A WORD, All the above opinions are each valid in their own special way. I like what Lisa wrote,as I was thinking thoughts along those lines myself. The words,'much to do about nothing' come to mind. Yes,they were very impolite to use the photo,and more so now,as they seem to imply its their plant in the latest ad.[perhaps to keep out of trouble with their image hoster ?] But one thing nags me, how could they contact Stephania for permission if they had no e-mail address at the time of their original posting? (he later posted one tho). And to give credit to Stephania some how,would be awkward for them,saying to the public,'thats not our plant but,yours might look like that some day'. But most of all,I feel this puts a lot of undue pressure on Stephania,to 'continue the arguement',when he has already made his own feelings known in his posts dated July 18th and July 20th. If this were happening to me,I'd feel a little uneasy. He has all the well researched information to decide what to do. I suggest we leave it to him now. Stephania,you know your many friends all support you 100% what ever you decide. Bob

I love the tile. And since I don't trust the colors on my computer, I can't tell if the tile "works", but I really like the pattern. I wonder if part of the challenge is that all of the finishing touches aren't done yet, so the backsplash is more prominent than it will be. Looks like you haven't installed your hood yet (what style is it? How much space will it take up?), light switch covers aren't on, window treatment isn't done, plus other decorative touches. I think once you have those items in it will all come together beautifully.

The question isn't if, but if it's worth it. If you can think of it, someone else has too. Home warranties they push with house sales sometimes include the appliances. But it's sure to be expensive. If you get one, make sure it's for repair or replace and replace at new unit replacement cost rather than what the appliance was worth. Unless it's very high end, by the time it dies it should be fully depreciated, or close enough not to make a difference. Just today I heard of a Sears program which is $49/month (i.e., $588/year), is some kind of repair or replace scheme, but I don't know the details. I do know that the person who was talking about it had faced about $600 in appliance repairs this year. In other words, she could have just put the money in the bank and ended up in the same place. But in a catastrophic year where five things go belly up, it could be a windfall. Such is the nature of insurance--which is what this kind of "warranty" is, rather than a manufacturer's promise against defects. Mostly we pay for insurance and never have a claim. Some people have an easier time prepaying via the insurance/warranty than saving the money untouched. For them, this kind of plan is worthwhile for the peace of mind that they won't be without a dryer, or whatever, due to lack of funds and won't have to charge it. Whatever you do, read the fine print and ask questions until you understand it. If the sales help you're talking to don't seem to understand all the ins and outs ask for supervisors, managers or whoever they have. If you're still not satisfied, don't get it. You shouldn't need an attorney--if it reads like you do, there's too much wiggle room in the mumbojumbo. It's not like you have the money to sue them over it, or you wouldn't worry about a warranty. If you can read it clearly and they can explain it with knowledge and forthrightness, and it seems like a good deal to you, go for it. Or just hide the money under the mattress. :)

I think my answer would depend on if you just got a normal rain shower or if hurricane Eta went over your house and dumped several inches! One is going to be damp and the other one soaked.