Hey Jude (I've always wanted to say that :-) On Monday May 17th we'll be leaving on a 13 day cruise from Los Angeles to Seattle, five ports in AK and then to Victoria/Vancouver, Canada where we fly home on May 30th. I suspect it will be light most most of the day. I know when I was in Antarctica during the summer, a photo I took at midnight came out exceptionally well because of the light levels. Course nothing but lichen grow in Antarctica so I didn't witness the long day/fast growing plant phenomenon. I will try to remember to take a photo of a few plants early in the day on one or more of our stops and then before we board the ship that night to test your theory. Coincidentally, just last weekend I was on a hike where the docent told us the Yucca plant grows equally fast during spring and summer months and were encouraged to take a photo of a Yucca at the beginning of the hike and later on the return trip. We never got close enough to a Yucca to measure the height early on, so that theory never got tested. My biggest fear of going to AK in the spring or summer is not the wild animals, but the mosquitoes which are supposed to be thick as soup in some areas. I do not deal well with skeeters. I am allergic to many of them and scar for months from their bites. Gosh, the first time I went to AK, I was challenged to find a boat from the TV show The Deadliest Catch, which I did. This challenge will be much easier if I can remember to bring a tape measure. :-) Jodi-

Yea, I guess it's not a big deal if it's not painted behind the gutter, but really? Why would a contractor cheat in this way...should have put a note on the boards to the customer that says 'here, complain about this'.

Call few contractors who can and know how to build code-compliant stairs and get a few prices... It looks like this guy is hacking up your stairs.

a "couple" (meaning two) bugs is not a large enough sample to draw conclusions about life-cycle stages. If the coworker was familiar with bedbugs, they were likely right. Bedbugs have a flattened appearance. If multiple stages had been present, that would normally involve a much larger number of insects in a small area like a box of clothing.