Thanks again. It is really beautiful in this area. I've been fortunate that ever since I moved to Canada in 1973 I've always lived in a relatively secluded, beautiful place. The first was on Vancouver Island north of Victoria. I rented a log house on the property of a well to do lady and went to her house and cooked 5 nights a week. The house was on the ocean and a world away from Southern Calif. where I grew up. The first house my husband and I bought was on Salt Spring Island. That was a great experience for the time. We lived on a small lake. When our kids were small we decided it was time to move. A friend lived in Salmon Arm and when we visited him, we loved it. No taking ferries anywhere would have sold me on just about anywhere! Paul, we already have a McDonalds, A&W, Dairy Queen, Wendy's, Joey's Only, Dominoes Pizza, Subway and probably others that are thankfully slipping my mind. I call this the lousy resturant capitol of Canada. We are 45 minutes from a slightly larger town of Vernon that has everything except Cost-co. I'm perfactly happy to go there if I want to go to Wallmart or Home Depot but nobody asked me! The planning here is really pathetic. I've often felt that those in charge should be made to actually GO somewhere and see what is done in other places with a shoreline like ours. Where the wharf is in the pictures coming toward you is East. This area between the wharf and the nature preserve has been the subject for controversary since I've lived here. The person who owned the land between the wharf and the nature preserve walk wanted to develop it. I can't really remember what he wanted to do but whatever it was the city wouldn't let him. He was so frustrated at one point he was threatening to put an RV park there for spite. It was already zoned for that so they couldn't have stopped him. Gradually some buildings were built in this area. The first ones were government offices. That's where you went to get your drivers license and file claims about bad tennants. It was so weird. I pictured something like the Steveston area in Vancouver or Monterey in Calif. The vision was certainly lacking. Now there are a couple townhouse developments which are for retired people plus a big very expensive, care facility. The bay is very shallow and the railroad track runs between the town and the shoreline. That seems to separate the town from the shore in a weird kind of way. If you don't have particular buisness across the tracks, you don't go there. The property being fought over for wallmart is West of the wharf. I've been told it's the only spot large enough to accomodate the type of shopping center they want to build. I guess there are 'politics' to deal with no matter where you live. Sad....

The plant without a label looks like Camassia. ?

Thanks for all the feedback! Here are some responses: @SunnyAlberta: I'm kind of leaning toward #2 also because of the visual balance and extra room on the range wall. I expect to be spending more time in the big living area than in the dining area, so the blocked light won't matter as much. And the walls of the dining area are going to be mostly window -- two big corner windows -- so there will be plenty of light in there, plus a view of lots of trees and a small pond. One downside is that my architect will be annoyed with me if I go this route, because we had it drawn this way at one point and I let him talk me into plan #1. Fortunately it isn't a structural change; I think all it requires is moving the electrical stuff around. And that's what I'm paying him for. :-) I think you're right about the flow from fridge -> plate -> oven. The plates will probably be in an upper cabinet toward the left hand side of that wall, or maybe in a deep drawer in the island, so that flow works fairly well. And the aisles are wide enough that there shouldn't be a collision if anyone else is in there. @bmorepanic: Do you mean putting both the ovens and the refrigerator on the left wall? Hmm. My architect had it drawn that way originally, but I didn't like it much. It was a big "wall of tall" that I think would look even worse than plan #1 above because it just kind of hangs out there. (Someone on the forum pointed that out, maybe buehl.) Or maybe you meant leave the oven on the same wall as in plan #1, but move it out into the living area to the right of the fridge, between the fridge and the pantry door. I don't think I like that because it puts some of the stainless steel out there. But I could slide both the oven and the fridge to the right (if it's a full overlay and integrated) into that area without it looking too weird. And that area is more or less unused in the current plan. Hmmm. @davidro: Yeah, the hoods are different. I've been playing with different styles in my drawings: big pro hood, shorter metal one, insert in a fairly flat wood enclosure, etc. I'll try to post some drawings that have consistent hoods in them. What kind do you think would look best? :-) I've also been drawing them at different widths, but I'll probably go with 36" to maximize upper cabinet space. The island definitely needs work: curvy or multiple heights, or something like that. That stuff can change later, but right now I need to finalize the floor plan and gas/electrical stuff for the city. The colors in the drawings are also a mess. I'm rather color-blind, so I just picked some things I liked in isolation with no thought for how they'll fit together. I'm going to need to hire a designer to help with all the colors and other decoration. :-( @localeater: "I was wondering what is in the island." Not much so far. The prep sink, plus a trash pullout at the end nearest the cleanup sink. Otherwise it's a blank slate. On the oven comments from multiple folks.... I'm torn there. Putting them under the counters would definitely solve the layout problems. Or using a range instead of a rangetop, plus a microwave drawer or a speed oven mounted in the island. But I'm almost 6' tall and have a messed up back, so I've more or less discarded those ideas. (I wish I could trade a couple inches of height with my friends who think they're too short. :-) But you guys have made me reconsider a bit, because it would certainly help with layout. Too many choices! @herbflavor: You're right that the furniture arrangement in the big area looks bizarre and arbitrary. I love having lots of windows and light, but it makes the furniture layout a challenge because I also want to use that room as a home theatre, with the TV and audio gear on that long wall. I'll come up with some sort of compromise eventually. I think I'd be fairly happy with either of the designs above, with some minor tweaks for looks. But I want to get it *perfect*! Curse you for giving me so many more choices and ideas! Kitchen design is way harder than the software design I do for a living. :-) Random aside on the "lots of windows" front... My current house is similar to the "Eichler" houses built all over the Bay Area in the 50's. They're basically lower-budget, mass-produced designs inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright: lots of windows, flat roofs, outdoor atriums that integrate into the living space with big windows or sliding doors, etc. I love the current house and am trying to replicate some of the parts I like in the new one. The reason for the move is a much bigger lot, slightly bigger house, and much nicer location within walking distance to lots of shops and restaurants. (Downtown Mountain View, CA for anyone who lives around here.) Thanks! Keep the feedback coming! Laura, on my lunch break

You think that's bad Kathi and HoustonMom, my sister just asked on Facebook what she should call her new kitty and I suggested Nacho. LOL Jasdip, the next vacation (rather, adventure), looks like it might be in Papua New Guinea or down the Orinoco River in Venezuela. Still in the planning stages. That poor camera is 8 years old and getting very tired so I bought a new camera when I got back from vacation. I'm considering buying another Olympus camera I saw today on eBay's Deal of the Day for $109 and free shipping. It has essentially the same specs as my old camera minus the viewfinder but the shutter lag (how quickly it can focus and shoot) is *much* faster than my old one which was so slow that I missed an opportunity to get a photo of a sloth while on a rain forest hike in Panama. I kid you not! LOL BTW, the nachos and guacamole was delicious! Jodi-