I believe anoles are hardy enough to be found wild in the Carolinas, so, if a plant came from a nursery there, a young lizard might be shipped to Hm.Dpt. How good that it turned up in a house that would care for it. Before bananas were processed and stored like they are now, snakes, tarantulas and lizards would show up in the big, undivided bundles.

scuba-gal, ordinarily I wouldn't encourage it, like at a movie theather or something, but this is a *butterfly workshop* for cryin' out loud: I'd take her up there & smile brightly (like a soccer mom, they're askeered of soccer moms) & nod my head & say yes, this is my little 12-year-old. I bet they won't care.

Have you tried Menards? I know they've got one in the store; don't know if it's available online. You can always take their material list and shop it wherever you choose. I also just googled "online deck planner" and came up with multiple links promising free online deck designing. You might poke around that way.

Nightmare kitchen reno stories are certainy not just the domain of box stores. I congratulate anyone who gets a good kitchen they are happy with at a fair price by laying their cash down and just buying it without a lot of research and comparison shopping. I don't think many people have that experience and for the rest of us it's research, research, research. I found this thread really helpful in preparing me for the box store experience. My Mom in doing her kitchen started pretty cold at a Home Depot and found the experience less than pleasant. Design was poor and after paying $50 they didn't want to let her have the drawings to take home and think about. They were also quite indignant when she informed them she was comparison shopping. She walked away and I offered to help her navigate the process outside a box store. Now 6 months later we are waiting for measured drawings from HD so we can place our order. Part of the reason is that one of the HD's exclusive lines (in Canada) was the best constructed cabinet we looked at behind the doors in her price range that came in the colour and style she wanted and could be configured in her desired layout without too many major compromises. New Depot, new Kitchen Consutant who isn't a CKD but has a design background and has worked in kitchens in that store for 2 years. Store has 1 installer who has been working with them since they opened. He comes and does the measure and he comes back for the install. I asked to see his work and they made arrangements for us to see a recent kitchen (if things go well we would offer to do the same for someone ese). He gets paid the same to install her entry level product kitchen as he does Thomasville and KraftMaid and he has years of experience working with the product we are buying (not always true when you are working with a GC or a store with inexperienced installers). I haven't seen the labour quote yet but I have estimates from other companies so I will have a good idea how inflated it is. Basic design evolved from other consultations so we are not looking for a lot of layout advice and I plugged the product we are getting into my rough measure (I actually made a product list and had another Depot give me a price quote before we went too far). Once we have measured drawings from them we will verify the dimensions they are using as well as double check the order to make sure it is correct. They are frustrating to deal with in terms of service compared to dedicated showrooms but so far so good. My Mom will get 10% off the cabs and 1 year interest free by putting it on their card. We probably won't get the countertop through them as they sub-contract it and I can get it direct without their mark-up. I may yet end up here cursing them but I think each circumstance is different and people shouldn't automatically cross them off their list without seeing what is happening in their local stores. I'll update as we move forward.