Lesson #1 is that anyone who solicits business at a box store isn't likely to be of the best quality. If he were, he'd be shopping at a trade supply house. Lesson #2 is NEVER hire any contractor without verifying references, checking insurance and licenses, and viewing past work that he's done. Lesson #3 If the contractor doesn't mention permits and inspections on any job bigger than changing a light bulb, then you don't want him in your home. Less #4 is to structure the payout schedule according to completion milestones. 10-20% to start the job, 50% at halfway, 80-90% when the job is 95% done, and the remaining 10-20% holdback 30 days after completion when any punch list items are taken care of. Lesson #5 The written word is gold. Verbal contracts are hard to enforce because each person can interpret it differently. Get it in writing! And that means everything! You want the materials to be used, the process that they should be installed with, the error tolerances that are acceptable, the timeline of the project, the payout schedule of the project, the process for written)change orders as well as what will happen if either of you breaches the contract. You might add your name and story to the police report, but don't expect to ever recoup anything from it or for the guy to actually go to jail. You're better off getting quotes from several licensed contractors to just fix the mess and suck it up and pay them to do it. Education is expensive, but not if you actually have learned from your mistake here. It will pay off in the long run.

" didnt understand "DH doesn't want to do PBJ because SS likes that too much--we want it to be a healthy alternative but nothing *too good.* " DH and I both feel that if the alternative meal is something SS just LOVES, he won't even give the prepared meal a chance. Also--in regards to the sauces--I always have them on the side. When I did the chicken w/peanut sauce, it was from a Family Fun magainze---the chicken was cut into tenders and then baked--and the peanut sauce was served on the side for dipping. SS didn't like that and we offered him ketchup or ranch and he just insisted he doesn't like chicken. Sigh. I get frustrated with it but I am sure I would be just as frustrated if it were my DD that were so hard to please. Picky is one thing--our issue with SS is that pretty much if it's not junk food, he doesn't want to eat it. This is absolutely not a reflection on him at all--I blame BM for letting him eat whatever he wants at her house and for not providing healthier meals. You should see his lunches that she packs--lunchables, or McD's or some other fast food--and then chips--and then he ALWAYS has two desserts, fruit snacks and then some sweet treat. Maybe she considers the fruit snacks a fruit??? haha. It's really sad. I feel like we try to counter-act with healthier but still yummy alternatives...but it doesn't go anywhere... We pack his lunch and it consists of a PBJ, or turkey or ham sandwich--and then chips (but we do the baked lays, or low-fat cheez-its), an apple or banana etc., and a cookie or some other small treat for dessert. And milk or a 100% juice box to drink. Then BM complains that he doesn't eat any of his lunch on the days we pack it. SIGH. It's hard....

Mine does not flop, but I prune it fairly hard, back to about 2.5 ft. or so, every winter, and take "more" rather than "less" each time I deadhead. This is a not-so-great photo I just took, but we are having an ultra-bright sunlight kind of day here and it's tough getting a decent exposure at the moment -- I will try to take another photo later, when the rose is all in shade. The bush is currently about 5.5 ft. tall and stays about this tidy and upright all season. Of course, this is zone 9b and waaaay different than your climates.... It is more or less a continuous bloomer here, with regular flushes and always a scattered flower or two.

rococogurl, It is obvious that he is here to try to convince people to purchase cheaper units that will break quickly. If he is in fact a repairman, it makes sense, since these units are the ones that will break the most frequently and provide more business for him. His statement gives him away: "So if your Lowes appliance salesman meant "these days" as in these last 4 decades... he is correct. However a 2016 dishwasher will use 1/3 the water, 1/4 the electricity, be about 4-5 times quieter, and will get your dishes cleaner than the 1970's dishwasher." Several posters replied with their very different experiences because they didn't believe him either. I called him out on it because I perceived his posts to be a subtle hijack of the thread to cause me and others to go out and buy cheapo models at Lowes by injecting misinformation, including a link from Consumer Reports--and Consumer Reports is little more than a propaganda site for major brands that are revenue generators for service people. It's a really great gig they have going. A gig that I wanted to avoid contributing to. What I am looking for now is a commercial dishwasher that is commonly used in residential settings as well, similar to the way Speed Queen (which I am very happy with) is a commercial washer that is commonly used in residential, and therefore avoids either some of or all of the energy star requirements.