You're welcome, Pam. I was shocked when I noticed how much of Virginia was back in drought. I thought to myself that Sandy didn't help the state overall as much as I thought it would. If there's one thing that this region, and not just OK, but Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas are good at--it is drought. Not that we want to be good at drought, but we have it so often lately that it is just ridiculous. It bothers me to see such a huge portion of the US in drought, including parts of Alaska and Hawaii. It is a big news story here. Our fire danger is very high this weekend (and we've had grass fires yesterday and today) and that's the big topic on our local news/weather.....it is hot, it is dry, the wind is forecast to blow strong....be careful and don't burn trash, brush, etc. They're also talking about the deepening of the drought, and the lack of rainfall. Our county's official rainfall for this November is 0.42" which is about 3 or 3.5" below average. Our three driest months, statistically speaking, are December, January and February, so little drought relief is expected here over the next three months. It is all bad news here right now. On Monday, when the city of Marietta is hosting its annual Christmas parade, our forecast high temp is 78. In fact, for the next three days our forecast low is slightly higher than our usual high. Our weather has gone berserk. I think that the FarmTek polygrid might be just what you need. I love FarmTek. I always see something in their catalog that I want or think I need. Dawn

I'm happy to report that the cabinet guy is back today and, after we shared a chuckle about my mishap (yes, I'm laughing about it now)....he went to work disguising it. He has touchup paint that should do the job. (crossing fingers) But, in the end, it's just a kitchen and is meant to be used. I already have a backup plan...when my pristine white cabinets get *worn* I could always switch to a Shabby Chic look! lol!!

It's not just trite/stale/banal words, either, is it? People put nonsensical things in writing. (Y'all're gonna be so sorry you didn't tell me it was just a gripey, grinchy, school-marmish mood!) I know it's easy to do this because I've done it my own self. (but it's funnier when someone else does it.) You think you've written a good narrative for your listing, maybe something cute or clever or intriguing, & then you see it in print... ******************************************* 'You are greeted by the curved staircase' & how does it greet me? "Good Morning (Afternoon, Evening)" "Bon jour!" "Hi, there, Cutie" ""Trade entrance is in the back" *************************************** 'What more could you ask for??' Now, seriously. If you're a listing agent, do you reeeelllly wanna put this thought into the minds of a buyer & his/her/their agent??? My buyers might say "I'd like a: pool tennis court Mercedes convertible pony baby brother" ************************************ 'SMELL THE RECENT PAINT AND CARPET' uh... ************************************* 'PHOTOS ARE REPRESENTATIVE AND NOT OF ACTUAL PROPERTY.' uh again ************************************** 'Can You Say Space for Everyone!!!!' Why yes I can!!!! Agent has used 33 spaces to ask this question(4 for exclamation points alone). Can she not think of something about the property that would better use these spaces (the house is 4100 sq ft +, in a planned community with lots of amenities-maybe mention clubhouse/pool/tennis courts/bike & walking trails, or technology center/granite kitchen/warming oven/split bedrooms/nursery/study/hardwood/luxury or Hollywood bath?) *********************************** 'Room to roam!!' It's under an acre in a subdivision. ************************************* 'Sellers are highly motivated, so bring your best offer today!' Now, see, the way I read "motivated seller", I think if the seller's agent says sellers are 'motivated', my buyers can offer something less than their "best". *************************************** & I ran into all this on one property search! but I must say, I got about 8 houses down the list before I ran into 'awesome', & so far nary a "prestigious" or "sought-after"!

cal_quail, I do hope you and yours feel better soon. It's so miserable to be sick and end up having to take care of someone else! I wanted to ask about something you've not mentioned. Permits. If they were not drawn, how are you going to handle that? All this work is rendered illegal in my state. If you ever sell, unpermitted work can nix a sale. When we had a house fire, the first thing they wanted to see were permits for everything. Given we'd just purchased 2 years before, and the house was built in 1976, all I could produce were the mouse-eaten, original blue prints. There was much back and forth about how much they'd cover until they determined the cause of the fire (which turned out to be crazy wrong, anyway). What do you think they'll do about that!? Edited to add: Winterizing. Well, I missed the opportunity to unhook all my hoses and timers. They froze and I think it blew a seal. Too cold to tell, and too cold to turn the water off in the garage. Gotta wait for this weekend when it warms to assess the damage. Still trying to start the generator. I jumped it, but it just won't turn over. Gotta get a friend to at least listen for me. As of this minute, my computer is making a horrendous noise. I'm thinking it's the fan, since the pressure of my wrists causes it to dull. This Dell Inspiron (my 3rd) 1555 has been a SERIOUS lemon. 3rd hard drive, 2nd battery, 4th memory module, and now this. AND, I'm sick to the teeth of Internet explorer. I dislike slapping tons of software on my computer that all do the same thing. I've lost yet another browser session, where I was actually working. Downloading Firefox, although I've never liked it very much. I'm having a not-so-great morning here. Grrrrrr. This post was edited by CEFreeman on Fri, Nov 21, 14 at 9:55