The most common competition for the Cub GT1554 is the Sears DGS6500 and for my money the Cub is a better choice. I faced that decision earlier this year and bought the Sears. It was a complete disappointment and not worth the gas I used to return it the next day. The Cub has a better designed and executed deck. The Hydrogear 3000 series trans is rated for ground engaging accessories so the GT1554 is a garden tractor. You need to consider that HD will only provide you customer service (exchanges) for a limited time so at some point you may need service or parts. If you have access to service and parts where you live or you are comfortable doing your own work and waiting for UPS or FedEx to bring you parts then the GT1554 is a lot of garden tractor for the money. The warranty on the Cub is among the best in the industry at that price point but if there's no authorized Cub dealer close by then I'm not sure how important the warranty would be. If you have a Tractor Supply Co in the area they are an authorized Cub dealer

zep, what would I do without you? You are used to dealing with folks that are edgy about things, I can see that, and as long as I have had this machine, or longer, I am always edgy about doing something, would hate to lose my connectins with the real world, enjoy it so much, and try hard to take care of it as well. Thank you so much for your help, and I will try to get along on my own for a while again now. Appreciate your input for all of us, not jut me!!!!!!!!!

skfarmgirl- First let me say I am sorry for your loss, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Allot will depend on if she had property, in other word if she had any kind of Estate that will need to be Probated. If there is a Probated Estate the loan and credit cards companies can file a claim against the Estate, secured loans will take priority against unsecured debt(credit cards). If she died with nothing there is not much the creditors can do,unless you were on the loan or credit cards as co-cardholders you are NOT personally responsible for the debt. In most states if the person died without a will everything goes to the spouse and if there is no spouse then everything goes to the children. My father died without a will and everything went to us children. Make sure to get lots of certified copies of the death certificate from the funeral home these will be needed to send to all of her creditors. As everyone else suggested it is a good idea to talk to an attorney, if you have a family attorney they should be able to advise you or recommend a probate attorney should you need one. Karla

chicagoans - Thanks for posting the pictures for me and the tip regarding the kitchen. I think we are going to turn the island the other way and not 100% sure about the placement of the appliances but I'll post to Kitchens and see what other things I can glean from them. Regarding the powder room off the family room, the main reason is because the back yard will have a pool, terrace and entertaining space, thus having the door to the outside. I have actually seen it more and more in similar styled townhouses recently. I'm not 100% sold on it but our business partner likes the location of them and have received positive feedback from recent home purchasers regarding the placement and ability to get to it from outside. Attached to the powder room outside is going to be a storage area. The area underneath the stairs will be used as a pantry/closet area. cpartist - Technically, it's called a living room but it's going to be more of an office/sitting area. It's a difficult space to utilize well because of the width and the need for a garage at the front. It will open all the way up to the 2nd floor. Thanks for pointing out the front door. Last set of plans had a single door. Not sure why it was changed to a double door on this set. Same on the master. I'm not really concerned about the necessity for another closet downstairs. We have lived in a similar sized townhouse for the past 5 years and haven't ever thought that we needed on there. I'll talk to the wife and see what she thinks. We talked about the lack of linen closet upstairs last night and will try to get one in there somehow. Our master bedroom and WIC are MUCH larger than we are used to or maybe even need so I think we can recover some space there.