Hi, TigerDunes, Thank you for your response. I'm thrilled to see that we shouldn't be expecting a minimum of $10,000 to $15,000!!! I posted at close to 1:30 a.m. Pacific Time, and I just got home from work about 7:30 p.m. so I'm just now getting online, after 8:00 p.m. Yes, we're sort of thinking we'd replace the furnace only, keeping the outside AC condenser. We're not at all opposed to replacing the AC condenser, but it hasn't given us problems, so if it would be a huge increase in cost to replace it, we'd skip that, at least on this go-round. If it's not a huge increase in cost, we'd replace it along with the furnace. Yes, we'd want a unit that's tax credit qualified. I have no idea what size and efficiency we're replacing. I looked for the booklet/paperwork on it before I came upstairs, but I can't find it. Used to keep all of those things in a drawer in the kitchen, but I discovered tonight that my husband repurposed that drawer for wine accessories... and he cannot remember where he put all of the booklets/paperwork, although he states he didn't throw the stuff away. I do know that the existing units (furnace and AC) have been sufficient to keep the house nice and warm in the winter and nice and chilled in the summer. There are just the two of us living here, and we both work full time, Monday through Friday. The set-back thermostat is completely programmed, both for summer and winter. The appropriate unit is programmed to come on approximately 30 minutes before I get up (takes me longer to get ready in the morning than it takes my Hubs), to warm/cool the house as necessary, and then it goes off (well, maintains a colder-in-the-winter or warmer-in-the-summer temperature) about 30 minutes before we leave for work, until about 30 minutes before we get home when it comes on again to again make the interior comfortable. Then it will cycle on/off as necessary throughout the evening until about 11:30 p.m. when it again shuts off and only comes on if it gets way too cold (winter) or way too warm (summer) overnight. On weekends it's programmed to not come on until about 90 minutes later than during the week, and will maintain the "morning temperature" throughout the day and evening and then shut off at 11:30 p.m. As for "normal winter temperatures" here... gosh... OK, I just Googled "normal winter temperatures for Sacramento, California," and one of the results had this to say: "Sacramento, CA climate is warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 70's and cool during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 50's. The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 93.80 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is December with an average minimum temperature of 40.40 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature variations between night and day tend to be relatively big during summer with a difference that can reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and fairly limited during winter with an average difference of 16 degrees Fahrenheit. The annual average precipitation at Sacramento is 19.87 Inches. Winter months tend to be wetter than summer months. The wettest month of the year is January with an average rainfall of 4.18 Inches." Another site said this: "The climate for Sacramento is Mediterranean with mild winters and dry summers. There is usually low humidity in the area. Light rainfall usually falls between December and February. Sacramento average annual rainfall is 17.18 inches per year The average winter temperature is 53.5 degrees F. The average spring temperature is 64.0 degrees F. The average summer temperature is 88.0 degrees F. The average fall temperature is 72 degrees F." It can, and does, get above 100 degrees in July and/or August. Every winter we probably have one or two nights where it gets down to the low 30-degree range. But as long as the house is somewhere in the low to mid 70-degree range in the winter, and no more than mid 80-degree range in the summer, we'd be happy. Does any of that help?

Thanks My sister is a SM. She has such a good relationship with Bm and BMs family that when BMs mom was visiting (from out of town) she complained that we dont get to see [my sister) enough. I dont think my sister is a saint, but I do think that her SS would never have finished college wihout her help (and I think BMs family realizes that too). My sister would be the first to say she wasnt a mom, never tried to be a mom, etc. to the boy. He lived with them occassionnally. Bm and BF live close to each other. BM remarried before BF. SS now works in SDs business, in a job he could not qualify for without college degree. I think as someone said on another thread, it is OK for BM to acknowledge faults in child, but it is very difficult for BM to hear others (except BF), including SM, discuss same faults. I think a large part of my sisters success is she only exchanged pleasentries and said good things with BM and had the tough discussions with her DH. I think a lot of step problems result from DHs shirking parental responsiblies. I think a lot of them stems from typical family where wives take on more child care responsibilties, but it may not work so well with step children. I do understand that SMs dont want to hear about first wife, but on that point, I think they just have to tough it up (if it is coming from kids). They knew there were children involved from the getgo. I am bothered more by my DD telling me that X reminices about the good old days when we were first married, and that everything went downhill when DD was born. It bothers me becuase I dont like the message it sends DD. But there is nothing I can do. Other than buy a voodoo doll and stick pins in it.

I don't have the access to the Advanced profile settings... I went to the Updated GardenWeb section FAQ, and tried to read real quick some of the questions, how to keep your profile name, comments etc, I didn't find a email amoungst the 3000 listed in my yahoo junk pile, so I clicked on "I did not receive an email" so they sent me an email to confirm ( OMG this is such a major hassal, I feel for the ones who are not savy) sooooo I confirm my email and when it came to the new log in page, Houzz says, looks like you already have an account ( YESsss I had one before they merged with GW ) soooo now I do not have the same name as GW nor do I see how to add my zone and other stuff... I love reading Garden Web, but not very happy right now.

You have to think Gardenweb was adopted by a house. It used to be about the yard and gardens, but now the house has opinions, too. The kitchen wants it's own thread. The living room, the bedrooms, bathroom, everything has their own "garden" area. So imagine all of Gardenweb time 100. That's Houzz. You can now discuss if the perennial periwinkle will match your siding. You can discuss succulents that thrive in your home spa and what kind of grout will show off their blooms. You bought the whole map for the state of New York, but you only needed the city of Rochester. Now you just have to navigate to the corner of the map you need! Heidi