Oliver Designs I recently recovered a pair of chairs that I found at a resale shop. I used two different velvets and then had them finished with gros grain and nail heads. They turned out beautifully.

mrsben @Sheryll Lynn: Regarding your mini blinds and the prospect of making Roman Shades; if a non sewer and you wish to recycle those blinds here are two projects that you may find of interest:
Web Search: Little Green Notebook Make Shades Out Of Mini Blinds OR 365 Days Of Simplicity No Sew Roman Shades.

gillianne Nope. Just no. Guess I've reached the old coot stage where the latest whiz-bang technology and I part ways. The very idea of this makes me itch to pick up a book (paper, not e-reader) or get outdoors for a big hit of Mama Nature, an antidote to the angsty ills of the wired age. Our culture has moved at least six degrees of abstraction from what the senses can confirm is real. Inevitable, of course, and my comment is not directed negatively to anyone who finds this appealing. I expect mine's a minority view. I get the allure of all the apps and techno-toys of a touch screen-based interactive world, but I'm increasingly ready to give most of it a pass.

oldblackdog My own core w question is which of these things will make my life happier, and easier without causing harm?

Will they be lasting improvements or become toxic junk in landfills like so much techno stuff? There's a lot of use for tech advances but a lot of whizbang nothing as well. Our attention spans and memories are quite short. I am especially doubtful about how extreme tech is going to contribute to cooking dinner. Most folks who have the most expensive kitchens don't. Cook, that is. Perhaps they will be able to use a 3D design app to create replicate food ....

Also just make sure you have your own generator, which presumes that you own your own house.
And a way to manually override any controls - not only due to power outages, but because sudden spikes and changes, apparently sometimes even sunspots, can cause difficulties for electronics. What it they get wet or damp?

Are they actually designed intuitively, so that i don't have to waste my time on unintelligible instruction booklets? I am already put out by having stuff on my car that requires reprogramming, when in the past it could be done faster mechanically.

Does minimizing all interaction with other people and even with things make us more skilled or simply larger and dumber couch potatoes? I can remember that even after somewhat primitive computers were used for record-keeping and planning at work, that if the system went down, people acted as if they had no idea how to do anything without the preprogrammed box in front of them.

grizzly My wife and I divided our work at home along traditional lines. She did cleaning, laundry and cooking. I did mowing, snow blowing, car repair and home repair. We both washed windows.