As usual, I find Rachelellen's post full of wisdom. It gives me some of the guidance I want. Cooking the same cuisine (not the same dishes) for one week straight would be no hardship at all for me. When I returned from a one week trip to Italy I cooked nothing but northern Italian food for at least three weeks. There was nothing monotonous about it. That experience has faded. I need another trip to Italy for a refresher course. I don't see the need to limit the experiment to a single cookbook, although that could be an effective way to do it, given the right book. Books I would recommend are: Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy These books are similar in approach and format although about different cuisines and by different authors. They provide a solid foundation for cooking each cuisine. Again, I say that switching to another ethnic cuisine for an extended period of time is a fine idea. Those for whom that is their native cuisine eat it daily year after year don't they? Jim

Well apparently I stink at this and don't see issues with furniture. :p I guess I need to work on that. Looking at these few now. This is kind of a walk through Boop's learning how to buy used furniture thread or furniture in general I Think. I like this set from Vanguard. I think I read that is a decent name. I don't know why but I really like the warmth of the orange. It says Best offer and is from furniture land south. I have no idea what is reasonable to offer. I really like these, but I think the arms might be too high for everyday use.... These look too lumpy right? this is a pair of Baker sofas. Good price I think. Velvet, but I love that and the price is so good I think I could deal with that and the cleaning or recovering the cushions at some point. To the person who said I was all over the place it is true. There is really nothing I am married to in this room ATM besides The IKEA birch expedit shelves and the TV. Well and the brick fireplace (we are thinking of putting in a pellet stove there) I am planning to paint the walls BM windswept. I think it will go with many colors and the kitchen which this room is open to. We currently have a sofa and loveseat. The sofa is shot (very ripped, not worth repairing I think) and the loveseat is OK. A cheap set overall.

Good for you! I think the gift card is the best idea but also it would be nice if you could treat yourself to something you wouldn't normally buy because of the cost. I would love to be able to buy fresh flowers every week but can't afford them so if I had the gift card I could do that. I am with SamKaren. LOL I would end up spending most of it on cat and dog food, pet treats and kitty litter. I would get items to stock my pantry-things that can be used throughout the year. I wouldn't buy meat - steak around here runs around $9.00 a pound when not on sale so I have gotten used to not buying it. I hope you get a gift card but make sure you buy yourself something for a treat and not for just everyday food items. Anne

I would not install a furnace and duct work in an unconditioned attic if I could avoid it. That is the worst place to put it in my opinion. You can install a high efficiency furnace in an attic if the installer does it properly. It has nothing to do with the shingles. Does the 5000 sq. feet represent the living space? What does two units for each half mean? To answer your questions: 1. You are going to get a lot of opinions on manufacturers. Some posters will say the manufacturer does not matter, others will say there are big differences. The truth is some where in the middle. Proper installation is very important. The best furnace on the market which has been improperly installed will never work correctly. Carrier/Bryant and Trane/American Standard are regarded as the best. Seach this forum for Goodman problems. Heil furnaces might be a good value. On some model the furnace will be replaced if the heat exchanger fails during the first 10 years. 2. I think a 2-stage furnace is worth the additional cost. It can be quieter and more comfortable. There is some energy savings but it is small. 3. If you are replacing windows and making the house tighter then you probably don't need a humidifier. Low humidity is caused by air leaks. Steam humidifiers are supposed to be the best. 4. Some of the Carrier Infinity and Performance models have an overlap of features. The differences will vary between any two models. You can install an Infinity furnace with a Performance condenser, and vice versa. You have to always verify it is a approved AHRI match.