Re: shades of birch lumber

I'm hoping there be some real feedback in this thread. I used white select
(or is that select white?) birch 3/4" plywood for my kitchen cabinets. To
choose the pieces, I went to one of our larger lumber yards in the area
(long before HD days), and went through three stacks of plywood to get
what I wanted, three very tall stacks. The grain was very similar on the
pieces that I purchased so it all looked matched when they were built, but
not without a lot of looking and a very helpful, and patient, lumber yard
employee.

That wood was truly beautiful; that was a bit over 20 years ago. About
ten years ago, I bought a single sheet for a project; the choice was *not*
appealing and not even fun to work with. The piece I bought was
comparable to the least of those I had looked through before. A couple of
months ago, I looked at some. Note I said "looked at," not bought. There
was nothing there even remotely comparable to what went into my cabinets.

Are others as disappointed as me at the quality of what is readily
available? I'm talking about overall availability, not just at the
warehouse yards. For the utilitarian projects I'm building now, I use
mostly the "seconds" from Shurway though do buy some of what is supposed
to be good. Honestly, the seconds are just as good as that I've paid much
more for. I'm a bit concerned about being able to find good wood when I'm
ready to make something I'd like to pass on to my children/grandchildren .
. . is there good stuff out there, something worth the time and effort
that went into my kitchen cabinets?

The Pacific Northwest is supposedly lumber country, so I wonder what's
happening in the rest of the U.S.

Glenna