When I bought my current house, it had a very large, heavy timber and steel play structure in the back garden. One of those with swings, slides, climbing ropes, climbing bars, rings, the works. I certainly didn't want it, and the thing was huge, with 12" posts. I asked around the neighborhood to see if there was a young family with young kids and offered it to anyone willing to remove it, fill the holes (and remove the concrete). I got a taker almost immediately -- eliminating, what for me was an eyesore, and I get the pleasure of occasionally watching their kids play on it. Since the thing looks as though it will last forever, I also asked the family if, similarly, they'd be willing to pass it along to another neighborhood family when their kids outgrow it. A win-win situation.

sayde, I have done something sort of halfway in-between all of the above and it has worked very well for me. We are spending a lot of money but because I wanted even more I set out trying to do as much of it on my own as I could. So between online reading, showroom shopping and GW, I go along making as many decisions as I can handle and when I bump up against the wall, I have a KD who consults with me. I make an appointment with her and she consults with me for an hour or two about the decisions I've made, offering advice about anything she thinks I've overlooked or forgotten or misunderstood, etc. Then I go back to work and move until I reach the next point at which I need a little feedback. After getting my cabinets drawn on graphpaper and labelling where everything was going, I realized I needed to hire her to do the elevations for me as my biggest weakness is really not having a good 3D "mind's eye" and I really want to "see" what I'm planning a bit more realistically. My second biggest weakness is not having a lot of confidence in my design decision despite having strong preferences when I see something so she will help me a lot in pulling together colors/styles. I have found this process to be a good compromise--because I do the research I know a lot about what I'm choosing and why (mostly thanks to GW)and feel I have a lot of control over the process and so feel confident talking to her about what I'm trying to do. I've saved a lot of money by just paying her for the hours that I've really needed her advice and at the same time I have to say that when I have paid her for advice I have definitely felt that I got what I was paying for. (My only regret has been that I didn't realize that she didn't do 3D computer drawings which I would have preferred.) Overall though it has been a very helpful and easy relationship; she did refer me to the cabinetmaker I am going to use but I interviewed him along with several others and there was no required tie-in. I might also ask if you aren't planning to get bids from more than one contractor...I got 4 bids, none of them connected to the cabinetmaker, all of them highly recommended by people whose kitchens I saw first and all of them willing to work with my cabinetmaker. I don't think I'd be comfortable going with a GC that wasn't willing to say that if he got the job with me, I would be his first priority. I guess in the interests of full disclosure I should add that we haven't chosen our GC yet--still comparing bids--and so perhaps my conclusion will change before it's all done. But so far it has been a very nice way to do it, albeit not fast. Good luck with your decision.

Nikki, your package arrived today. Thank you so much! I didn't do a great job on the picture, but there are 2 packages of beautiful flower stickers, that pretty little notebook that includes a pen, several packets to indulge with beverages (non-alcoholic for all who are picturing otherwise - LOL) and that fantastic cup which I really like - a bright and happy color and such a good size. I often take a cool drink with me in the car on hot days - also in the little baggies there are 2 kinds of anemone and a lily. You made me happy, Nikki. Thanks so much! I hope everyone at your house is starting to feel better. Jeanne

Olychick, shelters charge fees to take unwanted pets because even if they do get donations, etc., the cost to shelter animals is astronomical. Donations can't possibly cover it all. Food, vaccinations, staff, vet fees, surgeries, medications, supplies, heating and air conditioning-- it all has to be paid for in some way. It makes me scratch my head when people come into our shelter and say that they want to adopt a cat, but they don't think they should be paying a fee. How do they think we can survive this way? And if you can't afford to pay an adoption fee, what happens when the animal gets sick and has to go to the vet? We get tons of people turning in their animals because they got them for "free," but took them to the vet for the first time, freaked out because the services cost money and didn't want to pay for medical treatment. I don't think the $50 to take in an unwanted pet is a large fee. It's pretty reasonable. Our shelter charges $75. If the person can't pay the $75, we ask for a donation that they feel they can pay. If it is a person who has found a cat, we don't charge them. Therefore, we get plenty of liars that claim they "found" a cat and want to turn it in, when in reality they are turning in their own pets. We get people leaving their cats in carriers at our front door when we are closed and catch them on video running away. They've left dogs tied up in the bushes in our back yard. At least they are bringing them to us rather than letting them off on the side of a highway (which is also a frequent thing). But honestly, asking people to pay a fee for taking a pet in, giving it shots and medical care, spaying/neutering it (usually these people don't feel like paying for that either) is more than fair.