LOL Suzy. Yay for all the cooking. Way to go. Buttercream.......slurp. Good on a cake, better off your finger or a spatula or bowl, or beater. LOL. I'm overdue for some. Darn diabetes makes it a very infrequent addition to our diet. Good thing it freezes pretty well, since I usually freeze at least half the cake, sometimes 3/4. Robin, you did good to get your Sis to do that job. Grass that long is not for the beginner. Smiles. Even starting mowers that have been sitting since last season can be a pain and require a new spark plug at the least. LOL Lilo, Mowses. Love it. I love my lawn tractor. I call it riding the grass. It's my favorite. I often have people offer to do that for me. NOOOO. Use the push mower for the hill, weed, anything but ride MY grass. Even when I'm so crippled up I can barely get to the garage, that's my reward for making it out there. Krista, I have changed a radiator. Admittedly a long time ago. Not super hard but get ready for some swearing since it's in such a tight place it's usually hard to get at the bolts and such. Also, it depends on what else is hooked to it, like the water pump and such, how hard it is to get out... and in. I bought a rebuilt one so saved a lot of money by doing it myself. Then again, I've changed the heads on a car. That requires you to have a working torque wrench. Those darn bolts can be torqued right off. LOL..The guys at the parts store didn't believe me. Said they're hardened steel. OOpps.. I'm not big on shelled things like oyster, mussels, clams. Think I've only tried clams raw once. I'm told I prepare them all quite well though. I've never eaten sushi. Never rode a unicycle. Wink. Never been our of the contiguous USA. Never had a professional manicure or pedicure, nor hair dye.

HA = that's funny "buildinghome". We had zero problems, not one tiny hitch. Yet the home started off at $240K and we kept adding little things. Ended up at $253K. Little things add up. Double the size of the deck, better appliances, better furnace (make sure you get a good furnace and not cheap builders furnace). Upgrade from a cheap Lennox gas fireplace (a true builders box - run away if you can) to a Mendota. Make sure the water heater is not sitting on the floor (rust). Make sure you have a regular door in the garage so you will not have to open the big door all the time. 12x14 foot deck is too small for real use, we doubled the size and because we face south we used wood and not composite with gets REAL hot in summer. If you can get an extra foot of overhang do it. Good for shade and run off. If you are on a hill make sure the garage is on the downhill side of the house. Make sure you have windows on all four sides. I'm surprised to see so many spec homes with no windows in the sides! Wash tub in the laundry room is a must! Outdoor faucets, put them higher up so you do not have to crawl on the ground to hook up the hose. If you are on a budget, get the expensive lights for the living areas and go cheap in the bathrooms and other areas. Then once you get back on your feet buy the good lights for the bathrooms. Paint everything neutral until you see how the light falls in the house. Don't go fancy YET! We would also build in a heartbeat . . . . . if we had too! Here is a link that might be useful: Rod & DJs House Building Adventure

No, but I once had a party where the guests (by their own design) removed their shoes. The following day I had several callers saying their feet had swollen from something they consumed at my party while a few others called to say that something they ate had caused their feet to shrink. We had a helluva time getting everybody's shoes back to their rightful owners. Whew! And I thought (for one small moment) I was going to be sued, for one small moment, for the dips and chips that had caused edema to occur bordering on kidney or heart failure. Just that everyone mixed up shoes if they were same or similar shoes in color, style, etc. It was the sangria, no doubt. Oh, yeah as a PS, all the women had their rightful shoes; it was the men; the men; the men who had picked the wrong shoes. Wouldn't ya just know.

OP here: WOW! I have listened very carefully to all you guys! Especially the part about NOT chasing the market down, and that it is all about PRICE. I toured 3 other comparable condos, reviewed their amenities, prices, and DOM. I selected a Realtor after interviewing three of them for their marketing plans. I discussed all of this with Mom at her new senior community. Together we chose the preferred Realtor and decided on Price. It went on the market on October 28th. Two weeks to the day later, Mom has accepted their offer of All Cash (it was 2.3% less than full asking price), and they want to close in ONE WEEK. So it's going to be a busy week, and I hope I don't jinx it for writing to tell all of you the good news ahead of closing!!! Mom is quite happy to get a tidy profit and put it into her other investments, and I will be happy to not baby sit that place anymore!!!! Thanks for all the advice, and keep your fingers crossed for us until Friday the 16th!! Acey