Glad you caught that, plllog. While I was out running errands, I heard the news that the current storm in DC is not the same one that just passed here. We are expecting a wintry mix tomorrow, so that may be the one you were referring to.

At first we were happy to have rain to end a two year drought, but now it may be too much of a good thing. There are road closings and collapsing retaining walls due to developer ignoring permit requirements. The water restrictions won't end because they are the result of an endangered species court decision and not the drought.

Those fainting goats sound like a lot of fun. Wimberley is a great area for artisans and shops so I do plan a trip there this spring.

Sorry to hear about the weather woes down South. Plllog your poor head.

I'm AWO (all washered out). The Repairman was here and yes it's new pump time. $150 out the window and 7-14 days wait time for the part! Yup, time to re-enact the Super Bowl Ad at the Laundry Mat a few more times. Socialization is a good thing.

After him, there was the eavestrough repairman from my fallen eavestrough during the ice storm last month. $350. Mother Nature is costly. But it is my duty to keep our economy strong :)

Tex is really running a serious Ranch down there. I'm quite amazed by the Rabbit stuff. I always loved Rabbits. Quite the characters.

Thanks for the link Steff. I have it bookmarked and will definitely keep tabs on our 'missing' friend.

Marthavila!! Nice to see you here. :o) I have looked everywhere for pics of your finished kitchen, but can't find them anywhere!

I have looked for circuspeanut's finished pics too, as well as igloochic's but can't find them either. Am I blind, or are they hiding on me somewhere? Does anyone know?

Solman, sorry your pump will take so long to arrive. Glad you got my your eavestrough fixed, too. Speaking of eaves, did you ever decide on a hood fan? Are you going to go out through the wall?

quote "New tech should mean less work, not more." Boy you nailed it, Steff!

ps ... sorry I'm so absent lately - I got a new job and I no longer have the same 'leisure time' I used to hah!

Oooh! Missy, congrats on the new job!

There are bunches of threads missing right now. I've seen all the kitchens you mentioned, and fairly recently, but the archive is kapphlooey.

Solman, if you're fixing the old washer why do you need the new one? Didn't Steff ask that? Am I too weather bedeviled to remember the answer? At least your eavestrough thingie cost less than my bougainvillea!

Missy- Congratulations on the new job! Hope you like it. Isn't is nice to have Marthavila back? And lucky her with her beautiful Red stove now in a finished kitchen.

Actually the eavestrough isn't up yet, just the estimate today. But Stef get this. Sign of a not so recession. I called 5 contractors to quote, only one even showed up! He automatically got the job. Is that an easy sale? On the flipside, the other 4 obviously have enough work. I just wanted it done with ASAP because I hear Squirrels having fun around the roof, which likely means they're already in the attic causing havoc and enjoying the Winter in tropical luxury.

I've still opted out of the side venting and smashing a hole through the brick at the side of the house. Lucky house. I know it's not ideal. I'll ask the Electrician when he comes to hook up the kitchen. Maybe he has a plan.

Solman, if you're fixing the old washer why do you need the new one? Didn't Steff ask that?

Good point Chief. Yes and Missy even said it would be the Green thing to do. I kind of thought the same thing as the guy was draining the tub today.

Had this thing not happened, would I be buying a new machine? NO.
Was there anything wrong with the way it washed my clothes? NO (I was just fibbing about the Pink ring around the collar)

If I had been unhappy and cursing this thing for years, then maybe. But we were good buddies.

And seeing that all the 18 inch Dishwasher options, except Miele, were really bad, and I don't have one at all ...

"The Irrational Side of Man"

GULP))))

Irrational man? No further comment.

Congratulations Missy, now you're really busy with the quilts and everything else going on.

Solman, it's probably time for a new washing machine. They used to last 20 years or more, but I think all those electronics wear out faster. My MIL still has a Maytag wringer she used up until a few years ago because she said the clothes were cleaner than the "new" washer which is now at least 30 years old and still going strong. I used the wringer washer once while visiting. No kidding, you fill it with a garden hose, run it, then drain and fill again to rinse. Ah, life on the farm.

lol Steff, we used a wringer when I was little, I remember being scared I was going to get my fingers squished. Then, (*insert tada trumpets*) my mom graduated to an old 'hoover' washing machine. (I'm not even that old - I think we must have just been poor). What a pain to wheel that thing back and forth to fill and drain it, and then move the clothes from the wash bin into the 'spin dry' bin.

I LOVE my job. :o) I'm doing some home care, and some nursing home care. I think old people are the greatest!
I finished the second quilt top, but now am unsure how to finish them. I am waffling between a normal quilt binding on the edges, or if I should put a little ruffle in there or even a satiny 'blanket' edge gathered into a ruffle. When my oldest was a wee baby he used to rub the ruffle on the edge of his favourite quilt as he was drifting off to sleep. It was comforting to him or something. I kind of think that something with a bit of different 'feel' on the edge is interesting to babies.
Any advice?

Steff!! That's they kind of machine they had back when I was living in Mexico. But then they also had laundresses.

Missy, however did you turn that up? Sounds exactly like what Solman wants!! Re the quilts, standard binding will wear best but isn't "fun", blanket satin will shread but is very fun to pet. Not so great with the sucking and teething however. I haven't done ruffles on baby quilts, but it sounds like they hold up well in your experience. When I was little I loved the black velvet eyes on the stuffies my Aunt Martha made. I'd take them to bed and wiggle the velvet forever. A poly velvet would hold up to washing. Are you using any flannel? Kids love that! It's soft and warm. I like using flannel at least for the back because of that, and because the nap keeps it from slipping around.

Solman, it's just a pump. If your clothes are clean and you haven't had any problem with the electronics I think it's worth keeping the washer. Most of my laundry are colored knits. I wash them in cold water. (Cold has a different definition here than where you live.) They get clean and the fabric isn't degraded. Linens, underclothes, nightwear, and towels get washed in warm or hot. Oh, and socks, but I hardly ever wear socks. The menfolks' pants go in warm too on permanent press cycle. "Boiling action," if that's about temperature, really isn't necessary except for the diapers. And your pink shirt will thank you.

Speaking of "Mod"

I think we should be cooking on honeycombs.

Really, this is the ultimate.

Oh, CRAP!! They've brought those back?? Fagor made them 20 years ago. And I WANTED them.

"Missy, however did you turn that up? Sounds exactly like what Solman wants!!"

I just said we need washers with true HOT, not boiling, molten Lava!

Or were you referring to the "laudresses" :)

Great dig Missy LOL!

Ohhh, I see the Honeycombs tickled someone's fancy huh.

Induction just has so many possibilities. I can't wait until the multicolor Honeycombs are available. Mixing Blue and Yellow etc. As Donna Summer would say "Hot Stuff". Imagine Talavera Honeycombs! Ummm somehow I don't think that's gonna happen.

Oh, never mind. The Fagor ones were induction. These are just plain old radiant. Feh.

lol isn't that old ad a hoot? If I'm ever bored (not often) I love looking at old ads. They crack me up for some reason.

I have never seen honeycomb cooking before. Looks very cool!

On your 'I'm not putting a hole in my bricks for venting' thought. I would very much encourage you to rethink - especially if you are wanting to put in a permanent wok (or even if you cook that way on a regular basis). I've just found that the hoods that simply recirc the air back into the room just don't work very effectively. Often houses with those have a cooking odour that you just can never get rid of. just my two bits worth :o)

Good morning, I hear the rare tick, tick of sleet on the windows today. It should be about 22oC today and it's about half that. Stuck inside when we are used to being outside all winter. Very glad we no longer live in the DC area.

The twin tub is hilarious and looks like a countertop appliance. Rice cooker, Bread Machine, Fryer? It would take a lot of loads to get laundry done that way.

Proper venting with wok is a must. Is the vent going to show that much?

CNBC is reporting live from our fair city today. I think the next reports will be after lunch. The story is that our economy is among the best in the country.

I checked out CNBC but couldn't see any live reports, Steff. I'm sorry but I am not sure exactly where you are. I know you're in the NE somewhere ...

Plllog, I forgot to answer your question earlier - the backs of the quilts will both be flannel. :o)

Solman, if you're ever going to use your fancy new cooktop you're going to need a real vent. What's above the kitchen? Can you run the duct up into the attic and out under the eaves? Or through the roof? Or if there's a room above the stove, is there a closet there where you can run the duct, or an empty corner or something?

I'm not trying to offend anyone, but the only people I know who don't mind houses without proper hoods are smokers. And it's not a reciprocal property--not all smokers don't mind it...some mind very much!

Steff, that's so interesting about CNBC--do you feel that the economy is good in SA? Or do you think it's just less bad?

These quilts are going to be awesome! Blanket satin is very soft but shreds. If you want to use a different texture ruffle, maybe some extra heavy polyester lining satin? Hm... but it wouldn't ruffle as well. And you probably don't want to use silk.... Velvet! If you can find a tough, low nap, stable poly velvet (rayon will shred), it would be so fuzzy and wiggly and wonderful! (I have a velvet fetish, what can I say...)

So have you come up with a plan for the binding? (You see--I'm no use!)

I'm in San Antonio, Texas. Erin Burnett was doing the reports throughout the day until about 3pm eastern. LOL, she thought she would get out of NYC to a nice, warm place and was just as surprised as we are to see this cold sleet/rain. We recently retired here after years of living and traveling just about everywhere for our jobs. We last lived in the Washington, DC area and so glad we are not there now.

For as long as I can remember this has been a slow growth town. That means there was no bubble, so things stay on a pretty even track. Lenders here did not participate in the sub-prime mortgage mess. I have seen a number of restaurants and small businesses close in the last few months. Many of the jobs are low wage jobs in tourism and call centers. I would say things are less bad here.

Missy, sounds like you've found a job you really enjoy. I like the idea of a velvet edging/ruffle. Those poly velvets wear like iron and still have a nice, soft texture.

O good grief. I did know that. I don't know why I was thinking NE (maybe just the crappy weather you (and they) have been having lately.) Sorry about that, Steff - I will try to pay better attention in the future.

I've seen recent reports of snow and ice down there. It must be so odd. I feel sorry for the folks who are losing their livelihood with the cold temps.

It's good that your area is a bit recession proof. They keep saying that Canada is doing well, too. House prices have dropped, but not as drastically as they have down there. I think they've started to rise again, and new house builds are supposedly quite strong. There are still an awful lot of folks without jobs though. There are a lot of businesses gone too - some that have been around for years and years. It's sad.

I'll have to look into some poly velvet for the quilt edges. I had kind of decided to just make a cotton ruffle, but the velvet sounds very unique. I guess with white cotton, it would be really easy to replace down the road too if it becomes necessary. :o)

Hi Everyone,

I'm peeking in again. Can someone give me a real short synopsis of where Solman's kitchen is at this point? Solman? I've been away far too long to try and catch up. And, from the posts I've been reading, it's hard to figure out what the heck is going on. Or. . . is it even going on?

And how about everyone else???? Pllog, I caught that wow glimpse of your cabs, backsplash and just a hint of the c-top the other night. Wow again! Got any more pics to share? And, when's the big reveal? It's gonna be hot, hot, hot, I know! And Missy? What's up with your plans? Steff? Is Texasjg still here? Not meaning to wear you guys out with all these missing lurker questions, but I am actually still very curious and caring about all of you and your kitchens after all. :-)

Hugs,

Marthavila

Hey, Marthavila!! So glad you're here!!

Tex has a blog--scroll up not to far to find the link in Stef's message.

The grouting is done as of today on mine, but still needs a layer of sealer. More pictures will come. I'm probably even getting faucets next week!!!!!!!!

Solman:

Froze on the way to the laundromat because the pump on his washer gave up. I think it's getting repaired, but he scoped out a replacement.

Carpenter was due this week. It's supposed to be a surprise, but I think it's the corner cabinet notched to an L.

Looks like I've steered him to a Miele DW (he was looking at basic and Bosch, and I thought it should be basic or Miele and that seems to have gotten him on a quest for luxury).

I'm not sure if the oven is actually boughten, but he was last look at the 30". The Ikea lady said the same thing about the inverted triangle with the 24" that I did, so I'm not sure if the decision was for looks or capacity. He was going to check to make sure his desired cooktop could be mounted over this particular oven.

Solman doesn't want to punch a hole in his antique bricks for the vent hood and we're trying to convince him to vent somewhere, especially since he's talking wok.

There was going to have to be a new order of tiles because the original 15 year old batch aren't enough because the layout changed. And he needs trim tiles. But I don't know if there was ever a for sure decision on the layout for the Guadalajaras (which he blithely continues to spell English style).

I do believe that a cobalt blue Kohler sink has been ordered.

There were many trips to the U.S. for big box store shopping.

That's all the news I can remember off hand.

Hi Marthavila, so nice to see you! I don't know if you saw earlier - I have been looking for pics of your finished kitchen to no avail. Would you mind posting a link to it? Thank you!

I've been posting updates to our reno in the 'smaller homes' forum. (Link below). It's going slowly, because we're DIY with limited time, but it's going ...

Hi marthavila. Welcome back from lurkerdom. I'm currently focused on finishing the house we are preparing to sell this spring in Houston. Scroll back up to Feb 3 to see the kitchen. Since we are DIY, most of the work on my current home in San Antonio is on hold.

Thanks for the link Missy. Now we can go there to catch up with you.

Ooooh! Missy, thanks for the link!

Yooo hoooo

Just made it back-barely.

Was off to the BIG city and handling "nuisances".

The Washer is fixed! Sings like a Canary again. When the Repairman pulled the pump out, there was a discolored, bent quarter that came with it. That quarter got into the filter and broke the pump. So, moral of the story, empty all coins out prior to inserting laundry. Washer stays.

Missy-Sounds like good progress on the quilt. Well done.

Funny story or actually not so funny. One of my nuisances was my poor hand. Last Saturday night I had a bad fall on the ice on my driveway and my hand was severely swollen and blue. I've been putting Arnica Cream on it (naturopath remedy) but it's still Blue and I have decreased mobility in the fingers. So might have to see what the Modern Medicine Doc has to say about it. Stef, lucky you moved from this mess to SA. Congratulations. Winter is actually dangerous. Falls, car accidents, respiratory ailments etc.

I see you guys are not giving up on the proper venting so I've started thinking. It is true the Wok can be smokey. And it's not pleasant having a place smell of stale cooking. Can the vent hose be fitted between a wall? Then we run it between the wall of the Bathroom above the Kitchen and into the Attic and or out the roof. Who would do such an operation? A Plumber. Is it bad to make holes in the joists and cut through them?

The Carpenter was a no show with the cabinet on Tuesday. Has agreed to come on the weekend. SIGH.

Plllog, I had a dream last night that you were doing a Aboriginal Rain Dance but not for more rain but for the progress celebration on your Kitchen. Oooo you've really got us going. Has the quarter round gone around the sink yet?

Stef, good to hear that SA is not a "Bubble city". As Missy said, talk in the "press" is about better times but the reality seems different. The Jobs are still missing. Let's not forget any real activity is likely the stimulus stuff which is Gov't spending. The consumer spending is still down and can't come back until there are more jobs.

You're welcome for the link. :o) Sorry, I thought I had posted it before, but perhaps not. This thread moves pretty quick, so posts tend to disappear pretty quickly. I posted a couple of new pics today - nothing thrilling (cept my doggies hehe)

Hi Solman, I think we were posting at the same time. I'm glad your washer is fixed - it's always nice to know what caused the problem, I think. I'm sorry to hear about your hand. Sounds like a modern doc is a good idea at this point!

Venting through a wall can def be done. Perhaps as a plumber, or a heating guy. They would just need to make sure they are not compromising the structure, and that there are no electrical or plumbing issued in said wall. It might be cheaper/easier though to go out the wall. Much less 'in wall' stuff to worry about, as well as a shorter distance, and no roof repairs needed.

Soooo. It D- time.

Agreed that custom panel is the best for the look of the kitchen, especially if the alternative is White dishwashers which just don't have the Bling.

Also, the Miele was easily the nicest with the cutlery tray on the top and much better reviews as Plllog said.

Canada Pricing

AEG Panel 18"- $1,200
Bosch Panel 18 " -$1,800
Miele Panel 18"- $2,000
GE Monogram Panel- $1,000
Kenmore White-$500

USA Pricing (with exchange rate) 5%

Bosch $ 1134
Miele $ $1400
GE Monogram $840

Is it mindless to spend $1,400 US on a Dishwasher?

Caveat: No Miele Warranty in Canada if purchased. If Mieles are that good and each one has been tested at the Factory, it shouldn't break down in the 1st year. Warranty in Canada and USA is 1 year. But note that I am in the same boat with the German AEG Induction cooktop.

After reading all the reviews, almost no one said that the Chinese Kenmore was good. In fact, all said it was terrible and noisy and one person's water sprayer fell of and was on the dishes! Same for Frigidaire. So seems like $500 in the garbage. Many said they will have to go buy another one.

The Miele also has it's own water heater so that that baby can really cook. Literally!

Dare I buy that dreaded, bad 5 letter German word that I have always maintained to be nothing but a status symbol?

GULP;;;;

P.S. I hope I will never have to buy an 18 inch dishwasher in future Kitchens.

Solman, sorry to hear about your hand. I did have a few spills on the ice, but nothing serious. You do need to get that hand looked at to see if something is broken.

Hope this cheers you up. This is the prep, tortilla strips in the cast iron pan. Can you guess....

No peeking....Okay, time's up

If you guessed tortilla soup, you are correct!

Just right on a cold, dreary day.

Oooooooh!!!!! Yummy!!!!!

Quarter round just went in and is caulked. The only thing left inside is a layer of sealer. The outdoor counter will be done later.

But your poor hand!!! It might just be bruising, but it sounds like something might be broken. Even in Eastern medicine they set bones! Get thee to a doctor. If it is bruising, wiggling will help, as will warmth, because those bring blood flow which carries away the dead tissue. Have you tried Traumeel? It's herbal, and my friend swears by it.

The no warranty concerns me because sometimes you just get one that's faulty. If it's good, one expects it will remain good. But for $600 you the gamble sounds worth it--you could pay for a repair for that much. Though with a couple of no warranty appliances it might be worth looking into a third party warranty (basically, insurance) which might not cost much.

BTW, a status symbol is a status symbol because people with the money to get the best usually get the best money can buy, and don't care about the symbol at all. So they buy the Miele DW's because of their quality. Though I just saw in the Appliance Forum that they're not good if there's a lot of silica in your water.

Yes, you can run the vent duct up inside of a stud wall, or, if it's a bathroom, if you didn't mind the look, even right through the bathroom. Until recently I was assuming that wasn't an option at your house because I would have thought you'd have explored it first. Ask Carpenter about it when he's there. If he doesn't have a satisfactory answer, get a heating contractor out to look. They're the people who install ducts for a living.

Not from Guadalajara But from Cocina San Antonio!

Thanks Steff. It worked, you put some cheer into me.

This time I hope I actually get some ; since last time Plllog had the heaping second and last serving :)

I can't wait to see the finished product. And I can't believe how lucky you are to be eating all this delicious Mexican that's so normal.

Missy for them it's as normal as Tim Horton's Donuts up here LOL!

Stef, you'll be proud of me as I'm eating tortillas again. I'm now in my new Sprouting phase. I discovered these famous breads at the Health store made from sprouted grains, no flour! So you're eating live food. I also bought some these tortillas made from sprouted stone ground corn and they taste great. Yes the closest to the handmade Guatemalan ones that I rave about.
Surprise, it's a California product.

Marthavila-long story but Steff is the Master of Tortilla Soup and we've been encouraging her to start a manufacturing plant in SA using her secret recipe handed down from generations in Mexico. The timing is just right since SA needs the jobs and we need a delicious soup. I've sent my resume into Stef for the the quality control Batch Taster position.

UPDATE:

Professional Heating contractor called for examination.

Solman, what is this with posting the inactive photobucket blanks? Preview, preview, preview.

Good news on the quarter round, plllog.

It's time to bring out the tale of the Bosch oven again. Shortly after installation, my shiny new 30" Bosch began to shut off whenever the door was open for more than a few seconds. The reset required running outside to the circuit breaker. It was under warranty and Bosch promptly sent a new board to our local Mr. Appliance service company. Well, five service calls and three new boards (including the mother board) we are problem free. Turned out when they installed the first board the tech didn't properly reattach the ground. Could have saved himself two boards and three visits. The conclusion is that warranties are good because I really wouldn't have wanted to pay for all that on a new oven.

BTW, you probably have access to all the ingredients needed for tortilla soup.

Oh, Steff, so good to hear about the oven fix! I'd been wondering. It looks like the choices for my mother are Bosch and Viking, both of which have some reported issues.

Solman, good news about the appointment. How's your hand?

Are you trying to post smilies? If so, you need to get them from free smiley sites, or save them and upload them to your own Photobucket account and post from there. It's harder with a Mac, but it can be done.

I won't get out the pat smiley so you don't feel all puppy again, but good work on the spelling. Now for a little word selection exercise: I'm reading between the lines that your tortillas are made from flour, but not from wheat, right? Sprouted whatever flour? But "live" food is swalling goldfish whole (yuck). And "organic" is as bad a word for certain farming practices as "biologique", as they say in French. There's nothing more organic than petrochemical fertilizer. It's made out of decayed dinosaurs; it's hydrocarbons; it's flammable; mix in a little diesel oil from the tractor and it goes BOOM! It's definitely organic. It's just fossil. But that is accepted verbiage, as is "flour" meaning wheat when contrasted with "masa" (maize). But flour is actually the powdery stuff that grinding makes, and there's also almond flour and garbanzo flour.

Speaking of which, my cousin makes these really wonderful Italian pancake things out of garbanzo flour. They're heavy, but massively wonderful, fried in olive oil. For which you'll need your hood.

You remember the Bosch oven saga! I thought about posting the results, but the old thread was probably long gone. My SIL has had a Viking wall oven for at least 10 years and is very pleased with it.

Plllog, did you ever solve the DR door problem? I thought about that when you posted the NYC kitchen with the pull down screen.

Solman - That's a good idea to consult the heating contractor for the duct.

Thanks plllog for straightening out the word thing. When Solman wrote about live food I immediately thought of Japan where they actually do eat live fish.

O my goodness, I'm LOLing at the word thing. I went back and re-read my last paragraph. If the first two 'sentences' were posted by themselves they would make absolutely no sense ... I am apparently getting lazier the longer I spend online. hahahah

"Venting through a wall can def be done. Perhaps as a plumber, or a heating guy. "

I guess I'll have to be more careful and make sure I enunciate properly as I'm typing, so that it all comes out correctly. The dumbest part is, that it all usually makes perfect sense to me as I'm typing it (specially since I talk out loud so much as I'm typing) but often when I go back and re-read it makes very little sense in type. (How's that for nonsensical? lol)

Steff, your tortilla soup looks wonderful. I have never had it, I'm sorry to say. I am a soup lover though, so it would probably go down well. I remember your oven woes. I have a love/hate relationship with warranties. Usually when I pay for them I never use them, and when I skip them, (thinking they are an unnecessary expense) I am sorry.

Do you all think I use parentheses and quotation marks too much?

LOL!!! Missy, we don't count that. There's a difference between a performance error and a language error. A performance error is when you know perfectly well what the correct usage is and just goof, usually because your brain has several things in it at once and your fingers (or tongue) choose the wrong thing to let out. Forum chat is written informal speech so few of us spend time sculpting and crafting our posts.

Whereas, it's too much fun teasing Solman!! But I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been confused. For me it wasn't the "live food" thing (I just think that's a dumb name), but when Solman said there wasn't any flour in the tortillas and I was trying to figure out how they got whole sprouted grains to stick together and still be flat and flexible. After rereading it, and then finding the "stone ground" in the next sentence, I realized that they were made out of flour, like all tortillas I've ever seen. So then I figured out that "flour" in a tortilla context usually means white wheat flour, and finally figured out what Solman was talking about. Hence the screed teasing him.

I LOVE creative ¡punctuation!

Steff, thanks for the oven info. That's very useful! I'm not doing the pulldown screen, but will probably go with a low tech door. I have to finish designing it. When I thought I was getting the big glass one I paid to have the electrics moved to the other side of the doorway because the glass door would have covered it up. And then realized that that was one of the big sticking points anyway.

I'm probably going to get a 2/3-1/3 double door. Plain butt hinges will get them flat enough against the wall, and with the asymmetric split, the small side won't be wider than the wall. Because that side is open to the LR, getting a hand around the opened, smaller door (13"), to get at the light switches, won't be a big deal. I'm just trying to settle on a design.

Stef-I didn't remember the oven saga. But glad it's over. Phew. Funny yesterday the Repairman showed up with the wrong part. I asked him if it was # ........ and his reply was that "yeah this one should do it". I was hovering over him and sure enough it didn't fit. Off he went to the truck with "I'll try some others that I've got lying around in the truck". I was upstairs when he was making attempt #2 but when I came down he had the machine working. I'm just crossing my fingers that I don't have a Whirlpool pump in my LG :(

Makes you wonder about the competence about these repair guys. Good thing is I can repair a front loader with a pump issue now, as if I ever will.

I'm confused about the Smiley problem. My screen is showing my last smiley from 16:44 perfectly. Are you guys getting a blank photobucket message?

Plllog thanks for the Traumeel suggestion. Funny when I was buying the Arnica ointment, I was debating between the Traumeel and this one. Oh well should have maybe tried the other. Interestingly, last week when I was in America at my favorite Supermarket, where they have an amazing Natural Food Dept't, I looked at this Arnica stuff and thought maybe I should buy some in case I have some fall or inflammation pain "one day." Spooky, that day came a week later. Hmmm. I was also thinking good thing to have in your First Aid bag when traveling.

Oh sorry the Tortillas are sprouted Organic whole kernel Corn.

"Sprouting grains and seeds before baking produces living, nutrient-rich food."

"Different than most corn tortillas today, these unique tortillas are made from freshly sprouted 100 % organic whole kernel corn. We use no corn meal or corn flour. We sprout our corn first, then slowly produce into a masa using basic natural ingredients and gently press into these wholesome and flavorful sprouted organic corn tortillas. We believe in sprouting the corn because sprouting is the best way to release all of the nutrients stored in the whole grain. Our slow mixing process helps preserve the important natural fiber."

You can see, taste and smell the SPROUTED GRAIN DIFFERENCE". Your body and taste buds will know the difference.

Taken right off the package because these guys couldn't be bothered to put this on their website. :(

2010 Solman willingly eats Tortillas once again. Ayyy Yayyy Yayy. Sabroso!

It's hilarious that I'm scared to heat them up in case I kill them LOL!

Stef-Missy you heard her. She "enjoys"teasing me!

Girls! Sigh)))

Now I get it. There is a raw and living food movement out there. Interesting, but I would have to give up way too much.

Arnica works, a doctor's assistant recommended it to me after surgery and I was pleased with the results. Your hand problem sounds more like you may have an underlying injury that needs to be addressed first.

Plllog, I like the idea of the 2/3-1/3 double door. That's a very common solution in commercial applications.

Good, you got the smilies to work. It's odd that you could see them and we couldn't.

Looking at my hand right now, the meaty palm area, "under my thumb", it is now a dark grey. Was dark Purple and Blue last weekend. So the Arnica seems to be working gradually. I likely broke hundreds of blood vessels . Like Plllog said warmth is important. I notice my hand tightens up and circulation is lost when I'm out in the cold. Don't know if it's the injury or the Minus -10C temp. Only way to test this is to lay me down on a beach in Cancun. Then I can confidently report back :) But Plllog will make me sit here in Canada until this Kitchen's finished. C'mon just a little Sun and warmth is what I'm asking for. Health reasons ya see.

"There is a raw and living food movement out there."

Stef-If this catches on, imagine what will happen to Appliance sales! Silly Californians, they're always causing trouble.

Just think of the energy savings. Now that's Green. Literally.

Stef I think I can smell the Tortilla Soup all the way up here. Is it almost ready?