Got e-mail today! finally! I've been to the community center a dozen times without being able to get online. Got confirmation today that I have a job also and that it means no break in service! YEAH! Rejected by FEMA and SBA, writing my apeals. Everyone on the island remains in wait pattern, wait on FEMA, wait on insurance, wait on UTMB-will we have jobs?, wait on city wait on permits-permits denied!, it's horrible and getting worse. The trees all look horrible, we haven't had enough rain to speak of, the water is still iffy, debris lines the streets, whole neighborhoods are deserted and without power, there is a dead horse on east beach rotting away, there is still curfew downtown, a lot of the business' aren't going to reopen...... It's very depressing here and getting worse. I'm working in the yard some but man is it dead out there, every time I rake up a pile of debris I think about what used to be there. Did find the brick sidewalk though, the tree covers part of it but found the rest under the debris. See ya'll at Mercer tomorrow. WE don't have any plants to bring but we'll bring pictures and smiles! Thanks to everyone for their concerns and prayers-the church groups have done more for us than anyone else, federal, state or local. We can never thank them enough! Even the Mennonites have sent food! Tally HO!

Here is note from old post by Cancork These are "dimples" they "pop" back out! These are not permanent, they are NOT defects, they are not "damage". If this was oak, you would have added "character" to the floor = permanant damage. Try using a HOT WET CLOTH, and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Using an oven mit, place the super-heated cloth onto the dimples and let it rest until the cloth is cool to the touch. Remove and evaluate the floor. Congratulations...you have just discovered the "memory" that cork possesses. Cork is the "trampoline" of hard surfaces. It compresses and rebounds. The finish on WE cork = NORMAL for cork. The finish MUST BEND AND TWIST with cork. If you put a hard, brittle finish on cork (like Wicanders and Torlys) you end up with a cracked mess that hazes (turns milky) in a few years. A cork floor is the softest hardwood on the market. Like ALL HARDWOODS it requires occasional maintenance. This maintenance requires you to ADD FINISH every 7-10 years depending on the wear. A low impact home with a low quality "urethane finish" cork means the finish must be reapplied every 2-3 years. A high end polyurethane finish means the refinishing needs to be done every 7 years. That same finish in a low traffic home = 10 years. The N. American mind set = tough = hard. Cork is forgiving and durable...in a different way than hardwood. Remember: if you are left "unphased" by dents left in a carpet (a carpet leaves more dents than cork...something to think about) then dimples left in cork shouldn't upset you. If you have the personality that insists that everything needs to look perfect, for decades without any form of "living" showing on the floor, then ceramic tiles are the perfect option. I know many people who love cork for the quiet comfort of it...it is easy to keep clean and is lovely to walk on in bare feet. I also know several people who wanted all of those things but could not "handle" the small dimples things would leave behind.

This is the La-Z-Boy "Van Buren" recliner we're getting for the TV room. I believe it also comes with curvy legs. DH insists his chair be leather, but I can pick the color. This is the La-Z-Boy "Pinnacle" loveseat. I plan to get it in a fabric. Both sides recline. There is a lumbar support that moves with you as you recline. It's also a "wall-hugger." And this is the matching La-Z-Boy "Pinnacle" recliner that I will get in the same fabric as the loveseat. It will be mine. The single recliner comes as a wall-hugger, or a glider/recliner, or a swivel recliner. I still have to pick the fabrics. That's the hard part! The Pinnacle line also has a sofa, but there's not room for on in my small TV room. We're opting for maximum comfort in this room. There will also be an older rocker/glider with gliding ottoman that Harry and I share.

We just finished remodeling our kitchen and the product I liked best was a Mannington sheet vinyl. I am a Realtor and am in and out of a lot of homes, and have seen AMAZINGLY life-like vinyls. I decided I wanted vinyl as we have another home that has tile, and I wanted something warmer and softer in this house...but I wanted that look. The product that we used was called Mannington Sobella Supreme Guadalajara. (The samples on the web-site don't look a thing like them...see the real samples if you can.) When I had a guy out to give me an estimate on our tile backsplash he reached down and touched our floor and said "OH! This is vinyl! I thought it was tile..." And I told him I was so happy because he was a tile expert and he couldn't tell. The other night we had some neighbors over and the husband looked at our floor and he said "Your tile floor looks nice but do you find that it is really cold?" And I said "It's vinyl." At which point he also reached down to touch it. Anyway, to each his own, but they have come a VERY long way with vinyl sheet goods. Good luck with whatever you choose, Cathy