I've found out a little more about the extra charge which is called a "Balloon Rate". The 28x28 inch limit that I mentioned is wrong. The box is measured by adding the circumference plus the height. A square box that is only 18x18x18 would still be charged an extra fee because the total inches would be 4 times 18 which equals 72 inches (the circumference or girth) plus the height (18 again) which would be a total of 90 inches. If the total is over 84 inches they add on the extra balloon rate. The clerk I talked to said they measure the largest part of the box to find the circumference, then add the height. I can't find this information anywhere on the USPS website. Only that the total can't be more than 84". On a rectangular box, it could make a big difference which part is measured to find circumference. I've used those triangular boxes in the past also but it wouldn't work this time because the roots were sort of horizontal and they wouldn't have fit in there. I do think I'll stick to using priority mail boxes from now on. I've also been checking out those flat rate boxes that someone else mentioned. By the way - The box I mailed is still somewhere between MO and NJ, mailed Monday, March 27th. I've been checking delivery confirmation daily. I think it's a lost cause now. Windchime - I haven't heard from you. Hope everything is ok. Have you tried to email me?

Wow birkie thanks for that ! It looks like a couple Akarum cabs might work out just great. I'm going to head into the local IKEA this weekend to get some cabinet boxes in the sizes I think will work ... if it doesn't, it wasn't an expensive experiment ! Syllabus ... I am jealous of those extra 2 inches you have :-) I don't have a detailed plan for how I'm going to make this work, but I showed the pic to my builder and he grunted and said "Yeah I can do that". I have planned to use a Kohler Memoirs sink, which is attached both to the wall and to either a pedestal or a console. I figure we can rig up some sort of beefy support structure hidden within the cabinet. Now that the bathroom is framed, I am a bit worried that the Memoirs will jut into the room too much (it's 21" deep, and a square sink), so I am considering the Kohler Devonshire, which is 19" deep and rounded at the front. Isn't it funny how plans look OK on paper, but when you actually SEE the room things start to close in on you. LOL.

There are pluses and minuses. I have slept in '80s brass beds, 1880s brass beds, and a more modern wrought iron bed. Here are some things to think about. - Metal beds originally became popular as a precaution against bedbugs. Bedbugs hide in wood furniture, so if you get an infestation simply replacing the mattress won't suffice. For most of my life, bedbugs were a quaint old affliction remembered only in good-night sayings. However, they are now back in a big way. If you travel at all, your luggage can carry bedbugs from a hotel (even a very nice hotel) right back to your own bed. If so, you may have to treat or replace the mattress but at least your bed will be easy to sanitize. - You need to plan out where your head goes. Banging your skull on metal is unpleasant. That means you need good-sized pillows for sleeping and extra fluffage for reading. And yes, pillows do have a tendency to slip behind the bed. - I found it pleasant to touch the cool metal with my hands when I was warm in bed. It sounds like nothing, but it actually made a difference in comfort . - By all means get a well-made bed if you go metal. Cheap metal beds flex and move and bend even more than cheap wooden ones. A poorly made bed will make you feel like you are sleeping in a lifeboat on open seas.

Yes the walls are textured, but has never been a problem for me to fix or patch textured walls. I have decided to leave the box alone with a cover, but I am going to get my paint today and I am going to look for a 'flat' cover. The one that is there is rounded like the picture above, and I purchased a lovely clock to hang there but the round plate has to go away because the clock will have to hang flat attached under the plate (which is not centered vertically) and the clock would hang funny touching the rounded plate at its top. Also,I'm going to texture and paint the blank plate to match the wall because the clock numbers float making the wall visible between its numbers. Then I'll be happy. I'd like to thank all of you for putting up with my questions and giving me good advice. Donna