I have been really remiss on updates. I had meant to take pictures when the tulips bloomed in the front of my house but, alas, I was sidetracked. I have been working on the outside of the house quite a bit since work tapered off. I tore up the backyard where previous owners had install a mulched swing set area. It is — in theory at least — garden/outside dining area. I purchased 4 raised beds from Raised Beds, I bought a swing for the front porch from Adirondack Chairs, and am in the process of purchasing slate for the patio/dining area from Sheldon Slate in Granville, NY.
RaisedBeds.com was an excellent transaction. They were prompt and courteous with the original shipment. They provided excellent recommendations for treating both the inside and the outside of the wood. The raised beds were easy to assemble and look great. I was missing a corner piece and they promptly shipped me another one no questions asked. 
Adirondack Chairs on the other hand has been a different story. The swing is very nice but came in a shambles. That may not be their fault but not all of the pieces were there. They reasonably quickly sent the nuts and bolts to assemble the swing that were not in the original package. I am still missing one of the slats in the back of the swing that has been promised for several months but has not shown up. Assembly sucked but would probably have sucked whether I bought the damn thing locally or got it on the web. 
may i ask where you are? i'm in whitehall ny, just 15 mins or so from granville... so was just wondering if you were in the area...
Posted by: sheila hurlburt | May 15, 2006 at 04:39 PM