My neighbours' conifer was a lot bigger and denser than that and it was taken down by an owner/operator outfit for (Cndn) $1400 plus $350 for stump grinding. I did think at the time that this was the deal of the century and you may not be able to match it locally but do shop around - it depends on things like how far it is to the place where they dump the chippings and whether you need a utility arborist, among other things. But consider not having the stump ground out since that adds a lot. I watched the job being done and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to the boyfriend since there is a lot of equipment needed and the control of falling material is key in this small area. (You said new roof, right??) As far as landscaping is concerned, I like the site that Catkim has shown. It strikes me that whatever layout you select, there is evergreen foliage that has some height to it, and some overhanging foliage. This is a really interesting arrangement of hedging material, and something could be picked up from that for your needs. And I'm no house design maven but I do note that this one does have overhangs and shutters. KarinL

I have a Kenmore Elite, top-Loading Automatic Washer; purchased on 12/3/10. tonight I was watching TV with my son and we heard a noise so loud we just ran out of the room. We had no idea what it was. Well...I walk into my laundry room and the ENTIRE TOP OF THE WASHER literally blew off. The drum is on the floor inside the housing; housing is all dented, the plastic brackets or whatever you call them are all broken. The force was so strong, it pushed into my dryer and dented the drum. So I have my little master protection plan and call SEars. They tell me the FIRST available for anyone to come look at it is January 5th...... I have been waiting for a call back from a supervisor for an hour already and will call again. The water is leaking everywhere and I don't even want to go look at my basement ceiling. I am still shaking from the entire episode because it was so loud. This isn't rocket science either . . . it would take about 5 seconds for someone to walk in my laundry room, say - oh yeah - that's broken - and haul it out of here. What has happened to Sears!!!! I have never had this kind of a problem with ANY appliance I have had from them. I wish i could figure out how to add a picture so you could all see this. . . .

Mystic, Ct Told by local REALTOR just yesterday that DOM is 38 ("if priced right" - whatever THAT means?). Still lots of inland inventory. Not much available within 1/4 mile of the coast. I'm starting to see price drops. For example, one I've been following was $748K in Feb. '07, dropped to $725K in April, & is now at $699K. The home is empty except for a caretaker. It needs about $200K in remodeling/updating (period home). New construction houses are just sitting with no price drops from February '07. Hello? We don't have a lot of new construction. One group of four homes priced in the $2.5M range & another 6 priced between $650K-$750K. Then, there are a few single spec houses dotted around further away from the village around $450K. Lots of Open Houses on Sat. & Sun. Major intersections are full of "House For Sale" signs with arrows...sometimes, 3-4 signs on a corner. These would be outside what is known as "Historic Mystic" but still in the general vicinity...east of New London & before the Rhode Island border along the I-95 corridor. Tricia

Joe Henderson, Could you please tell me what the "spider" at the back is and what it does. We re leveled the machine AGAIN only to have it rock and roll and become unlevel. Looking at the struts I see there is a fair amount of light colored oil on the struts and wonder if that is normal or could that be part of the problem. Are the struts like shocks on a car and wear out? Even if I remove the counter, replace the machine with a new free standing unit, it would extend an additional 5-8" into an already tight area. Thanks Inga