How about a another Wheel Horse? I just bought a 1988 414-8, 42" deck WH for $500. It was from the Orig. owner and ready to go. It should be the last garden tractor I "need" to buy. Just might buy another if the price is right! A rear engine Snapper is a simple, easy to work on mower. I like the lift the front end until it sits on it's arse, to clean and change belt/ blades, etc. If you buy a used WH and keep it maintained, you should be able to sell it for what you paid for it. Or your children's, children, will be able to pass it on to their children! Can you tell, I think these machines are built to last? Good luck, don't buy a piece of junk, like I did 5 years ago, when my old mower died. I bought a new Lawn Machine (MTD) for $1000. I was thrilled to sell it for $550 after I got the WH. Here is a link that might be useful:

""For roughly $2100 you can buy an American made pro-style Bluestar RCS instead of the Chinese made NXR (albeit with German burners)"". I am sure they are great, but when I was looking for mine the cheapest bluestar I could find was $2500 plus shipping and that was about $300, so like $2800. Unless I lived in Canada where Costco was supposedly selling them for around $2000. So they were always out of my price range. I have never seen one for anything close to $2100 myself. Now Blue Star claims their infrared broilers are 1850 degrees, which I have no reason to doubt, so I would imagine mine has to be somewhere between 1500-1700, I am sure there isn't that much difference. Every time I looked at Blue Star though, other than the price which was always too high another thing that turned me off from them was all the complaints I kept seeing and not only just complaints about something breaking or not working but also that Blue Star was basically worthless as far as fixing what was wrong. Did not inspire confidence in buying one that is for sure. My price range when I was looking 5 months ago was really $1600 max, but we went ahead and got the NXR for $200 more because it looked sooooo much better than anything we were seeing for under $1600. Blue Stars were $1000+ over our price range though. So while I am sure BS are great if you want a open burner stove, the NXR just fit our price range better and so far I am damn glad we spent the extra $200 because it is WAY better than any Kenmore or GE that we were looking at. Also from what I can tell about the only thing on an NXR actually "made" in China is probably the outer shell and possibly the oven door glass. All the major parts are made elsewhere, Italy, Australia, Germany and some in the US. It is basically just "assembled" in China not "made" in China. Either way doesn't really make much difference as I have seen some things 100% "made in USA" that were pure crap, so where it is made is hardly worth discussion anymore. plus the cost of using gas has cut out electric bill decently, the gas is only about $2-$3 per month using the stove every single day.

Wear shoes at home that have enough traction to prevent slipping. As for the kid, not much you can do to prevent lumps and bumps, other than to instruct him/her on the dangers of stairs and the proper way to navigate them. Replacing the carpet with one that is less 'slippery' is good advice also.

I would vote against stamped concrete for a pool deck. Last year we had a deck torn off our home and replaced with a 16x20 stamped concrete patio. Looking back, we wish we would have opted for pavers. The cost was basically the same but I think the pavers would have been a better option. Our concrete is stamped in a slate stone pattern and is dark grays, black and light grays in color. It is appealing but you have to be careful with furniture as it will scratch the finish. We also have to seal the patio about twice a year to maintain the "wet-look" appearance. We didn't notice the slippery surface as much until this spring when we installed our in-gournd pool. When the kids run from the pool to the stamped concrete it is a concern due to the slick surface of the stamped concrete. There have been a few falls until the kid realized they need to be careful. When their friends are over, we have to caution them on the slippery surface of the patio. Also, the release agent they place on the concrete to color it is very messy. If your pool is completed (especially if it is filled) I would think the release agent would be a mess. They basically throw this colored powder on top of the concrerte and let is sit overnight as the concrete cures. The next day they hose it off. The stuff does not dissove in water, it kind of floates in the water and the run off into my lawn was there for a while. It was a dark chalky like substance- messy. I would not want to have to deal with that around my pool. We opted for brushed concrete around the pool transitioning to a retaining wall and steps (built from retainig wall block) up to the stamped concrete patio. In my opinion, I would in no way want the slippery stamped concrete as my pool walkway.