Lucy: You're dating yourself. We broke thermometers in school---not often, but I remember more than once. Guess what? We played with the mercury too, then probably left it on the floor. Now, if the same thing happens, the school is evacuated and experts come in to detoxify the area. Amazing. I did check the web about that light bulb story. It's true, but the articles also said that there was an overreaction by the agency the woman called and in truth, there was/is no need for a $2000.00 clean up. It did say you cannot vaccum broken fluorescent bulbs---you're supposed to use duct tape or masking tape to try to pull up the glass chards then a wet cloth to blot/clean up and throw the cloth away. I guess in doubt, you can call in experts to clean up and pay through the nose. Funny thing is that people opposed to the new bulbs left the story at it's worst---huge cost for clean-up, but didn't disclose that it was deemed unnecessary. But just as ridiculous, the environmentalists who love these bulbs missed the point that people with means are being scared out of their mind and they're able and willing to pay huge sums of money for clean-up that is unneeded. Maybe Edison's incandescent bulb is a better choice???? The light is brighter and the bulbs are much cheaper, that's for sure. As always, the truth doesn' lay with either extreme.

Puzzlement,been a long time since I heard that. Mom used puzzlement fairly often. Be aware that you are my eyes and ears so your observations and statments must be accurate. If you don't understand anything,please say so and we will stay on track. Sounds like you trust your vac and leaky return air is only iffy and shouldn't be ruled out so let's go deeper on filteration. Filteration is one of if not the least understood amoung hvac professionals. I have been told many times just how wrong I am about the subject but I have researched it through tests on several buildings. The jury remains out regarding your filters based on how dirty you say the house is and filters don't catch a large amount. It's possible your husband orders filters because he can't find them nearby. We need to be sure (A) The filters fit well and (B) The filters are of suffecint quality to capture dust instead of passing it through. Unless your husband is far more free with money than the average,he isn't throwing away expensive filters 12 times a year. Once we solve this mystery,I incourage useing filters that cost upwards of $10 each. For now I would like you to ask Home Depot if they stock "True Blue #230301.4 filters. The dot 4 means a pack of 4 in case they have singles. If They don't have it in stock,they can order them for $25 per 4 pak,no shipping if picked up on store. Here is how to get maxium life from each filter without compermising performance ( will be pretty important once you start paying $10 to $30 each). The filter is pleated similar to an accordion. Dirt will first collect in the recesses and progressivly work it's way up the walls until the highest ridges collect dust. You can clearly see this as it obscures the color of filter. Optium timing to replace is when recesses and 80% of walls are covered in dust. I assume your filter holder is desighned as 75% are to take 1" thick filters. 2,4 and 5 inch thick are commonly in use. Ask hubby to confirm how thick of filter the rack takes. Is there a lot of visible dirt on ceiling vents and/or ceiling near vents? Where is your cloths dryer? Check hose to make certain it is hooked well at both ends and doesn't leak air while running. Turn dryer on and make certain air is freely discharging from hood outdoors. That's your homework assighnment for today.

Ooooh... I love that island! Is it like an antiqued robin's egg blue? I think you could definitely pull it off in your space if you keep the color light enough. It would be a pretty little accent piece; instead of blending in the with its environment, it would be like a little jewel in it! Delicious. I like your kitchen set, too... and I'm sure your server would look lovely with that finish, although it may be hard to match in case you ever decide to move the piece to the same room as the table. But if you don't, it won't matter! Or what about a chocolate brown? That might look nice against your wall color... or are there any other shades you could pull out of those curtains that you could use for the server? I can't really see what colors are in that pattern. See, your problem is that you have TOO many options! Please keep us posted with what you decide to do! bloomin...

We're all in agreement that the homeowner was responsible, but I believe some negligence was involved as well simply because the homeowner was too complacent with her dog. Granted maybe this was the first time something like this has happened but regardless of how often groups of people are in the home, every group is new (to the dog) and the homeowner failed to properly introduce and/or supervise (or from my point of view protect) the dog with this group of people. I'm not saying that the person that got bit was a bad person, but there was obviously something he did or (even about him) that the dog didn't like. If the homeowner had been watching the dog and how it was feeling with all the guests, maybe the bite could have been prevented. And I think that's where a lot of people go wrong. They believe that because a dog is social and has done well with one group of people, it will do equally well with all groups of people, which isn't the case. Whenever a dog feels threatened their body language will let their owner know there is a problem. My dog will usually refuse to go to a person and come stand by me instead, nervously licking her lips. I see that as my queue to either put her on a leash if we're say, in the garage or somewhere else in the house where she'll feel safer. I also tend to trust my dog's instincts, she is seldom ever afraid of a stranger so if she doesn't like someone, I know there is a reason why and I usually don't get too comfortable either another reason to just leash her but keep her close. Typically, when someone comes to our house, she will be on guard with her hair raised until she's introduced and told "it's ok". After that, she will happily go up to the person relaxed with her tail wagging to say hello. If she still acts hesitant, I trust there is a reason why and will say she's not feeling social for some reason. There have been times I've had to ask the stranger to leave her alone because they've refused to accept her rejection. It's all about watching your dog and responding accordingly to their needs.. Everyone is different so there is always the chance that the dog's reaction to a new stranger will be different too.