When I was a teenager, my mother thought chipmunks were cute. My Aunt next door cut down on the amount of cats & Mom was feeding them (the tree rats). The next thing we knew, there were chipmunks EVERYWHERE. Dozens of them, digging up all the bulbs & everything we planted. Emptying all the bird feeders. Running & playing & most of all multiplying. My Uncles were poisoning, trapping & shooting them until they finally got down to a manageable number. In later years, I had a Sheltie who thought it was her job to be on chipmunk patrol & she took it very seriously & kept them away. My Newf isn't that excited over such a small mouthfull but we have an Eskie who likes organic dog toys (mice & such are organic cat toys). Linda

That is essentially how they do it here in Canada. They do sell through various retail outlets but it all goes through Miele from the sale on. For example, where I purchased my washer/dryer, they will stock certain appliances but they cannot stock anything from Miele. They even do their Miele orders on a separate computer that goes through Miele. Once they make the sale, Miele steps in and does the delivery and install and all service. I really like it this way. I've not had any issues getting service or questions answered. I did however, have that snafu of my dryer install. Not sure their installers were "totally" on the ball. Plus, Miele sent a tech out several times to deal with what was an install issue. When they finally sent an installer back it got resolved. My impression is that the techs actually work for Miele but the installers are subcontracted by Miele. This is from Miele Canada's website in the career section: We are currently seeking professional and reliable sub-contractors who are fully skilled and licensed in the appliance industry. Gas certification is an asset. Candidates must be fully insured and bonded. Specific training for the Miele product line will be provided.

As harsh a reality as that is and it sometimes can be completely insane, Deborah is right about the "cub" thing. You better play it smart or else you will be kicked to the curb never the son. A son can be a spoilt, selfish, lazy and useless brat and the mother will still fend for the cub. He could even be a total pyscho and most mothers will fend very strongly. In this case he belongs to the former rather than the latter and this is the case most of the time. I have a step son who is 13 and I am sending him to live with his Grandparents. I had to play it very smart to get this to occur. The step son uses me and shows no respect he never has. The first time he ever met me when he was 10 years old he asked me for money. He hits his grandfather and shouts at him when his grandfather tries to assert himself. This boy has run the joint ever since he was born. If he did something wrong, grandma would give him some candy or some money. His mother is a single mother and the father abandoned her and the son and daughter who is a fantastic girl turning 14 this year. She works her ass off and I have nothing but respect for what she has done since I got involved in their lives. But the step-son is different and is actually undermining her development. This was especially so before I entered the picture when the daughter was a wreck always moaning and upset yet unable to verbalise her feelings. She was ignored while the step son who is useless in an economic sense continued to rule the roost. Despite these kind of factors mothers will do anything to fend for the cub. My way of getting him to the grandparents was to argue that they give him what he wants, and that the cost of me disciplining him at this late stage is just to great. The house would be a warzone, a pitched battle between me and the step son to get him to take responsibility and to demonstrate respect for the fact that I dragged him and his entire family out of borderline poverty. He does not give a shit that I did that because he is no longer in control. When his family was poor they still spoilt him. They are still poor now mind you but they will never fall below the poverty line; i am their security guarantee. A 13 year old boy is old enough to understand this in theory. Especially the MASSIVE change in living standards. They lived in a 'house' the size of a small bathroom with 6 people and rats running around it. I pulled them out and all i get is used by the step son who actually prefers the old life because he was the boss and did whatever he wants. When I tried to control him it became war and instead of continuing it I said to his mother, you know what, he now knows that he can not beat his elderly grandfather and shout at him (because I grabbed him by the throat when he did it). With that control mechanism in place, he knows that if he does it again I will take it further because that is just beyond the pale, beating or hitting and screaming at your grandfather who loves you and kept you alive slaving in a factory for 60 hours a week for a paltry 25 dollars for the entire week...So with that being said, I argued that he should go to the grandparents for now, they love him and will spoil him gladly and he will be very happy as he can do whatever he wants. Me on the other hand, I want to vomit when I see it and refuse to do it. The cost of trying to get him to play ball in society is not worth the result because he is not my son. But my argument to the mother was not that, because I would have triggered the 'cub defence mechanism' that is inbuilt in all mothers. My argument was simple: (1) he will be loved and there will be no real conflict (2) the grandparents love him to pieces and are happy to take him (3) he will be happy there and you (the mother) will not have to worry about me disciplining your son anymore (3) (i actually most left this part out though) her daughter can focus on her study without her brother and grandfather taking over the house with their bullshit (grandfather cooks fried pork fat hotdogs and fried chicken for step son every morning) the daughter eats it because it is what is there - that will change when the step son and grandfather go back to the grandmother's house. Moral of the story is if you want to get rid of a step son you have to make it benefit him 90% + with very little downside to him personally; in my case it helps that he never liked me despite what I did to get him out of poverty. So easier to get rid him. Also I pay the bills. Depending on what your situation is you have to tailor your reasons accordinly, but if you want to succeed you must make getting rid of him a plus for him personally and not for yourself. Otherwise you will trigger 'mother cub mechanism' and it is GAME OVER if you do that. Find a way to make getting rid of him a net benefit for him and make sure that he is in a safe loving environment. You won't succeed in having him go to a less safe environment because that will trigger the mother. BE VERY SMART and capitalise on ANY viable opening you might have.

Thanks for all the advice! My grandsons rearranged (SO nice to move all that crystal!) and moved the top shelve down one peg and they do look better. There is no question that all white dishes in dish open cabinets look best, but that is not what I have and I need yet another set of dishes like I need termites! I LOVE dishes - different ones for different holidays and occasions. I inherited most of what I have and setting the table is the part I love the most about holiday preparations. I have some lovely heirloom linens, lots of silver and I love arranging my centerpiece. My daughter appears to have inherited the "dishes gene" ( a 1st cousin has it too - I'm convinced it's genetic!) so someday she will struggle with where on earth to put these - of course some also go to my son. I'm hoping that my grandchildren will want them - at least 2 grandsons appear promising! They do look better. I realize that what is bothering me the most is how Shiloh does their Shaker glass front cabinets. If I had been able to see a picture (their web site is horrible!) or a cabinet in the showroom, I would have known I did not like this. What I don't yet know is if what I wanted is even an option. What they do is basically leave the center flat panel out of a Shaker door and put in glass (after delivery) instead. This mean the frame is very wide - not the typical narrower frame, so it's hard to see what's on the bottom shelf in particular. I know they do this so all the bottom rails will match. Well, all my glass fronts are on the same wall with no other cabinets, and even at the corner, I would not have cared if the rails matched. Who knew...They just look heavy to me. I will live with them for a few months but also find out what options I have, if any. We spent 5 hours today re-arranging the cabinets (I was able to bring my Mother's crystal and some Tiffany very thin hollow stem champagne glasses up from a cabinet in the basement. I rarely use either as it's too much bother to bring them upstairs. So now all my crystal is in one place! We had a ball filling the two food cabinets - lovely having baking/dessert ingredients in their own cabinet and a cabinet for other things right next to the stove instead of across the floor. And the drawers... oh be still my heart!!! OH how I've longed for those drawers (doesn't take much to make an old lady's heart beat faster!)!!! I had my DGS1 go find the angel food cake pans as they were the hardest to reach in the old cabinets. Bliss - right there when I open the drawers! Drawers are the greatest idea for kitchens since sliced bread! Especially for old ladies like me! I'm SO glad I did this...even with the concern over the glass cabinets. That will eventually be resolved or I'll just get used to them. Getting the glass in will make a difference - they look awfully "unfinished" right now - top of cabinets needs trim and crown molding, too - that will make them look more balanced.