jim w, I hear yah. I am not sure exactly what makes the wild roses so tough, I believe I read that it was the introduction of tea roses (so roses would rebloom) crossed with old garden roses that brought tenderness and a tendency to blackspot. I also wonder why people began turning up their noses in the early 1900s (evidently) at the big pom-pom cabbage rose blooms - although the classic hybrid tea shape as we know it IS elegant. Happily the old roses are being rediscovered and we have the English roses - but now that disease issue is still there!!! I've already had to spray Abe Darby for blackspot. Plus the weakness of some floribundas and hybrid teas - I'm still smarting from the limp-along, lackluster Intrigue (died), disease-ridden Arizona (SP'd) - while an old climber White Dawn and an even older Queen Elizabeth shoot up 12-14 foot canes without fail every spring. Don't you hate it when your worst performers are much-touted award winners?

Hi...sorry I took so long to respond. :-) mes444...Not sure I want to be his 'sole' avenue for tech support. [g] Especially on a machine that I have no warranty on and then I have no where to go if he has a problem I am not able to troubleshoot. Maybe you are more computer confident than I am. Why would you say Apples are annoying and hv problems too? I had not heard that about them. mikie...yes, we had planned on upgrading out of the celeron processor, having heard in the past they were not so great. Why do you recommend a very large 2nd hard drive? The mini towers are desktops right? We are set on getting a notebook. So evidently on the list of things we plan on using the computer for, downloading DVDs would require more than the lower end computer offers then? Jane...Sounds like you bought a nice configuration on your machine. We would also go with the extended warranty and already deciding to stay away from Vista. We also don't need Office. We will take a closer look at the business machines. Thanks for that link poohbear...looks interesting. owbist...we live in the same house, so I guess we can go with the 'lo tech' way. lol Nice idea about the headphones though, I am going to look into that Skype. Yes, glad to have this forum to ask questions on. asolo...we do have an Apple store nearby and planning on looking into it. We looked at their website and they are offering $1,000. systems, which I didn't think they had any systems in that price range. Of course that is with one year warranty only. So I am sure it won't end up that price. They do offer tech support at the store too and classes, so we are going to check it out. I always have steered away from Apple, because people warned me about software compatibility problems..but I thought they had Apple versions of all the software? Plus, I am now on my 4th computer and I rarely add another piece of software once I get my computer, so everything that comes with the original machine should be compatible, right? So what is the drawbacks of going with Apple? The latest CReports shows the Apple to need more repairs then all other manufacturers, did you see that? I was surprised by that. But their tech support is supposed to be very good.

You led me to believe there was a crisis but there is none. When you said that the kitchen was dark, I thought you were using a very dark grey. This is not dark grey. As long as the room is light and pleasant and functional in different light situations, there's no problem. Light can be introduced in different ways, including sconces and countertop lamps and more wattage in lighbulbs. If you find the paint needs to be lightened to an even lighter grey, you can always do that with some more paint. You have no urgent need to do any changes for a while. An inspiration picture is for inspiration, not for dictatorship. Go in peace.

how in the he** did this become about bedtime and college? Congrats... once again, the thread is taken off topic and for some stupid reason my personal life is dragged into question. AGAIN. Ladies,(term used loosely) I answered the OP with my opinion and views. I really could care less if you agree or disagree with ME. That's MY life, not yours. That wasn't the question posed. Instead of going off on a tangent about how wrong I am and telling me what your DD is doing (who's thinking THEY are better??), why don't you just respond to the OP? If I want to put my 20 year old to bed with a 9pm curfew, THAT IS MY BUSINESS. Get a freakin LIFE!!!