I have bamboo in my garden in Canada. It was given to me by my neighbour who has grown the same stand of bamboo for 20 years. No care is necessary... no mulching, covering etc. It grows to 12' to 14' each year. Has long green leaves & it turns a pretty beige color in the winter, with feathery seed heads at the top.. doesn't flower till late september. We have minus 35 C winters here & it never bothers this bamboo. I would love to get more but don't know the name...it looks a bit like Pseudosasa Japonica, but I'm not sure

jeri - I was pretty certain the 980 didn't have a tilt draw to it. Not only did I tug on that puppy pretty good, one of the associates confirmed that the draw didn't tilt. Now here's what I'm thinking,... maybe the first run didn't have this feature and later models did. That's very very possible, because see some features on our GE that weren't included on the floor model. Example,... our full width delitray has three (3) temp (produce, deli & quick chill) settings and the one on Home Depot's floor only had the produce and deli settings. There's one other difference between our GE and the one on the floor, and that's the display. Our's has six individual and exposed buttons, the one on the floor has the same selection options but the buttons are under a thin plastic membrane type covering,... sorta like the difference between LG's 950 and 960 models. So it's quick possible 980's in the pipe and being delivered now do sport the tilt feature. Makes more sense than not I'll tell ya that! So far,... so good. We're liking it alot jeri. Such a relief not having any refrigerator drama for once. Well there is one thing that's got us scratching our heads and that's a pretty noticable warping effect going on with our doors. The stainless is very waving (not dents). Kinda reminds you of a Fun House mirror. But we've been in contact with GE and they've offered to order new doors for us. Think I'll take them up on that come Monday. Oh there's one other feature that's I've learned to appreciate on the GE,... the dual evaporator and fan feautre. I say 'learned' because I really had no idea how important this feature was until I spoke to a few reps at a high-end appliance shop in our area about the model. Seems as though it's a big deal having a system that doesn't force the freezer and frige sections to share air. Apparantly most boxes in our class generate freezer temp air, and through a series of vents and ports, is able to warm the air up a little to service the frige section. The GE, along with it's corporate Samsung twin, keeps these two sections separate and with it's dual evaporators and fans are able to independently generate air at the proper temp to service each section. So the air in the freezer never gets to see what the inside of the frige looks like. It's supposed to amoung other things, reduce odor transfer, freezer burns and temp instability. Now if this is true,... then great. Will this feature have me sleeping better at nights? Nah,... not really. But I guess it's nice to know that we're sharing something normally only the big boys can boast about,... like Thermadore. In the end, I'm only concerned about keeping my beer and the kid's milk cold. So yes,... we're enjoying it. Let's see,... anything else? Nah, that's about it. It's an icebox for God's sake! LOL! Oh, Shawn wants me to include that the LG is seems more roomier to her. It's not bogged down with an icemaker in the frige section or the full width deli pantry. I'll agree with that, even though the LG is rated at 24.7 cu ft. and the GE is a wopping 25.8. The LG does seem more cavernous. There was a point when they were taking out the LG and bringing in the GE I was able to do a quick side-by-side,... and yes I'll agree. aprince - I've heard of the poor customer service,... that's been widely talked about. But you're the first I've heard to rate the LG as junk. Maybe it is good fortune that we made our final perch on the GE. I've heard other also say they used to be Goldstar, but there was another company's name that stood for the 'L' that I can't remember. Still, if I were as wealthy as you guys, I still would have opted for the 980,... it's just a good looking box.

I happened to move to Texas early to look for a job. I don't have a job yet, but being here made it possible for me to go ahead and order the 500 plus set on Sep 28. Lowes will get them into their regular line in mid October, so they put in a special order for me. I received the washer today and the dryer will be delivered sometime next week. The delivery guys were nice, but they didn't level the machine (said it wasn't necessary because the floor was sturdy and the washer didn't wobble). The washer is in the kitchen on vinyl over concrete slab and the vibration is minimal even without any leveling. I am on my second load and I am really happy with it so far. Eventually I will check and level the washer, but you can't actually see it move. The slight vibration is just enough to let a small object walk across the top of the washer, but it is not noisy or anything. In my first load I washed my daughter's very dirty socks (she ran around in the garage and outside in socks without shoes) and they came clean on the cotton/warm cycle without pretreating. I know our crappy TL would have left them just about as dirty as they went in! I am using the Sears Stain Fighting formula powder because there were a lot of good reviews on this forum about it. I like the smell and the clothes got clean with just half a scoop. At this rate the big bucket will last us a year or so. I didn't see any suds during the actual wash cycle, but the initial empty load had about half an inch of bubbles. The washer is very quiet and it looks very nice. I got the white version and I also got a white Bosch dishwasher (which we will install tomorrow or so). I don't think you have to worry about the timely delivery of your washer and dryer. I am sure Bosch produces quite a few of them now to make sure that they won't be backordered. Lowes already discontinued the 700 and they told me they'll get the 500 plus and 800 in mid October. Of course I couldn't wait that long even though my in-laws live two houses down the street and they have a fairly decent TL. I'll keep using their dryer until the new one gets here...;-)

In the US there seem to be serious anti-competitive practices in many retail sectors. Windows and doors are but one example. You will find that it is almost impossible to find price lists for any doors or windows online. It is no accident. Keeping consumers in the dark is intended to prevent consumers having market knowledge. TO ANSWER some of the comments suggesting that it is acceptable to charge such massive margins for essentially putting an order in to PGT... in most cases there is no overhead for stock in a warehouse because most dealers do not keep stock. The only overhead is marketing and administration. It is motivated by pure greed. In most other countries, windows and doors are substantially cheaper and it is possible to see prices online. Greed and gouging is rife in the US and the retail prices reflect bad practices in many industries aimed and making excessive profits from consumers. You do not have to be a victim, source your products from elsewhere and put these people out of business. That is what the market needs.