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This is Bob Lyon's version of a midlife-crisis sports car.

"This is the craziest thing I've done in my life," the 47-year-old commercial painter joked after a crane lowered a 19-foot, 1-ton wind turbine onto a pole behind his waterfront vacation home in Port Richey, Fla.

B. Smith has her hands in almost every part of the home -- the bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom. Now the lifestyles expert is extending her reach with two furniture lines. The B. Smith Home Collection for Hammary was unveiled at the recent High Point, N.C., Furniture Market. Hammary is a division of La-Z-Boy.

Q: I really enjoy your plumbing advice, which has inspired me to have projects done that normally I would not have thought of. One such project is having a steam unit installed in my present master-bedroom shower. It's a fairly large stall and I always dreamed of having my own steam room. Can you please let me know what major concerns I need to consider before I make my decision? Thanks!

If you're like me, you absolutely love to shop. But even we shopaholics feel a bit of angst when we stare down our long holiday gift lists. There is so much pressure to pick a perfect, thoughtful gift that you're tempted to start your shopping marathon at the confections store, where you can draw on the power of chocolate for inspiration and reinforcement.

Q: My wife insists that we remodel the bathroom because the tub, toilet and sink are all a lime-green color from the 1970s. I can do the work myself, but I know from experience that removing the tub will require removing a wall or two. Then there is the problem of getting a new tub and shower up the steps and into the bathroom.

David Clemmer's life is all about style, fashion and beauty. He is "Style by Jury's" expert stylist and owns an agency that represents designers, makeup artists and other talent. But when he's not busy jetting around the world to dress the rich and famous, he can be found at home with his two favorite glamour girls, dogs Maggie and Mollie.

We'll bet that the inventor of the Christmas card, British illustrator John Calcott Horsley, never anticipated that his first commercially printed card in 1843 would be the forerunner of a global phenomenon. In the United States alone, we buy and exchange more than 2 billion (yes, billion) cards between November and December.

In this economy, we're all forced to be penny pinchers. And it's a shame, since many of us love luxury. "Champagne taste on a beer budget" is more apt now than ever. I have found a way to have champagne and pay beer prices. Read on.

'Tis the season for soft and cuddly fleece.

I love this pillow project because it doesn't require a sewing machine, and the finished product can be as simple or as embellished as you like. The secret is using knots to tie the front and back fabrics together, because fleece fabric doesn't need to be hemmed.

Q: I'm a builder and I never miss a chance to read your column. With the slowdown in construction, I've been doing research on new building trends so I can be ahead of the curve once I get back into action. What do you see for the future as far as new trends that builders may want to include in new home construction? - Don, Kentucky