Basically, I'm totally copying your kitchen. I am having kitchen envy.

Hah! Well, it's a classic look, I think!

I agree!!

I'm using red and yellow accents and framing some 1940's vintage 5-flavor Life Saver ads from magazines for wall decor. And hopefully scamming a yellow crackle formica dinette set from my mom's friend.

Re the Judge Kozinski story from last week-- some of this has been floating around the web, but this letter from the Judge's wife collects a lot of the charges against the misleading initial LA Times story.

ooh, Aims, that sounds super cheery and bright!

Lisah, I am also envying you your kitchen - it's so bright! I love the green against the white cabinets and black and white floor ... and all those outlets ... sigh.

I'm using red and yellow accents

Aims, didn't you do your living room in LA a few years ago in similar colors? It was so lovely.

Aims, I just talked to my contractor friend and he offered to lend you his vinyl tile cutter (aka that guillotine thingy). I explained how you were not local but, see how awesome he is?! And he offered to fix my roof where it seems to have started leaking again. thank god. that was causing me mucho anxiety.

Anyway, with the Armstrong floor he put down a 1/4 inch plywood underlay floor. He highly recommended using the vinyl tile cutter but they are kind of expensive. He thought you'd probably be able to rent one though. And the tile goes down with a vinyl tile adhesive that is sold right in the same aisle as the tile.

So how is the Winchester Mystery House? I've never seen it.

Burrell, I thought it was very cool, like a big quirky dollhouse. I think doing the two tours (the mansion tour and the behind-the-scenes tour) was a bit long for the kids. Each tour was a little over an hour and, because the first tour had lots of stragglers, we ended up with very little break time between them. I found the second tour interesting, because I loved learning how a house/farm like that was run, but I'm not sure I would recommend it for most people. It's only a few dollars more to do both, so I think our bargain-hunter natures got the better of us.

Wait, so that means you don't *think* in the metric system, but rather in your feet and inches? Even when you work with the centimeters and their friends?

That's strange. I can't imagine working in units if I don't have a good intuition regarding their sizes.

Some folks here *can* think in metric, but most of us can't. We convert back and forth all the time!

Someone once commented that if the US ever converts to the metric system the only people who'll be comfortable with it will be scientists and drug dealers.