Hi all - so far so good! A few things I've noticed: There are a LOT of choices in terms of which burner to use. Knew that of course going in, but will take some time to figure out what best meets my needs when cooking. The PowR burner in the main oven (circular gas flame) makes a kind of high pitched noise as it's starting up. Since the burner cycles on and off, the noise happens pretty frequently in a baking cycle. (Doesn't bother me, but FYI). The knobs do get a little hot when you've got the oven(s) cranking. Oven doors however, do not get hot. One of my burners has about 4 holes that didn't get drilled so not fully lighting. Will notify BlueStar about that. Also the handle on the convection oven is not level. Performance: I LOVE the simmer burner. I can't believe how low that thing can get. Great for keeping sides warm as I'm finishing up other dishes. Oven seems to run a little hot. Used an oven thermometer last night to gauge it - had my knob set to 350 and it went up to 450 and then came down from there. Fair warning - I may also need a new oven thermometer. Used the griddle for pancakes this weekend. Worked beautifully - only downside is the weight - WHOA those things are heavy. Also, I may not have totally figured this out yet, but there are two square opens caddy corner of each other on the griddle. My worry is that if you were making bacon or something on the griddle, the grease would drip underneath directly onto the gas flame. There is a "grease diverter" to use for when you are using the charbroiler, but it doesn't say to use it for the griddle. Will likely just ask dealer about that as well. Haven't baked a cake or anything in there yet, but looking forward to doing more of that once we actually have kitchen countertops! Oh and clean up seems pretty easy - everything will fall under drip trays which easily pull out (I did put a layer of aluminum on there for ease) and then just a little scrub of the cast iron and light oiling every once in a while seems like it will do the trick. Hardest part again is how heavy things are - but I could use some more upper body strength! Will try to get more pics this weekend and upload then.

dgmarie, that slipperybrick site was great! Very creative. Loved this bit from the description of the Enterprise theatre; "Even a red alert button that starts red flashing lights and tense music." That's what I need in real life; a red alert button and background music. Here's a picture of my home theatre, or rather, what I hope it will look like when it's done. I'm working on a cabinet for television and vcr/dvd player to look like the Hornbeck Theatre in Shawnee, Oklahoma. My Dad worked there as a teenager over 60 years ago, back when the ushers carried flashlights and escorted you to your seat. These days, it plays the dollar movie; the ones that everyone else has already seen, their last showing on a big screen before you can find it at the rental store. Our family has many happy memories of "going to the show" tied up with that building. Here is a link that might be useful:

Willow Dean Smith is going to be a star in our garden. This is the third year and doing so great. It also has three new scapes, so the flower show should last for quite some time. The longer we have FFSnow, the more we love it. I did a crazy thing, crossed it with Star Child, and yes---There is a pod, hope the pod develops seeds and some day there will be another beautiful daylily. Twirling Parasol really does have a unique look to me, and this year some of the scapes are above the listed 22" height, which makes me happy.

Sweet Isabella looks very pretty after the rain, and Black Velvet Baby looks very velvety. I'm glad you're getting blooms on Sugar Magnolia even thought they're splotchy. I can't remember seeing it splotchy here. I hope I didn't send some of my thrips. Debra