Thanks a ton, guys.  Not exactly what I was wanting to hear (houses can get so expensive!), but we certainly don't want it causing worse problems.  The water around here is really hard, which could be the reason for the mineralization on it.  (it clings to everything it touches.)  :(  Fortunately, my son likes to research stuff like this, so I'm sure he'll help us figure something out. And it's more fun since mom and dad are footing the bill.  :)  

Well it's not that bad...you can get a new tank at Lowe's or Home Depot for under $300. Any home remodeler worth his salt can replace it for you fairly reasonable.

most competent weekend warriors can replace a tank with ease.

Always, Always, Always get a leak pan and install it properly when you replace the heater if there is not one there now.  Most leaks start out slow. The catastrophic failure of a water tank is rare..... but a leak will ruin the floors, and even a large leak that sprays several gallons a minute can be contained and a flood averted if you have the leak pan installed and vented under the house. I have one on the heater in my rental and on the washing machine in my house. My tankless is in a place where the leak would not be a big issue.

Oh, I know it's not that bad.  (the cumulative effect of a little something every month gets me though..)  Anyway, it seemed like the ones we looked at last week were either $249 or $549--no in-between, and I didn't take the time to figure out the difference (well, I couldn't tell by what they said on the side.)  I had no idea there were so many choices, having never shopped for one in my life.  :)  

Yep house maintenance can add up over time. tell me about it. This week  I'm in the middle of putting a new tile floor down in my bathroom and laundry room. It's a lot of work and I'm sore as hell...they're nickle and diming me to death !!!!

Yep.  And then there's the landscaping. 

By hand. 

yep, I just trimmed my hedges...they were way over grown, because it's been so hot all summer. too hot to work outside so I let them go.....it's always something....

Hot...for sure!