that model number says yer machine is about 10 yrs old and has a variable speed tranny setup (not a hydro). Those type trannies use TWO belts and need to be OEM (both purch as a set from MTD). follow the link below to d/l a Troy-Bilt manual - it has directions/warnings for tranny belts changeout. Also use this link for a owner's manual to that Briggs engine (copy/paste into yer browser's address bar): http://manuals.mtdproducts.com/mtd/Safety.do?pid=138543&model_num=14BV809H063&serial_num=00000000000&filename=274794.pdf Here is a link that might be useful: Troy-Bilt manual

Of course, *I* got the *$500* version--and my hubby was VERY PATIENT!! I was SO proud of him. I thanked him over and over for this opportunity and he just kept saying, "I just really loved seeing you so happy and enjoying yourself so much!!!" Is he a 'keeper' or what!!! Now you know how we've made it 41 yrs. and 'yes' it goes both ways! :o) Cynthia--with the *$500* tour, 'Colby' is included as co-host!!! Ken is pretty adamant about the 'etiquette' on his tours--be informed!! hehehe I think 'Colby' may be far more lenient about them, though! Actually--ken was a VERY tolerant host and hosta-tour-guide! He had to answer so many of my questions, and never really gave much of a hint of the weariness he MUST HAVE felt!! :o) Okay, ken--that's all of you--I know you want the *hosta* to be the focus, but these scenes, caught from Steve's vantage point, just begged to be shared and 'tagged'! :o)

Rosefolly and Colleen, we grow black, red and white currants in our veggie garden and certainly the birds will eat them given half a chance. If we have enough we turn the reds into jelly, traditionally served with roast lamb/mutton or jugged-hare. We generally freeze them 'whole' and add them to apple sauce (from our own cooking apples) which is reheated and added to cereal at breakfast. A few berries eaten raw as part of a fruit salad are fine, but they need cooking as the taste can be too strong. Our area used to be a prime location for blackcurrant growing, part of a Govt scheme to provided vitamin C for children from the late 1930's run by the company Ribena. As children we used to love this stuff. It came in a bottle of concentrated fruit juice which had to be 'watered down'. Good taken in hot water for winter colds etc. Now is tastes nothing like the original and is more like 'pop' with a horrible metallic, chemically enriched flavour. The company, along with many others producing 'soft drinks' has been forced to lower the sugar levels following Govt 'advice' about obesity Ribena Info . .. pretty pics but may contain adverts!

As someone else said, "Not the worst, but certainly not the best." I see things I like and things I don't like -- I'd give it a grade of C /average: - The exterior has excessive jigs-and-jogs, which will be expensive /force the roofline to be more complicated, yet they add no purpose or function to the live-ability of the house. - Have you toured houses /looked at 10' ceilings? They're too high /serve no purpose -- but they drive up the cost of your materials, as they require taller windows and doors. And cabinets, though the uppermost cabinets won't be useful. And they will raise your heating /cooling bill. - The garage location complicates the driveway. A guest will be tempted to drive to the end of the drive /placing him near the garage /leaving him with no view of his goal, which is the front door. You can fix this with a second circle drive in front of the house, but that's extra expense, and it still isn't clear to the guest where he should park. Think through the parking situation carefully. - This board considers a good-sized garage to be 24x24. This one's 24x22. Remove the wall between the garage and storage /have one big open space, and you'll have comfortable parking for 2 cars + ample storage against the back wall. - The two secondary bedrooms are an average size and have nice closets, but they need more than one sad little window each. Natural light is a problem throughout this house. - I like a J&J bathroom, but this one's embedded in the center of the house with no natural light, and that's never good. Downsize to a single sink so each child can have a bank of drawers; otherwise, you have zero storage in this bathroom. - The half-bath and bonus room bath are very small /will be uncomfortable. And again, no natural light. This house has a slew of secondary bathrooms to build /keep clean, but they're all minimal sized /will not be comfortable. - I love the pantry, but I hate the long walk from the garage to the pantry. I wonder about switching the half-bath and the pantry. - If you have enough people to fill this house /these bedrooms, you probably want a freezer -- but I don't see a spot for it. - The mudroom is not really a room. More of a drop-spot. And, again, it's in a small, dark space. That's a bit of a theme in this house. - I don't see a coat closet -- unless it's the spot under the stairs? - How do you intend to use the bonus space? It'll be hard to bring anything large -- like a bed or a desk -- up that narrow staircase with its 90 degree angle. - The kitchen is large but it's choppy and poorly designed. The sink, the most used item in any kitchen, is set apart and is in a major walk aisle. 4 people cannot sit at a 7' island, as each person would only have 21" of space -- how are the two people in the middle going to get in /out? You want your glasses to be stored next to the refrigerator, but you have only a tiny cabinet to do this. - The dining room looks nice, and people can move into it from two sides -- but I'd double (triple?) the window. - The kitchen and the living room -- the two rooms where you'll spend most of your waking hours -- are enclosed by the porch /other rooms to the front. So these two rooms will lack the lovely natural light that we all want. This is not a small thing at all. - Where will you place a TV? Don't say over the fireplace -- you don't spend this much money on a house to live like you're in a small apartment. I'd move the fireplace to the center of the back wall /flank it with two large glass doors -- that's a lovely look, and you weren't getting direct sunlight through that wall anyway. That allows you to place the TV on the wall where the fireplace is now. - Nice sight line from the front door to the back. - I like the study's location, and with more people working from home, it's smart to build this in -- even if you don't currently work from home. I'm okay with the barn door because it opens into the entryway /won't be right on top of loud spaces. However, the bonus room would be an even better place to work from home. - Laundry room is far from the kid's bedrooms, but I like its connection to the master bedroom. Since the laundry room door will stay open most of the time and because it opens across the master closet, I'd switch it for a pocket door. - I'd also like to see a pocket door between the small hallway and the living room, which could close off the whole master suite. - The dryer is set near enough the exterior wall to vent directly to the outside. That's very important. Do you really need a laundry sink? We had one in my mom's house growing up, and it was never used. If you do want one, switch things so it can be next to the washer/dryer -- this'll consolidate plumbing, which is cheaper and provides less opportunity for leaks. But do keep the dryer on the exterior wall for direct venting. This is cheaper and more fire safe. - Toilet is in a dark closet with no storage. Never a comfortable idea. - You can have natural light from two sides in the master bedroom. Natural light from two sides is always superior. Always. - The master bedroom is fairly far from any exterior door. For fire safety, I'd like to see a door opened between the master and the porch. If you anticipate being elderly in this house, this is even more important. It'l also make it possible to bring in large furniture (because making the turn in that hallway won't be easy). - In general, I'd rather see the master bedroom near the master bedroom -- it's more convenient when you're coming home /want to go straight to your room to take off your shoes. And if you bump the kids' bedrooms over to the opposite side, then someday -- when they're out of the house -- you'll have the option of closing off "the kids' wing" and not heating /cooling that area. It also means you know when your teenagers come in /out of the house. Overall thoughts: - This house has all of today's "greatest hits" thrown together, but I see a slew of ways they don't come together in a functional, comfortable way. - This house has only one living space /gathering area, and that's fairly small. I'd like to see a second smaller living area in which one family member could retreat to watch a ballgame that interests no one else, or a space where the kids could play video games without disturbing the parents. - This is a house that prioritizes the bedrooms. Is that what you want?