Well I took mine apart and checked all the clear hoses and little T's where the hoses hook up to and all were clear of any food or anything. Just before closing it back up and giving up I noticed there are little legs on the lid that stick into these holes on the bottom part and those had little rubber covers over them. One of them wasn't all the way to the top like the other one was so I removed it from the under side since I had it opened up and it had some food around the little rubber thing. I took that off and it went back to the top like it's suppose to. I think if it's not shut just right it went work and that was keeping mine from shutting right. Anyway it's working perfectly now. I googled and watched a boat load of you tube videos on how to fix them. One guy added a bit of hot glue to the little leg thing because his had broken off or something and it worked when he let it dry. They are just VERY sensitive and cranky. lol Anyway yesterday I found another F.S. at a garage sale for 5 bucks with almost a whole roll of the bags so I bought it. It was a church garage sale and come to find out it was my nieces F. S. She said she had used it twice and had tried to vacuum seal some blueberries and it started sucking the juices up into it and she stopped. So I don't guess she used it anymore after that. It has a button to push that has wet or dry. Anyway it's one of the upright ones more up to date than the one I had. I am still keeping my other one though since i have it going just for a back up one. ALSO you might need to take the rubber things out and wash those so they will swell back up so it can make the seal. Mine had powder on them it felt like so I just took a damp rag and wiped them off really well. I hope you get it figured out and haven't tossed the other ones. You may figure out what's wrong with some of them by watching the video's. :-)

WOW! Thank you all soooo much! You all have made me so much more zen about everything. And you're all 100% right--it's not as dire as I thought when I first got the photos. There IS room and I know I can make it work, with lots of help, of course! Desertsteph, yes, I understand about not being able to get down and get to stuff in the back of base cabinets! So much space is wasted because I never want to use anything beyond about the first foot or so. Apartment base cabs are the worst! You have to use them because usually you don't get enough uppers, depending on the apartment, of course. I like the two big windows too! One thing I will say about this little place is that it has a LOT of windows. The previous owners have replaced the LR window, the LR bay window, and both kitchen windows with the good double pane ones. I will need to do the bedroom and bathroom windows. Historian, thanks for the recommendations; I'll be sure to check them out! Omelet, thanks for the kind words. I'll get out there ASAP to take measurements, photos, video, the whole works. Scone911, so true! NYC is maybe the worst, but if you don't have a lot of money, renting in any large urban area can be challenging. There are still some good deals in the Seattle area if you know where to look or have connections. I'm lucky to have those big windows! I remember the first little apartment my husband and I had in 1980...full of huge jumping spiders, no natural light...but I guess when you're 20 and in love you make anything work. ;-) bpathome, smiling, practigal, I think an induction cook top is a good idea. Also, I saw an oven hood/microwave that also can be used as a convection oven. That might be worth considering. Dhygarden, indeed! People in much of the rest of the world work with much smaller kitchens than we do here in the U.S. Haha, that often seems to come up on "House Hunters International"--Americans can't fathom the tiny kitchen. And you're also right about not having an electric appliance for everything. I can't wait to tell my best friends in Zambia the phrase "appliance garage." (They both work for American diplomats, so they'll just shake their heads and laugh.) I recently bought this really cute Jamie Oliver knife set; it's just three knives, but really you can do everything with them. I've always sort of dreamt of the European way of walking to the market every day or every other day to buy everything fresh. Though there are reasons I like the location of my new house, one disadvantage is that the closest grocery store (or anything, really) is about 10 miles away. Believe me, I never pictured myself living in the tulies...I always thought I'd end up in some downtown flat in a big city, but life is funny. I really do want to get a freezer if I can figure out where to put it...we can get snowed, or iced, in out there and it would be good to be stocked up on a couple weeks' worth of meals. I'm still holding out hope of getting a year long visiting professor gig in either in France or the UK, because I'd love to live in Europe for a year. Writersblock, first of all, let me just say I loooooove that cat!! What breed? Is he (she?) named Batman? If not, why not? ;-) Thanks for the advice on staying away from the 20" ovens! I haven't purchased my own appliances in a couple of decades, and I'm really not familiar with what's what out there. I like your under cabinet lighting too, very nice! My daughter and I are long overdue for a trip to Seattle, so we'll have to head over the mountains this spring--I'm a wuss when it comes to driving over the pass in the winter, haha! I kind of thought the same thing about the IKEA cart; I'm glad you've seen it and could tell me about it. I can't shop at the Evil Empire (Walmart) for political reasons, but I do know there are options--I can check out Fred Meyer, Lowes, Home Depot, BB&B, etc. Also, thanks to you and everyone for tipping me off to the "Little Paris" show! YouTube is completely awesome. Crl, ah to be tall! :-) I'm barely 5'1", and can't stand up straight because of my arthritis, so although I really love the hanging pot racks, they probably aren't the best for me. I think a microwave with oven or convection oven would be OK, at least for now because it's pretty much just one quick move to put something in and then take it out. Crl, also thanks for the suggestion of the toe kick drawers, and thanks to Chicagoans for the illustrated version! Very, very clever! Amazing how much space we have in houses that we don't think to use, like whomever came up with the brilliant notion of recessing things back between the studs. Chicagoans, I'm assuming you're from or live in Chicago, I have enjoyed visiting Chicago twice in the past few years for an academic conference. It's a beautiful city. Although I must say I've never truly known what cold was until I walked around in Chicago! :-) lferg92, I was looking at a super susan the other day; I think it was on the KitchenAid site. They look really wonderful. I'm glad you're enjoying yours, and thanks for the recommendations! Funkycamper and everyone else who mentioned the dishwasher issue, thanks for your honest assessment! You're probably right. Our first dishwasher when I was a kid was a portable--we lived in a tiny little house and it was a tiny kitchen. When we finally moved to Seattle from California we thought our built in dishwasher was the coolest thing ever, lol! I will seriously reconsider a smaller built in. And cpartist, point well taken about the stackables. The w/d that are there now are about 7 years old, I think, still in perfect working condition. But they are monsters; I've never seen such big machines, and both top loaders, ugh. LOL when I was staying there with my friends I practically fell head first into the dryer one afternoon trying to get stuff out. I have to use my little grabber/reacher tool, but that's OK. But as soon as I can afford new ones, they'll definitely be front loaders! Cawaps, "truly awful clutter management," haha! If you knew the half of it, but I'm going to remember that phrase! I'm very anti-clutter and kind of a minimalist. I really like the clean counter look, nothing sitting out. And you're right. When everything is moved out of the house, a feat I still don't know how will be pulled off, except they're getting another storage unit (in addition to the two they have now), and when the extreme cleaners have worked their magic, and when the ghastly china cabinet is knocked out, I know the space will look much bigger. Thanks for the encouragement! There was recently a huge debate, but I can't remember if it was this forum or something else, about pull-out bread boards. I'm pro-bread board, for the record. :-) buehl, thanks for the link. I'll be sure to study the instructions! Desertsteph, that makes a lot of sense, sitting at the table to do prep work. I have a wooden stool that I have used in my last couple of kitchens and that has worked pretty well. Sounds like you got a great deal on the bisque appliances! Ilovered and practigal, you've pretty much talked me into an 18" dishwasher! :-) Thank you all again so much! I'll get a floor plan up as soon as I can! I hope I can overhaul the whole house, roof to subfloor. The yard is also a mess; it's not actually a yard, it's more dirt with weeds. Since I'd like to be a good neighbor, something's going to have to be done next summer on that too. Luckily, the bones of the house are good. No leaks, siding and skirting in excellent condition, etc. The eat-in kitchen and living room will be my biggest and most expensive projects, and I want to do them first because that's where life is lived. I'm very much looking forward to getting your community wisdom! :-)

I got all of mine kinda sorta potted- not the neatest job in the world but enough to hold them over until the weekend. I had forgotten all the bulbs I had ordered- lilies and liatris out the yahoo. It was quite funny, though- I had gone out with intentions of sticking them into quart pots or even large Solo cups with drainage holes drilled that I use to start seedlings. Being this was my first Hallson's order I was not prepared for the hugeness of the plants! Most times when I open a box of plants I find myself wishing they were larger but in yesterday's case each new bag opened was "OMG it's so huge" and "Oh crap, those roots are enormous!" The astilbe roots are simply massive, the daylilies could each be split into many plants, the ferns simply enormous, and some of the groundcover I swear would be sold as ten plants by other vendors. It was funny, but nothing fit into anything any smaller than a trade gallon pot, and many of those are kind of crammed. I used up all my mixed potting media and was trying to avoid mixing up another batch, so I culled some baby palms I have been nursing along and robbed some more media there. Hustling around like a fool trying to get everything in a decent shape for holding. It was so cold and rainy and while I was working under cover it was quite uncomfortable, but I got it done. What a pleasant surprise on the plant sizes, though- I already have another order started... And I love the wheelbarrow idea, but both of ours are full to the brim of compost I had husband dig out for me to use this spring for planting and topdressing. I have him well trained to keep them full for me- don't want to spoil that habit at all.

Your choices work well in the space. As long as the colors and styles are complimentary you really can't go wrong. I like the idea of smaller rugs in the pattern for the area by the bed, or if the rugs are large enough, you could layer the sheepskin rugs. Great space!