My wife bought me a model 241317 four burner grill Christmas of O6' and I have loved it ever since. I had the burners split after a year of use but I called the (800) 444-6742 number and I was sent four new ones at no charge due to the warranty. The lady was polite and gave me no problems. I know some of you have had problems with your grills but I Love mine. It heats up quickly and cooks evenly. This is just a post of someone who has something positive to say about it.

Reply to budhm, Call the customer service. 1-800-913-8999. Since your grill is new, And I trust the you still have the receipt, They will send you a new igniter at no cost. But be warned, You may be on hold for a long time. And you will need to fax the receipt. I hope all works out for you.

You have a knife that you love. Give it a wooden cutting board big enough to be easy to work on, a steel or sharpener to keep its edge, and a nice block or magnetic strip to store it in/on. Then keep cooking and check your spreadsheet as you feel the need of something here or there. You have a minimalist heart, so I would avoid something big, expensive, and only intermittently useful like a food processor. I've cooked for forty years without one, happily. Likewise, a Vitamix is overkill unless you often make drinks or smoothies that require finely crushing ice cubes. But you'll take my immersion blender from my cold, dead fingers! If it has a whisk and chopping attachment, it can: whip egg whites, make whipped cream, make hummus, nut butters, pesto, chopped liver, and puree soups. SO much easier to get out, use, clean, and store than a stand blender! Things I use a lot from W-S that have lasted well and been well worth the $: the set of three mesh footed colanders with handles, waffle-weave white towels for drying (15 years and still going!), an OXO digital scale (not discounted anywhere, so might as well get it from W-S), and a 3-qt All-Clad saucepan with the handled steamer insert (which turns out to be perfect for making couscous the traditional way as well as steaming veg). A big silicon spoonula is about my favorite utensil -- much more heat resistant than rubber spatulas, cuts way down on cleaning needed for bowls and pots, cuts way down on waste when transferring from one vessel to another. Big-ticket items that are super versatile: Dutch oven, wide shallow two-handled braiser (which can be used, lidless, to roast and bake, in addition to one-pot prep of things like short ribs and braised chicken w/veg). This is a nice braiser: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-tri-ply-stainless-steel-braiser-with-rack/ that will be easier to handle than an enameled cast iron one, but those have the advantage of being attractive enough to use for serving. Have fun!

Jjam, that is exactly right! I ued to futz around with mini christmas trees on the sideboard and stuff on the table that all had to be removed when we ate. One year i did a display of nutcrackers on the dining table at different heights.....it was an engineering feat and many had to be taken down before a meal....what WAS i thinking, lol?? I do have a lovely centerpiece planned of red roses and white hydrangea for Christmas Day after the game of thrones thing is over. Wanted to share fun thing i got for the table this yesr, scrabble trays and tons of tiles, so people can make their own words / names etc.. Last year we filled our water goblets with varying heights to make notes and "played" a few simple songs by making the rims of those crystal glasses hum. and our Christmas crackers each contained one zylophone piece so we played music with those, too. And in our 70 degree temps I actually thought about making the Christmas message on our bulletin board say Winter Is Not Coming as a political message, lol!