Grandma used to say, "Don't cross bridges till you get there". My boss once said, "Treat others like you'd like to be treated". That was good a couple of thousand years ago - and still works. I like a variation on another, "God likes to help those who are helping others". Dad used to say, "I want to leave my farm better than I found it". My variation is to replace "farm" with "community, country and world". Good wishes for helping leave the world a better place than when you came to it. ole joyful P.S. I think that I'll send this link to my youngies. o j

I'm not seeing a lot of people out of work in my area at all. Have been keeping a close eye on the real estate market, since we'll be listing our house soon--and houses around here are selling quickly, for every bit as much as they were selling a year ago. To be honest, the news IS reporting that the real estate market in our area hasn't been much affected. However, just 30 miles away, the area where we're moving, houses are sitting and sitting, not selling. Many have been for sale for a year or more. Great for us, of course, we bought low, and should be able to 'sell high' to maximize our $$$, but there are a lot of variations, I think, from one place to the next. But there are a lot of good bargains out there. Restuarants have a lot of BOGO offers, coupons. Prices for all sorts of things are down here. We've been finding a lot of amazing prices on things we need for the new house--again, lucky time to be fixing up 2 homes--one to move into, one to sell.

For anyone years later who is looking for the same info: I recently left flooring as a store manager and sales rep. First, understand that NO flooring is scratch-proof. They are scratch-resistant. I know someone else recommended staying away from it in case your basement floods but the truth of the matter is that if it floods and you use your homeowner's insurance (recommended), they will insist on the entire floor being replaced no matter what you have installed. You can choose a commercial grade if you are really worried about the flooring holding up to abuse. They are often glued down. Your installer will probably want to skimcoat the floor or use a leveler. This is good practice. Urethane with ceramic bead and urethane plus with aluminum oxide particles are the strongest choices right now but there are some higher ratings Like AC 5 which is stronger than say a 20 mil wear layer. There are also a few in the 30 mil wear layer range. You will often save money hiring your own installer because stores make money from the cost of installation. Hire your own and have them buy your materials. If they have an established relationship with the store, they will often get a significant discount on your materials. The store I worked for had a 55% profit margin but when they sold to installers/contractors they lowered it to 30-35%. Stores have to make a profit and so do installers. You may save some cash if your installer charges a smaller profit margin. Ask for a Certificate of Insurance on the installer. If their installation is bad or unfinished, their insurance has to cover it. Stores should have a warranty to cover poor workmanship as well. The manufacturer will cover manufacturing defects but not workmanship. Before you hire someone, ask if they do moisture testing and what is their procedure for it. ALWAYS have a moisture test done and documented when they come out to measure. If it is too high they should recommend what to do to get it and keep it at the appropriate level. ALWAYS have it done again before installation. This is the number one thing that causes manufacturers to deny a claim.

I bought some of this chicken wire wrap at Joann’s recently. A friend of mine used to do wedding flowers and she would use chicken wire in some of the big containers to stabilize the flowers. This wire wrap might be easier to work with than aluminum foil because it bends easily yet holds its shape. It comes in rust, white and galvanized. http://www.joann.com/4in-x-9ft-chicken-wire-wrap-rusty/14158109.html#q=Chicken%2Bwire&start=1 Check out floral sticky clay and something called Cling floral adhesive to hold your fruit in place. It might work. If it’s not too cold, you could keep your arrangement on an enclosed porch or in your car overnight. They last longer when they’re refrigerated.