I've grown this several years and they are so sweet, and store so well, they're amazing. Here's what I've learned -- sprawling works just fine (I've done a combination of climbing and sprawling, no advantage to either) But they will sprawl a LONG way! I think that may be the reason the Seminoles used to send them up a tree. Plant early and leave them until they turn tan. In your zone you should have no trouble ripening them. But if you have some green, young ones still on the vine late in the season and it's about to frost, just harvest them and use them -- they're like super sweet zucchini. Mine grew the best when I used a lot of manure -- which is always the case for me with curcurbits. I would think that a compost pile would also be a great place for them to grow from. Get yourself one of those short, stiff, serrated squash knives (Johnny's sells them). This will keep you from losing any fingers when opening them. (the rind is super hard.)

Hi again everybody, sorry for the delay-- I thought I had email notifications set up, but apparently not. Anyway, there's no real reason for wanting to grow a plant in my car. I suppose I just would like to see a bit of green in the corner of my eye when I'm driving. Aside from that, I've got an interest in exotic plants, and I know I'd need something pretty exotic to survive in an environment like this. I suppose I could grow it on the console between the two front seats. The dash just seemed like the best place, far as plant-growing real estate is concerned inside an economy car from the early nineties. I guess it's just the appeal of something so unusual as seeing a plant living inside a car in Texas. What I'd really like is to find something flowering. As much as I tend to avoid growing flowers for flowers, I think it'd be really cool to have a single flower growing in, say, an old glass Mexican soda bottle in my car.

There are five plans posted so I'll just go in order No.1 - that's your current plan No.2 - would work - the only thing I would change is the range and sink. I would switch them so that the DW is located close to or at the end of the counter run, then the sink and then the range closer to, but not in, the corner. As far as having a pantry in the dining room, there are all sorts of ways to design it so that it looks like it belongs. The middle part can be a buffet with glass in the upper cabinets and a marble or wood counter. Go and look at actual DR buffet/hutches to get some design ideas. If your worried about the table being off-center wrt the window would it help to put the pantry/hutch against the stairway wall? I think it might be about a foot shorter but it might also feel like it's more in the kitchen. Your island could go a little longer toward the fridge. It looks like you drew 5' clearance but if fridge is french doors you could go down to 48" or 42" clearance. And depending on the size you need/want for your family room you could take your island closer that way as well. But that is your personal choice and depends on your priorities in spacing. No.3 - with the peninsula it just feels like things are getting a little closed off especially when you want to have a more open feeling. Not really enamoured with the feeling that it gives. No.4 - in a minute. No.5 - I do like this one, however my concern is your aisle clearance. Your island is only 2' wide giving you, as you have drawn it, only 36" aisles but counter overhangs are anywhere from 1" and up. So with this in mind, when you have two counters facing one another you are going to lose at least 2' giving you aisles of only 34" and with 5 people in there that could get really tight. I also see a real pinch-point between the lower-left corner of the island and the wall where the fridge is coupled with the door for the stairs in that space as well. Now back to NO. 4 I would pick the peninsula in this reiteration because it is roomier. So depending on budget, as you have drawn your plans I would pick either No.2 or No.4. Now there are layout gurus here who can probably come up with other suggestions as well.

rococogurl: "Seeing your photo, I'd ask if you have enough detergent in there. Almost no suds at all! " We tend to run three washes through the machine, with different settings, in a cycle: (1) underwear plus kitchen clean-up cloths and towels, (2) colored laundry, and (3) sheets, pillow cases, and bathroom towels. The wash that I photographed was the underwear/kitchen cycle, the only one of the three that washes in hot water; the other two (warm water) washes get the same borax, but do not get the oxygen bleach, and they produce no more suds than that one does. The Vaska dose was up to the bottom of, but not fully covering, the fill line in the cap of the Vaska jug. It has got our clothes fully clean in every wash cycle that we have put it through so far.