Dear Garf, Again you are welcome to join me at Fairchild tomorrow if you want and if you want to go Sunday I can go Sunday too. Again you cna go in oon my membership and your wife is welcome too as I can admit four people. HOWEVER: I tried to email you my phone number and I do not see anyway of doing that on your page. Either you do not have an email link or I am doing something wrong. Can you or someone else help? I can email you my phone number as soon as I can figure it out. I will check back here in the morning and we cannot figure it out I can leave you a ticket at the door. Let me know.

For anyone who doesn't want to wait, Logees is having an Open House on Saturday, Nov. 5. OPEN HOUSE, Hardy Banana and Specials from Logee's Late October 2005 in this issue -- Open House -- Time to Put the Musa basjoo "Hardy Banana" to Bed -- Late Fall Specials! Greetings! This is Logee's email newsletter. We occasionally send extra newsletters out in months with so much going on. The first October newsletter talked about bringing plants in for the winter to store in your basement and this one discusses how to handle the Musa basjoo "Hardy Banana" if you want to leave it outside. October 2004 also had an article entitled "Change of Season Care for Container Plants" that you might want to refer to (all of our old articles are available at www.logees.com). Open House LogeeÂs Greenhouses OPEN HOUSE Saturday, November 5th, 2005 from 9am\- 4pm (141 North St., Danielson, CT off Rte. 12) Did you know there is a tropical paradise in your backyard? LogeeÂs has been around for 113 years and you are invited to walk around and explore the seven greenhouses open to the public. Free surprise plant to the first fifty visitors (one per family) Free Lecture @ 1pm "Flowering Plants for the Holidays" Refreshments served all day LogeeÂs Lemonade made from our famous Ponderosa Lemon Tree Up to 50% off Select Plants We have orchids, jasmines, begonias, banana plants, and many more flowering and fragrant varieties to bring color into your home during the winter months. Many of our holiday gift sized plants are ready. 1\-888\-330\- 8038

That sounds like a very reasonable quote!! I'm getting quotes over 60k (rural Alabama) for a 20x40 pool with no spa or waterfall...it's nuts. I think it would be nice to put a bubbler on your baja shelf....it adds water noise and it's comforting to look at and sit by..let us know what he says! :) Tara

Well...a couple of thoughts b/f discussing your layout. You have two children, and possibly more. You're telling us what you do NOW. Things will change drastically when the children get older. I assume you will be teaching them all (boys & girls) basic life skills like cooking and cleaning up. There will come a time - sooner than you realize, probably within 4 or 5 years (maybe less) - when there will be multiple cooks at one time as well as cleaning up being done by someone other than the cook. You need to think/plan ahead - don't just plan for today, plan for the future as well! The last thing you want to have to do is another remodel b/c the Kitchen is too difficult to work in with a family. This is more of an empty nester who does not entertain much Kitchen (i.e., no future children). +++++ OK, now the layout critique: Island seating... Be sure you have the minimum of 15" of clear leg/knee space for the seating overhang on both sides. Since your DH is tall and there's a good chance your children will be taller (my DH is 6'5" and my DS is 6'7" - I think he's finally stopped growing!), 15" will probably be too shallow - it is in our house. I wish I had done 18". 15" is too shallow for my DH and DS. I'm 5'10" and my DD is 6' - and it's just barely deep enough for us. I recommend 18" on one of the sides. At the corner, you can only have one seat - two people cannot share the same knee/leg space. So, you will need at least 15" b/w the counter edge and the first seat on one side. You may be OK, the layout is not clear. But keep in mind that each seat needs 24" of linear space as well as the 15" (or 18") of overhang. Since you have a cabinet on one side, you will need to add another 6" or so of linear space for that first seat to have enough room to maneuver into a seat since you can't slide into it from the cabinet side. This means for two seats, you will need at least 6" + 24" + 24" = 54" when there's a cabinet (or leg or wall) next to a seat. It looks like both sides will have that issue. Another 15" or 18" will be needed on whichever side is going to provide the overhang for the corner seat. I would move the DW down so it's the first item on the island. Then the sink, an 18" trash pullout, and whatever will fit. You need more space on the Prep Zone side of the sink (the opposite side from the DW) - preferably at least 42". You also don't want the DW to open into the same general area as the range. Other... The refrigerator cannot be against the wall like that. You need at least a 9" cabinet b/w the wall and refrigerator (if the wall were even deeper, it would have to be a 12" cabinet, but you should be fine with a 9"). Make it a 9" tall pantry or utility cabinet. OTR MW...not the safest location, especially as your children get old enough to use it by themselves and b/c you appear to have a gas range. We've had several people relate how they or a friend/family member have set a sweater or shirt on fire reaching over a gas range to use an OTR MW. Plus, you're removing items from the MW above your shoulders, which means any tilting of the dish as it comes out of the MW will splash on your face instead of your body where you might have clothing on to offer some protection. It's also more difficult to take things out when you have to reach up than reaching/lifting up or out from around waist high. I strongly recommend a MW drawer - it's usable by short and tall people alike b/c the controls are angled up so there's no bending over to use them. Like most appliances these days, they have easy child-locks while your children are too young to use it. Range Hood...get a true range hood if you want it to be effective. OTR MWs ar notoriously poor at venting and often cannot be vented outside. They don't cover the entire cooking surface, so they don't work well if you use the front burners or even the back ones if they're too far off to the side. The capture area should cove the entire width of your cooking surface plus, preferably 6". So, with a 30" range, you should have a 36"W x 24"D range hood that is vented to the outside. Oh, and not only are them more effective, but they're also quieter (unless you go with a cheap builder-grade one)! Appliance garage...you don't have enough room on the range wall for an appliance garage. You need workspace on both sides and you don't have much, if any, on the appliance garage side - especially as that's the side that does not have the DW opening up into the aisle. This is a personal preference, but I would not want my dirty dishes taking center stage on an island. When a Cleanup Zone is on an island, the dirty dishes are front & center and, often in the faces of anyone sitting at the island. It's better than having your Cooking Zone on the island, but if you can arrange it, it would be better to have the island only your Prep Zone with a prep sink, your Cooking Zone along the wall behind the Prep Zone, and the Cleanup Zone elsewhere, also on a wall. If it's not possible, then get a really deep sink! (Although, if it's the only sink you won't be able to stash dirty dishes in it b/c you'll need it for prepping...)