Sometimes it just takes time, sometimes you just have to do it, one step at a time. My husband grew up in a farming community, so in some ways it makes sense to him, but he also worked in an environment where "tree hugger" was an insult. So I bit my tongue on a lot of things, and just did my thing little by little. I grew up in a state with a bottle deposit, and when I moved away, it just felt wrong to throw away a can, so we've always recycyled aluminum. Sometimes that annoyed him, but he dealt with it. My stepson liked it when he learned to drive - he dropped off the cans, he kept the money. Of course, we actually live somewhere with free curbside recycling, and now he's started drinking bottled beer instead of canned -(they don't take brown glass-_ but I've made progress other ways). Now he's ok with recycling everything that can be picked up. Cans, paper and plastic, though that really means he leaves some things on the counter or sink for me to deal with, but at least he's not blindly tossing things in the trash anymore. I tried some green cleaning early on (we've been married almost 16 years now), baking soda, washing soda etc, but it wasn't working well for me all the time. We couldn't really afford the more expensive, more convenient green cleaners, so I used regular stuff for a long time. When we moved to a house that had a septic tank, a lot of that started to change. It's easier to switch, and maybe pay a little more when you can envision the chemicals going into the ground in your backyard. I started with toilet cleaner, moved on to dishsoap, then dishwasher detergent. Now I've progressed to laundry detergent and fabric softener. In our travel trailer, we now have biodegradable soaps and I clean with vinegar. Makes sense when you're out in the mountains. Checking out the energy efficient stuff every year at the home shows helped. Money savings is a good incentive. We've used CFL's in most of our high use lighting for years. Not changing lightbulbs all the times was a huge help. I have had to give in on his reading lamp before, but it's a give & take. We haven't had to replace a furnace or anything like that yet, and the $$ will have to pencil out for me too, but he'd be very open to different options now. We've also recently switched to re-usable shopping bags. No more being over-run with plastic bags. That was made easier (for both of us really) now that they are becoming more mainstream. When you don't feel like they'll look at you funny at the store, it's not too hard (as long as you remember to bring the bags of course). A few plastic bags are ok though, I use them to bag the recycling, and for trash bags in my bathrooms. We are even creeping toward more organic foods. That may even be more him than me! Neither of us are strict on this one, but if the prices are fairly close, we'll go with the organic (I'm still too cheap to pay TOO much more). All in all, I think it's a matter of time, and as being more green becomes more and more "normal" and seen as more sensible to more people, it won't just be those "#$%* treehuggers" anymore, and it will be easier to do. Sometimes, he'll still shake his head and call you crazy though. Just smile, and keep doing it!

Hey Amberley, Scrappy, & Bmorepanic (& anyone else in this MD/VA/DC)...we have around 30" here in Western Howard County. Drifts are quite a bit higher...the one we measured was 36" high! My DH just started slowly snow blowing our driveway. We have a fairly long drive, so it's going to take awhile...he figures it will take him at least 2 days to do it all! Our dogs refuse to budge from the porch...we have to push them off to "do their duty" on the snow rather than the porch! My DD tried throwing Ruby (the female) into one of the drifts...but she stayed on top and daintily walked down & off the drift! Heavy snow! But, we have a fire going and I just made hot chocolate for the kids (they just came in from playing out there-13 & 15 years old and still playing in the snow, I love it!), so we're doing great! I also made a big pot of chili for tomorrow and now I'm making pineapple casserole (me) + Roman Holiday (DH & kids) for tonight's dinner! Amberley, it sounds like you're making good progress b/w the demoing and the snow shoveling!

Dang Nabit!!! The P-trap is easy. Just tighten a bit more. Not too much if plastic, you can strip it. The DW is going to be either the fill or the drain. The fill should have a cutoff under the sink: turn off the water. This again may be a connection that needs to be tightened down a little more. The drain on the KA is just a hose, but it has a clamp on the pump/motor end and another at the airgap (do you have one of these?) or the GD end. (I assume the first time it drained you heard/saw the water going through the GD?) In terms of 'high loop' (and no airgap) the hose needs to be mounted so that there is a high point in the line somewhere. It connects to a short section of hose at the bottom of the washer with a provided clamp. Maybe the clamp is missing or is in the wrong place. Anyway, this isn't rocket science and you need perhaps someone else to look at it. A plumber is not necessary, perhaps just a handyman. Or someone else who knows which end of a screwdriver and pliers are to be used in this instance.

Exactly where are you: I assume central to Southern California. Also, was this walk well out in nature or are we talking a neighborhood walk? The last one is definitely a bulb. It might very well be an allium and knowing where it was found might lead to an ID but it's more likely that we will need flower pix. It could also be a triteilia or dichelostemma.