When our kitchen was remodeled 4 years ago, we went with GE Profile on everything (expect the Fridge, which we got a KitchenAid counter depth). Anyway, the GE Profile dishwasher had about 8 repairs in the 1.5 years that we owned it, as the water pump kept going out (making loud noise when filling) and the metal glide arms for the upper rack kept jamming up. After all the repairs, we talked to the Manager of Lowes and they agreed to accept it back for a refund, which we used to buy an Electrolux wave-touch dishwasher. That unit lasted about 6 weeks. It was quiet and cleaned well, but there was a few problems. The two door springs on the side of the unit were quite big and would rub on the wood cabinet on either sides (even though the space was the 24" standard). Also, the side-mounting hardware kept scratching the sides of the stainless door finish. Three different install/service companies came out to see if anything could be adjusted, and it couldn't. So 6 weeks later that went back for refund. After doing a lot a research, I decided to go with Miele, but had to wait due to some other expenses. Three weeks ago I purchases the Miele Diamante G2143SC for $1399 and had it installed due to the 20% Florida appliance rebate that was going on at that time. To touch on your post.... It is has a Clean Touch Stainless Steel exterior so that it looks good and resists fingerprints. It is very quiet (more so than the GE and Electrolux). Everything that I have put in it has come out clean, no prewash is required. Now that I've owned it for 3 weeks I can tell that the build-quality is quite high and is designed to last. So with the 3 brands that I've owned, I go with Miele again, and wish I would have know about them 4 years ago so I could have got one in the first place. If the Miele Diamante is more than you'd want to spend ($1399), you can go with their introductory Inspira G2142SC model for about $1250.

Golddust, Too fun-nay! I have my very 1st Mac - an SE30 (this is an all in one with a black and white, 9-inch display, for those who need to brush up on their Mac history ;-) - sitting right next to my Mac G5 (earlier version of the Mac Pro, the current mama of all Macs), that I'm typing this on. I have no doubt I could fire that 21 year old baby up tomorrow and it would run like a top - S-L-O-W - but it would run ;-) Got the original keyboard, mouse and cable, and I bet if I looked hard enough I could find the software somewhere around here, not sure about the manuals ;-) I'm terribly interested in your BIL's baby - do you know how old and what size his monitor is? Mine is the largest sold at the time (approx. 8 years ago - yep, I'm using an EIGHT YEAR OLD, albeit top-of-the-line, Macintosh and it runs better than any PC I've ever used, period, the end), a first generation 30" Cinema Display and I use it as a TV/DVD/DVR too - is he planning on using it this way or has he already got it set up? If already set, I would really enjoy hearing the specifics or, if not, I can make recommendations based on my experience (and would provide an email addy if you want to take this off-forum, JLMK, I don't work for any software or hardware company, just so you know). BTW, all of the software I use, even the ancient OS 9 apps mostly fill my 30-inch Cinema Display. I suspect there is a display settings change needed. I'm running (an older) OS10.4.11, aka "Tiger" (so I can keep my OS 9 apps, even though most are laughable crutches at this point), but I've been using this Mac since "Jaguar" and the software has always mostly filled the screen. The current Mac OS, for those trying to keep up, is Snow Leopard, LOL! If I could justify or luxuriously afford an iPad, I'd probably get one, but I've got an iPhone, and it's very efficient for how small it is, so I'd probably opt for the Macbook Pro instead, if I could afford/needed it, even! As I said above, my 8 yr. old G5 leaves nothing to be desired except an Intel chip to run newer apps and mobility. But it won't be long now... ;-) Oh, wait, my car will be 10 yrs old next year, LOL! natal, Glad you got what was best for you - it really depends on your usage and comfort when choosing a computer, even for PC users *roll eyes* *snicker* J/K

Your home is not an investment. I agree with that. Home is where you live and if you break even at the end of your life, you have done well, IMHO. Most people do not have the discipline to be able to divert the money that they would have spent on their home and invest it 'wisely' to do better than what they would have done in their primary home. This is why it works for most Americans; it's a forced savings account for most people. Even so, you are at the mercy of the housing market and the timing of it. If you relied on cashing out of your home to retire in 2010, then you would be very sad. If you cashed out in 2006, then you would have looked very smart. The most difficult part of using primary residence as an investment is that it is not easily liquid AND you have to live somewhere after you sell. Unless you downsize significantly AND/OR move to a lower COLA, you may not be able to benefit from that paid off house. If you plan on living in a paid off house, you have to plan for the expenses associated with the house in retirement. Unfortunately, retired people can be in a situation where they are house rich but they cannot sustain the house with their retirement income because they did not plan well, ie taxes, insurance, maintenance, and utilities may be significantly more than the rent for a small apartment. Sometimes, the retirees struggle to hold onto their paid off house or the house degrades (and loses value) due to neglected maintenance. ANY investment can lose everything, including real estate. That is not a reason to NOT invest in real estate. There is risk in every investment strategy. bonds can lose value. stocks get delisted and go to 0 value. commodities are crap shoot, dependent on the whim of weather and natural disasters. (look at corn prices this year due to drought) gold and silver; hmmmm money market is not even keeping up with inflation these days. I am getting less than 1% return in my money market account. I have to have some cash laying about but geesh, this is rediculous... short of keeping it in treasury bonds, there is no guarantee. Most people want to do slightly better than the treasury bonds with 'minimal' 'moderate' or 'high' risk, however way they define their own risk level. There is NO safe investment. Real estate is one investment strategy one can use if one is educated and one wants to work at it. It is more difficult (work) than keeping it in the indexed funds and forgetting about it.... For many people in America, income producing real estate has done as well if not better than equities. I know nothing about Canadian RE because my particular RE investment strategies are so tied to the tax structure in America.... LauraHall, if you are interested in RE, read some books and really learn how to evaluate the numbers. Unfortunately, investments are all about numbers. Unless you can make sense of those numbers, you can't really evaluate your own position; this is for ALL investments. As I am raising my children, I am realizing that I have to educate my children how to do this even if they do not have a finance degree. This is not difficult math. But it is a way of thinking about numbers and not 'lying' to yourself about what the numbers mean. I wish you the best Laura. My best answer is to read and study enough to know how to evaluate your position....

I"ve been staining wood a very long time. Don't tell me gel stains don't penetrate and that you should do 4 coats. you are not supposed to do 4 coats. gel stains do get lightly absorbed into the wood with also sitting on the surface. But It's not nail polish christinero. GF has enough pigments to 'stain' the wood w/one coat. putting on additional coats results in a tacky, gummy finish, and could also result in cabinets w/a poor finish, especially for a kitchen. this is from GF website on applying gel stain: Optional: apply a second coat to deepen the color. Apply no more than 2 coats https://generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-retail/oil-based-wood-stains-sealers/oil-based-gel-stains I have worked w/ GF stains on many, many wood projects. one coat is fine. Like I said, if you want a darker color, then go with a darker shade. there is no need to do 4 coats! good lord. why create more work for yourself? Gel stains act more like a paint and tend to hide the grain of the wood. I would never use a gel stain on a beautiful piece of walnut, tiger oak or bridseye maple. it would cover the beautiful wood details. If you want to use 3-4 coats of a gel stain, then you might as well use an espresso paint. you will get similar results with a lot less work. you will need at least 3 coats of a clear top coat after the stain dries. please read the above link for the complete how-to's in staining your cabs. especially this part Preparation for Projects with an Existing Finish and Christinero,,,,,there are dyes, stains and gels. all three penetrate, but at different levels. gels are the lightest and don't bring out the depth of the wood grain like the stain or even the dye would. (I've used all three). but gel stains still penetrate. gels have a heavier ratio of pigments and tend to give off more even looking coloring.