Thanks for info, joaninmesa. I have one item already in Circulon--a pasta pot with strainer lid that was on discount. I decided to try the Sarriette as an inexpensive replacement for my totally wrecked non-stick stuff. I'll see eventually if it seems like it was a good idea? I liked the pieces in this set. I also added a 3 qt pan from Wearever because I liked its particular shape. I'm kinda sensitive to shape (how deep or shallow), handles, weight and all that and that's what has kept me from buying certain brands, along with the problem of various sets having pieces I don't need or not ones I do. Anyway, I'm trying these for just some daily non-stick-ware, and also tried out some tri-ply SS and Le Crueset, which I've never had before, on sale, so I have an array of new brands and materials to experiment with for different types of cooking needs. Let the cooking begin!

I have a rental on a low budget to turn, but I have taste. 70’s dark brown muck cabinets...budget said we had to salvage them. They had NC tags on them, thought ‘they’ll sand ‘nice’. They did but the bases were not oak and the faces are oak. I opt’d to do the vinegar and steel wool stain and go for the drift wood effect. I did a water poly test and what a nightmare! my beautiful gray weathered cabinets went right back to dark brown (on nice mission furniture nice. On these cabinets NOT) Read blogs and got to the wipe on heirloom satin coating by Vermont. SO AMAZING! So happy with the outcome! I have the driftwood look, clear I didn’t add gray stain and it brought out the different grains of the mosh of woods that ended up being these cabinets. Not the original end we envisioned, but the best because Vermont Coatings allowed an amazing finish. They look custom! I’ll post pictures when done. Anyone wanting to preserve that driftwood finish...this is it.

Adam, I would expect you to get something. Don't hold your breath for the D. gigas to flower. I've had three of them for a few years and have not seen mine flower, while all my other Dorstenia flower all year long. The problem I see is that they are selfing so when you take the pollen from one to cross it to the other, you've already pollinated the donor. The other thought is that it might not work, if the receptors on the stigma are a different shape from that of the pollen. I think this is a question for Michael (OOA). I'm patiently waiting for my D. lavrani to flower so I will know if I have one of each sex. I think it's going to be a long time coming!!!! This post was edited by bikerdoc5968 on Sat, Jan 10, 15 at 14:07

I haven't done the math but it looks/ seems like the mini pie baker would result in pies having a larger crust to filling ratio. Too much crust? You could buy a counter top oven large enough to fit a 9x13 pan instead. (More useful than the smaller ones.) Counter top ovens, aka toaster ovens are great. I was late to discover them--thinking they were akin to Tinker Toys. Was so wrong about that. I have a vintage one (bakes, broils, convention bake, dehydrate) that works great so it isn't like you have to go out and buy an expensive Breville... If your oven is old enough to have a pilot light, chances are that your vintage gas oven only needs a new thermocouple. Thermocouples are easy & cheap to DIY replace. If your oven isn't old enough to have a pilot light, then the problem is equally likely to be the igniter. Also inexpensive & an easy DIY fix. 1st photo is a thermocouple; 2nd photo is an igniter.