crikey ... where are you .. i cant remember everyones location off hand ... and what is your soil.. that might make a difference ... the koreansis is an absolutely gorgeous.. fast growing.. green freakin tree ... if you have acreage.. get one ... if you are suburban.. and uneder a half acre.. skip it ... i usually spend an hour in spring.. and again in fall.. trying to find a single branch with OD markings .. of crimminey ... and the jack corbett is not different in any manner ... but again .. as a green pine.. it will knock your socks off.. hmmmm.. maybe it depends where you are??? do consider one of the two ... but dont waste space on both unless you have 5+ acres ... zone is basically low winter temp ... but dave can speak to high summer night temps and humidity as a problem for some types of conifers.. i do NOT think any of those are on your list... if you go to your memebers page.. you can propable add a city and state to your z6 info ... as i added MI ... after the adrian part of my name.. so you all now know.. i am in adrian MI ... yeah.. adrian is not my last name ... monkeyboy.. lol ... finally.. i have st mary pungens.. i didnt know there was a st joe .. i will have to look that up ... the rest.. nice choices ... but dont get me going on chief jo ... but i think CK has addressed that thru understock ... ken

We have a 4 y.o. Miele Incognito. The silverware tray makes it much easier to load IMO and is handy also for sink mats, small gadgets, sponges, scrubbers, Cuisinart discs, bottle caps, container tops etc. All those are thrown on where they fit around silverware. The tray holds way more silverware than a conventional basket by far. That's the main reason I will now buy a second Miele, this time an Optima. I'm looking at that because I don't need the complexities or expense of La Perla. Optima has a redesigned second basket now more friendly to bowls and mugs, a Turbo wash that's quicker than other cycles, the china/crystal cycle that I need and seems ideal for my purposes. No need for me to consider another brand but Bosch is also excellent, quiet and certainly less than La Perla though not necessarily that much less than other Mieles. You'd do well with either. If I decided not to go with Miele I'd look at Bosch and likely at F&P dish drawers.

Luvs, I was embarrassed when this happened but I have to tell you that this child has kept me laughing for years - even though he is forty now. I feel like we grew up together since I had him at 17 years old. Anyway, he picks at me at lot and even if I am mad, I end up laughing at him. Several years ago I had surgery on my foot and could not put any pressure on it. I went to the restroom hobbling on one foot, maneuvered around the sink, lined up with the toilet, held on to the ceramic towel holder so I could slowly sit down. Hard to do on one foot. Wouldn't you know it, the towel holder broke and I landed hard on the seat - except the seat was up and I ended up in the toilet. I was screaming for help since I couldn't stand with just one foot. Both my husband and son came running in but both fell down laughing hysterically. I must have been a site to see, stuck in the toilet with a towel around me. They managed to get me up but I was so mad I was swinging my crutches at them - one of them left the seat up and they know I hate that. They were laughing and dodging the crutch until I finally fell on the sofa in hysterics. They have never let me forget that. You know how it is when you are painting, sometimes you end up with it on your face or in your hair. They have taken me to the store after I have been painting - never telling me that I have a streak of paint across my cheek. People are looking at me a bit weird but I didn't know why. I just thought they were admiring my good looking son, and of course he puts his arm around my shoulder and pats my head as if to say, "My mom, she's just had a bad day." That should have been a clue. Then later in the day I finally look in the mirror and realize what they were seeing - someone with war paint on their face. They must have thought I was nuts. Thank goodness I have a sense of humor - you have to with the nuts I have in my family including my sisters. I hope you have a terrific vacation. I will leave for Pennyslvania next month to watch the trees change color and hope to take a painting class with Roxanne Pulaski. Today is my birthday and it is a gift from my husband. later

I watched this post as it was first unfolding but I couldn't add anything because I don't know squat about design/tile/backsplash. Each time I came back to this post I marveled at all the pics everyone was posting....just beautiful backsplashes, all of them! And now I see your final product and...WOW, just WOW! As I said, I don't know tile backsplash design but I know what I like when I see it and your whole kitchen came together beautifully with the backsplash being the crowning touch!