True, Kendall, there are still a few men out there who think they can intimidate a woman into putting up with poor workmanship, while they'd never think of trying it on with a man. Friend of mine had a porch put on last year, by a recommended carpenter. Two months later the porch literally fell off the house.

On the other hand, there are the scads of men who will go out of their way to make sure a single woman understands the work, the price, and will throw in a few extra repairs on the way. Those are the good guys.

My mother's 84, still lives alone in her home. The mailman built her a new mailbox and installed it - free. The guy that ploughs her driveway in winter hops out and shovels her garbage bin clear. The guy that replaced her rotted picture window said 'Tsk! This won't do!', fetched in a bunch of half-used caulking tubes, and plugged up all the old caulking in her other windows. Mind you, she's still a great baker, and every one of those guys likes cookies and squares. ;-)