Shirley...I am so glad you finally got your box, even if the wine got broken. It just shows how roughly the PO handles our boxes. As you saw, I had marked it "Glass" and "Live Plants". Wonder what happens if you don't mark them to let them know that there are fragile items inside??? I wish you had gotten to see the label though...It was made especially for you. Also, I have spoken to different people in various Post Offices about mailing wine. Each person gave me a different answer. One told me that it was okay to mail wine as long as it was under a certain proof. My homemade wine isn't proofed, even if it was, they wouldn't know what it was because they broke the d--n bottle;0) I'll bring you some when we go to Gatlinburg in the spring. Don't let me forget. Gloria...OUCH!!!That does sound really painful. Hope you heal quickly. Marea....Thank you for the nice complement about the wine. I'll have you a bottle waiting when you come and see me this spring. I can hardly wait to show you over the farm. Maybe when you get settled in your permanent home I can return the visit. Welcome Roxanne. Glad to have a new member. I've been away from the group a lot recently and have missed out on your joining. Now for the sad news...My aunt passed away late yesterday, she was cremated today, and there will be a memorial for her tomorrow in her hometown (London, KY). This is the aunt that I have been helping my cousin by sitting with her a few times a week. Maretta (my aunt) was 66 years old and died of cancer one month after being diagnosed. The blessing is that she is no longer suffering and is in a much better place. Hello to everyone...I have missed you, and hope to be back and more active in our group again soon. Debbie

I don't know how stale this is, or if you've gotten the opinions you've needed, but I'm well past the honeymoon period on my Bluestar. I've got one of the older ones, back when Trevor was selling them at Eurostoves, and his service was excellent. I have basically no complaints with the cooktop portion of the range and enjoy cooking on it immensely. The burners are easy to regulate and both the mid-heat and the simmer burner get low enough for my needs. I have never found that I needed another simmer burner. It sounds like Bluestar has improved the ignitor circuitry somewhat so that only the burner that needs lighting fires. It's not a big deal and I haven't had any significant problems with the ignitors in the three or four years we've owned the range. If it were just for the cooktop performance, I'd go for another in a heartbeat. The gas oven? Not so happy. Big bangs from the oven floor that were never resolved. The broiler isn't anywhere near a commercial salamander, no matter the construction. It cycles on and off so you have to watch everything in it every time, not just go by time and then check. The temperature is off around 25 deg. on the low end one way, and about 25 deg on the high end the other. Not able to set the span of the control -- only a single-point calibration. Oh well, there are worse things. Have to keep the door hinges well greases or they will sieze. The front of the door gets uncomfortably hot -- claimed to be within UL standards, but it just doesn't seem right. I do love the ball-bearing shelf and wish it had more. The oven seems reasonably uniform, based on baking on both half sheets and full sheets. Even though they'll fit, we don't find the uniformity on the full sheets to be that good. Was it the right choice at the time -- yes.

I'm soooooo happy for you....it looks fantastic and hard to believe it was the only change. 2 very cool things. One is that your gorgeous beams take on a whole new dimension. You can actually SEE them and seeing them repeat like that makes the space look so expansive. the other cool thing is something I noticed in my own house when I took down over the bar cabs and is true in yours too. It's great how the window right by your table (cab wall) all of a sudden becomes so RELEVANT to your kitchen space. You will love the extra light and sight line.

You have a beautiful home and I love your woodsy setting. You are getting great recommendations on lighting, but I would like to make one other suggestion. When you do your window box and perhaps shutters (I like the idea of white), seriously consider removing the two shrubs flanking the garage. They just appear too rigid/boring for such a pretty setting. Replace them with planters with colorful annuals to add some color - potted mums would be yummy in the fall. Your new garage lights can shine on them! Tuesday