. What I do care about is trying to buy American in America. That's local enough for me, I guess.