These are our complaints: --someone was in the apt. for repair work while we were both out, even after we had expressed that we are not comfortable with people being here while we are gone. We gave them plenty of oppportunity to come in and make the repairs while we were here. This included 2 days of us sitting here all day waiting because they said they'd be here. --neighbors upstairs are excessively noisy every day and night (running, stomping, jumping, yelling). Honestly, it often sounds like the children are running/stomping *everytime* they move from one place to another. They also frequently slam their front door. --children play in the front parking lot as well as in the post office parking lot behind the apartment buildings (It is blatantly stated in our rules that children are not to play in the parking lot). --children play in and run through the hallways, they also sometimes yell (playing and loitering in the hallways and on the stairs are also expressly prohibited in the rules). --individuals prop the security doors open for their own convenience (I am not referring to individuals who are moving into or out of the building).

I read that you had your furnace fixed. For future reference, if your furnace is gas - and is - for the sake of argument - 5 years old or thereabouts, there is a sensor in the furnace that accumulates dust/dirt and that must be cleaned by a technician. This happens despite annual cleanings of the furnace. The first time it happened to us we thought we had switched on the air conditioning. The repair man told us it is a problem with all of the newer furnaces. The fast, but temporary fix, is to turn the thermostat all the way down - and then back up high again - but not to turn the furnace on. But you only get so many successful heat returns this way. This has happened to us twice - and to many others this year in the Toronto area - all with furnaces about our "age". Three weeks ago we thought it was happening again and I was up all night doing the turn down/turn up bit because it was freezing cold here and I was concerned about the pipes. The service man came, but of course just after I had finally got the down/up working again - but while he saw a bit of build-up on the sensor he didn't think that was the problem. He showed us a small, rather opaque looking circle on the furnace and told us that when it happened again, to start counting the flashes - and keep note of the times it happened - also if the flashes were say 9 fast, 3 slow etc. So we did this for 2 days and finally the down and up wouldn't work. They sent a senior fellow with a new electrical board who said that it was unusual for this part to go on a furnace not quite 5. The part cost Cdn. $400 but was covered under warranty. We have a maintenance agreement with our gas provider for repairs only - but come Feb. 10 when furnace turns 5, warranty will expire. Feb. 9 we are switching back to maintenance PLUS - for the parts. I am watching the furnace carefully though because other people have had their electrical boards go this winter too - all on furnaces of our vintage - plus other parts as well - one person has had 2 replaced. One lady asked what had happened to furnaces that lasted 25 years - obviously a "young" person. In our old house, building in 1932, the oil furnace was still going strong in 2000. The gas furnace that was in our current house lasted 17 years (which we were told was now considered normal) - so it was about 7 when we moved in. I wonder if the current one will last 10. The air conditioner had to be replaced in spring 2007 - and replaced with a 14 Seer. People were making jokes as they passed by our small bungalow with the super giant 14 Seer in front of it. Well, they aren't laughing now, as many people on the street have had to have their units replaced. I hope that you don't have any further furnace problems.

Follow up: Saw the set. It's just as it looks in the pics. I noticed 2 lines of indentation on the table top from writing, but not a deal breaker. A table runner could cover it up. The china cabinet is really cute because it's smaller than most (50w x 16.5d x 79h) so it won't overpower my room - I hope. It's in great condition and surprisingly, I like it too. Anyway, I put a whopping 50% deposit on it to hold it until Saturday and had her sign a receipt. I guess my hawking CL finally paid off. I'll post some pics when I get the room together. Thanks everyone for the encouragement. The set isn't normally my style, but I think for $100 it's a beauty, has character, and will be easy to live with.

I will also recommend some under cabinet lighting. My kitchen is quite large so instead of making it a MIB alley the designer I used suggested under cabinet lighting and i was a little uncertain about the whole thing in the beginning but now IâÂÂm happier with it Here is a link that might be useful: more info about under cab lighting