Panel beds are an option. We like the lower footboard in this style. Pottery Barn's Hudson is nice: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/hudson-bed/?pkey=cwood-beds-headboards Durham makes nice options but I have no idea on pricing. The Lorraine is nice: http://www.durhamfurniture.com/collections.php?category_id=1010 Kincaid seems to make quite a few queen size beds, but fewer kings. The Tuscano is nice, but the finish is too light for us: http://www.kincaidfurniture.com/item_detail_type.cfm?pid=5671 I'll try to post a few more things we like later. Thanks, Jeff

Have you checked the filters? My neighbor came over a few years ago and said he had no air flow. I went over and checked his ceiling filter and it must have had 1" of dust collected on it. No air flow at all! I took out the filter and told him to let the AC set overnight so the ice on the coils would melt. The next morning he installed a new filter and the AC worked fine. Cost about $2. This guy was over 40 years old and had never known that AC's have filters. With no air flow the coils can ice up (literally becomes a block of ice). Other things can cause loss of air flow. Bad blower motor, fan blade severely coated with dust, bad starting capacitor for the blower motor, to name a few. A starting capacitor costs $5-$10. Some AC guys have been known to sell an entire new AC when only the starting capacitor for either the inside blower motor or the outside blower or compressor motor was bad. I would get a 2nd opinion before laying out a lot of bucks. I would be very suspicious of the dog urine story. Question, after it sets long enough to melt the ice in the coils does it have any air flow for the first hour or so? If the filters are clean and if the answer is No, then something must be wrong with the blower inside the furnace unit. Could just be a bad capacitor. I replace at least one every 2 or 3 years.

Bruchu, I am very concerned about your comment on the drafty windows: 'we'll get double-paned replacements'. I'm sorry, but that is the wrong approach. The vinyl v-tape is a temporary fix, but going from that straight to replacing original good shape windows is just nuts. So is a cost of $800 per window if they are in good shape. You can buy metal v-strip weatherstripping at several places online, and probably also at a local store...that is going to be a better solution and easier than the very best one I mention next, which is called 'integral weatherstripping'. Integral, or carpenter-made weatherstripping is a system where metal strips are fastened to the jambs, sill and header of the frame, which has a flange in it (looks like an upside down 'T'. The flange fits into a slot in the window sashes creating a seal all the way around the windows. My house built in 1908 has it on every single window except in the basement, and it works very well. Better than my aluminum storms in fact. It can be installed yourself with a router with a slot-cutting bit, so it isn't necessary to find a professional to do it--you just need to make sure the measurements are right so the slot and flange line up. Below is a link for a good source of both types: Here is a link that might be useful: Kilian Weatherstripping

Just circling back to testify to the efficacy of the teabag method. In general Sally Hansen's Repair + Rescue has helped strengthen my nails overall, but I really needed something more for my thumbnails, that had vertical splits that just wanted to keep splitting. I tried a couple of glues, but the one that's most effective is one for artificial nails KISS PowerFlex Maximum Speed Nail Glue, about $2 from Target. I cut a tiny square from a teabag (one will last a lifetime), put a tiny drop of glue on my nail, place the teabag paper on top. If it doesn't completely saturate, I put a tiny drop on top. Let it dry completely and then trim whatever sticks over the top and buff down to a somewhat smooth surface. Over that the Repair + Rescue and it holds for 2+ weeks. Meanwhile I gently file down the length as they grow. It's gonna take another couple of weeks and I should have the split entirely grown out.