Using a sprayer isn't going the eliminate the problem of the obstacles. If anything, it makes it harder. You need to tape and dropcloth off anything you don't want overspray to cover, even with a HVLP. HVLP doesn't eliminate overspray, it just minimizes it. Using a brush or roller will let you target your need to be painted spots a lot more accurately. WHere a sprayer will work great is for large same color expanses like walls, but even there, you will still have to tape off the trim. You can use a spray shield instead of taping, but you need enough experience to be able to maneuver that with one hand and the gun with another. It's not for a novice. It takes practice to get right and starting with a hard job isn't the way to gain confidence and control. From your description of the job, I don't think that a sprayer will help you make this an easier job in any significant way. 90% of painting is always the prep, and only 10% is the actual application of paint. Speeding up that 10% by adding another hour or two to prep doesn't leave you with any gain. All it does is leave you with a less quality job (sorry) if you've got an inexperienced person operating the sprayer for a difficult job. If you think you have enough paint jobs in your future to benefit from a sprayer purchase, then purchase one and start on easier jobs first to gain experience. However, most homeowners that I know who've purchased their own sprayers use them for a single job and then never touch them again. The "hassle factor" is high with a sprayer and it's just easier to use a brush and roller, even if it's less "cool".

In Jan. I'd gone on a trip to Mobile with a couple friends to a big flea market there. Before coming home we drove to Dauphin Island - we couldn't believe how badly they'd been hit. I talked with a lady at a convenience store there who'd had a paper route on the island and after the hurricane over half her route was gone, not only the houses, but the property itself was underwater in the Gulf. That's why most of these poor people are fighting with the insurance companies, the property/land itself is gone. As for the MS coast - it was truly difficult to grasp how massive the devastation was, and still is, there. When you only see a picture or camera view of one area, you don't really have any point of reference or landmark to orient yourself as to what area you're looking at. Then you get there, and you slowly begin to grasp the magnitude of it because there ARE NO landmarks left. The beaches themselves are slowly recovering, and of course most of the casinos are back, but as you said all the beautiful old homes are gone, all the businesses & restaurants are gone - amazing to me was that a few of the signs remained, but the actual buildings were levelled. A few of the hotels have come back, but most are either gone or still in shambles. Most all the debris has been cleared away, but it's just such an eerie feeling to be able to see inland for blocks from Hwy 90. As I said, we were returning from Mobile and got on 90 there in Biloxi (the Ocean Beach bridge is, or was at that time, still out) - my friend said the devastation was even worse further west toward Long Beach, but I had had all I could take by the time we reached Hwy 49 in Gulfport - I was in tears and trying to drive, so I headed up 49 toward home. As for my life history (a little of it I was telling PF about on the 'paint dipping' post)....I'll attempt to make a VERY long story short. I was born in Oakland, CA (biological father in the Navy), mom divorced then remarried another Navy man (my step-dad) who got transferred to Pensacola when I was 2. My step-dad retired there, so I lived there from age 2 to 14. At 14 my mom passed away from cancer and I went to live with my older sis whose (now ex)husband had been transferred to Jackson for his job. From there I moved back to FL briefly, met my ex-husband, moved with him to New Orleans, then San Diego, San Francisco, WA state (where he was originally from) and I finally decided to come back home (after 5 yrs. of h*ll)-fully intending to go back to FL. I stopped in MS to visit my sis and my brother (who had since also moved there from FL) and ended up staying there for the past 17 years. I finally got divorced from my ex and eventually found the love of my life (corny,I know)- his mom was born and raised in MS. He grew up in FL too from a Navy family and come to find out, had things been just a little different we probably would've at least gone to high school together. His father was just getting transferred out of Pensacola as mine was being transferred in. And, of course, you already know the reason for the GA move. When I first moved to MS, everyone told me, "If you stay 6 months, you'll never leave". I took it as you wouldn't 'want' to leave - little did I realize that the truth was that you can't AFFORD to leave! It's worse now because the cost of everything is going up, but wages there aren't. After 15 years of struggling there, we figured a change couldn't hurt. Besides, my brother and his family are now back in Jacksonville, so I'm closer to them and my oldest son is in the Marine Corps in NC so I'm closer to him now, too. My sis isn't happy about the whole thing since she's still in MS, but if things work out here, I'm gonna get her moved here eventually! LOL OMG... this is turning into a novel...DH took my 2 youngest to the dentist for me today so it's been quiet and I didn't realize how much I'd rambled on...Sorry - I warned PF about this earlier! :) I need to get some work done before they get back.

I had the big kitchenaid pro that I used weekly for making honey wheat berry bread but it broke apart at the housing for some reason. DH said he couldn’t fix it, he can usually fix anything, Kitchenaid said to send it in and they would take a look. I didn’t ask about shipping either I ordered a Magic Mill instead and have no regrets. It had a learning curve but after the first time my bread is just as good as ever. I still have a Kitchenaid artesian with the glass bowl sitting on the counter but I’ve only used it once since getting the Magic Mill. I’m sure I will use it for smaller things just haven’t been in a baking, cooking mood we have just been so busy around here that if I get dinner on the table I feel I’m doing good.

Thanks all for the suggestions! Didn't think of the home decorating forum, have reposted there. artsyphartsy_home_maker - you know your dogs!! She is actually a maltipoo (I think her nose is a little longer like a poodle) - but you only got the back side there as she strolled through my picture!