As with any kind of recreational activity, there are start up costs, but I think each year, I spend less and less. I am just finishing up about half a dozen seed trades, sending folks seeds collected out of my garden, for varieties I don't have, so for the price of a couple of stamps, I'll have several new peppers and tomatoes to try this year. David, last year my DH ran across an ad for an upright deep freeze. Someone up in Aspen just giving it away. It is full of bags of pesto, shredded zucchini, sliced carrots, peppers, apricots (free from a neighbor), etc. So the only expense is the electricity to run it. I also canned about 150 jars of jams, jellies, applesauce, salsa, pasta sauce, and pickles. I gave away quite a bit for Christmas gifts, but there is still plenty left over for our family to use. Just last night, I made spaghetti using a jar of my homemade sauce, and then we had some applesauce for dessert. Way better than anything storebought. The jars will get reused, so the only cost this year will be new lids, and the electricity to run the canner. Gardening is one of the only recreational activities that I know of that can pay for itself. DH spends who-knows-how-many-$$$ on motorcross bikes, gear, gas, replacement parts, etc., and has a great time with the kids, but it certainly won't make us any money ... not unless one of the kids turned pro or something, LOL. Bonnie

There are multiple issues with hood cfm and MUA requirements that need to be addressed, including: Safety is dependent on whether the fan at full power with windows however you will open them without fail causes the house pressure to fall below about 0.03 inches of water; but(!), this is only an issue if there are combustion appliances that can be back-drafted by the pressure drop or if there is an operating open fireplace. A cracked window is going to provide only modest MUA cfm at low pressure drop. A wide open window (with screen) is needed for larger capacity ventilation if the pressure is to stay below the threshold of back-drafting. Restricted MUA causes a pressure drop which in turn reduces the capacity of the ventilation system. There is always MUA for whatever flow rate the hood actually achieves. For part of the year in most of the USA and Canada, the outside temperature is low enough that normal household room heating capacity (BTU/hr/room with window open) will not be sufficient for the larger ventilation fan capabilities. This means that it will get cold inside for the duration of grilling or wokking unless a blower supported MUA system is used with a heat exchanger. To keep rising effluent from curling out of the hood due to its momentum and "reflections" in the internal hood geometry, it is necessary for the air velocity established by the exhaust fan in the vicinity of the baffles (or in mesh hoods at the bottom) to equal the velocity of the rising cooking effluent. Because the fan air velocity will be about the same over the entire critical area, the flow rate (cfm) has to be about equal to the effluent velocity times the area. (There are fluid dynamics effects around baffles that make this kind of rule of thumb somewhat approximate.) People have different tolerances for how much odor they want in their houses, how much grease and moisture escape they will tolerate, and how cold they will allow their house to get (or their guests to get). This leads to a wide range of views on how well their venting system works. If limited by aesthetics, architecture, and cost, as most of us are, then one can only do his affordable best and accept less than perfect results. kas My Clippings has more on this subject

I was quoted a price of $115 a square foot installed, from Stockett here in Phoenix. They have 2 varieties: a softer, grayer one with lots of small veins (they called it "Minus") and a harder. blacker one with mostly dark green veins (called it "Brazilian Eyes") .When oiled, the blacker one is mostly black with very light veins and some dark green areas.

Julie, I had the same NFMart experience you did. I was completely overwhelmed by the store and DH ended up talking me into a soft Broyhill. DH..."Why are we here if were not going to buy anything?" After 4yrs the wood frame squeaks and it's so uncomfortable I'm always changing sitting positions. Have you been to Crowley Furniture in OP? I think they carry mid-line sofas but their service is excellent. The two sales people that helped me were decorators. It was great to bounce ideas off them, as well as get help with the multitude of fabric choices. If you're adventurous you could try T. Ormans. They advertise high end furniture at wholesale prices. Another overwhelming place for me. Tons of furniture spread out over a 70,000 sq ft building. I think you really have to know what you want before you go. They're only open Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays. I do think I'll visit NFM again. Next time I'll go during the week and be armed with a list of brands worthy to look at. I remember the back of the store had an area of higher quality furniture that wasn't prowled by hungry salespeople. Also, every time I try to find a dealer for one of the above mentioned brands it comes back as being carried by NFM. Jennifer