Wow. What a read! I got into Dahlia three years ago. A good friend gifted me with a single cactus - pink that I have yet to identify. It's a strong plant with lovely blooms that also make great cuts. Because of how I grow my flowers, this dahlia in particular will yield an incredibly quantity of useful tubers for the next year. Of course, I share what I can and my friends fall in love with growing dahlias because of their success in growing this particular cultivar. Sorry, my intro went on for days. Given that I reside in SE Portland, I have come to rely upon Swan Island [Canby, OR] and Old House Dahlias [SE Portland]. This years crop came entirely from Old House Dahlia. I am very pleased by the quality and performance. However, several cultivars have been slow in growing, notably Lindy, Tanjoh, and Fascination. The blooming is delayed, too. Aside from the pink, my planting of Shea's Rainbow has been the showstopper of the season. Relying on the Aer. Dahlia Society's classification index, Shea's Rainbow is BB/IC/V [meaning, Small flowered [4-6"]/Incursive Cactus/Variegated coloring. Checkers [M/FD/BI] comes in a close second. Although, I have discovered this cv. to be less stable in terms of bloom bi-coloration reverting possibly to one the parent colors?

Hi Stacie, Thanks for reporting on the heatilator. I didn't see your response on time so I went ahead and ordered the Dimplex built-in 36" fireplace. A few months back, I went to a fireplace store and they had the dimplex on display. I was amazed by how it looked like. From a distant, it looked pretty realistic. Up close you can tell that it's not real as it uses a mirror/glass to show off the flames (not sure how to really explain it). It still looks good even up close. What really attacted me was the fact that I can adjust the brightness of the flames and the intensity of the heat and speed of the flames (low or roaring fire). So that's why I went for the dimplex. Note: I was looking at the 30inch version (non-built in). I went for the 36 inch built in. When I got it two days ago, I was disappointed to find that it didn't have the features of the 30 inch (which I assumed it did). The 36 inch built in didn't have the ajustable flame, light and heat. It had just Flame on only, Flame and Heat. It had a same fireplace display which was attracted me to buy the dimplex. Now that I think about it, how many times will I be adjusting the flames? Probably not. So bottom line is that I'm satified with the Dimplex. From a distanct it really looks like a really fire. My mom came over last night and she was amazed how nice it looked. Likewise for my wife when she came home and noticed the fireplace. She was pleasantly surprized.

uscpsycho: Most of the parts on a water heater (controls, etc) are made by couple of manufacturers. Within the standard gas or electric tank water heaters much is going to be the same. Bradford White I believe is still only sold to licensed plumbers (they aren't available at Big-Box hardware, for example). Plumbers like to install them because the end customer can't see the retail cost of the unit (and the markup for the plumber). The brand has some "reputation" for quality because that's what the homeowner is told as a justification for the higher price. In addition, a professionally installed heater will generally have fewer issues overall. The point being that the hardware may not be better, but because Bradford White isn't installed by do-it-yourselfers, it can claim a reputation for better reliability. I'm reading the same issues about warranty that you are. In general my feeling about standard tank water heaters is that they are pretty much a commodity item. I've had good luck with Rheem - and a 40 gal, 12 year warranty is $560. Avoid too many bells and whistles that don't really add value (do you really need your water heater to like you on Facebook?) There are other types of water heaters - as you learned in your other post that went wildly off track (sorry about that). But I think that JRB451 is closer to right than wrong. If you start getting into condensing, or hybrid electric, or even fiberglass tanks - then things are different.

lucy, such a tease... would love to see pics. igloo, LOL my miele DW is one of my top favorite items in my new kitchen. after we had it a while it did start "crying" for something... rinse aid I think. I had to look through the manual and punch in a series of codes and it stopped beeping. that was when i realized that it has a VERY sophisticated computer running behind the scenes (which in general scares me... particularly given the quality of repair men these days). Since then, all has been fine. The cutlery rack was a big risk for me. I didn't know if I would like it... had never had anything remotely like it before and I have to say that I love it. Maybe with time you will too? My middle rack is adjustable so can be raised to allow for more room in the bottom rack for tall items but so far I have been fine even with saute pans, stock pots etc going in. My worst appliance so far has been my GE Monogram fridge which has already met three repairment in its short 5 month life. so sad. (but on a happier note is currently running fine. am keeping fingers crossed... wish i went for the subzero which was $2K more... in the long run that doesn't seem like much).