Looking back over the years I have found out that Pinus strobus are usually the first conifers to succumb to adverse weather conditions in the Midwest. Most are vulnerable to excessive heat and drought. They need just the right amount of water to survive under these conditions. To much water or not enough will do them in. I also have foud if they are root bound even the slightest amount that could spell trouble especially if you do surgery before planting. I am currently down to one, 'Angel Falls'. I might have another cultivar lurking some where. It came as a conifer grown in a wooden box. A big conifer that when unpacked had a very fine root system and was not the least root bound. It has performed beautifully over the years. The key for survival with these cultivars centers in the roots. I think they need to be spot on for any chance of survival. Bump them out of the pot at the nursery before you purchase them. Most will be rejects. "I might have another lurking somewhere". I need to go find it. Pretty bad when you don't remember what you are growing. Dave

I haven't been able to download my camera pics so I will try and describe what has been done now. They have put plywood on the interior side of the garage wall that the furnace is on. They will drywall over the plywood as this is an interior room. They have built a soffit around the upper 12 inches of furnace and duct in the garage and will drywall around this soffet. So there will be no drywall between the upper part of the furnace/ducting and the insulation. I will try to have my DH upload the pics for me. Thanks for looking. Laura

Photography: If you are in NYC and you want to visit the Empire State Building and you have a map. It will not be difficult for you to find the place. And if you don’t have a map, you can drive for days and still not find the building. Is the person with the map a better driver? I am not a good photographer. I use extremely simple methods (the map). I use one light, one tripod and the camera on automatic for the same shots every time. Plating: I have been told that I have a unique style. I don’t know what that means. I do find it interesting that all food by nature have God’s given colors and geometry. So I try to take advantage what nature has to offer. There are many plating styles which I don’t practice, for many reasons, mostly because I don’t have the time to perform intricate carving and stacking. I don’t have the patience to take food to a presentation plate, arrange, assemble, move, sculpt, tweezer -----. compose, compose and compose---tasting menu style ----- then relocate the food on a serving plate, reheat and serve. The dishes that I take pictures with are the same dishes that go on the dinner table. I think there is no style that will please all, which is very interesting to me. I learn a lot from good comments and very critical comments. I find age differences, culture, geography, etc. have a lot to do with perception of and preference to aesthetics. After all, if you go to a fine arts museum, chances you will hate at least half of the “art” there. Sleevendog, everything you have said has been said to me by more than one person more than once. I have no disagreement with your thesis. I can see that you have some background in artistic training. I certainly do not think you are being critical at all. You have made valid observations from your perspective and I do appreciate them. I assure you each time I create some dishes, I will be thinking of your comments before I click. The important issue in discussion here is really for those who have some degree of photophobia. Taking good food pictures and creating good plating while not that important, but if you want to add additional joy to the eating experience, it is much easier and cheaper than you realize. A while back, I decided to send a couple of pictures and entered in a cooking competition sponsored by a major publication and some food companies. I was immediately qualified just by the pictures I sent. During the actual cooking, the appliance which was given to me (All finalists cook with the same appliances) failed. I was unable to fully execute my recipe. However, the picture of my plating was used in the centerfold by the publication and also the Facebook advertisement for the sponsoring food company. Then recently I entered another competition sponsored by a food forum. I won the competition just by the photos I submitted. I did post those pictures here in this forum. Those were a lot of fun to brag to my friends and family. And the equipment used for the photos? As I said nothing more than one light bulb, and a broken kitchen container. Lighting is very important, for instance, the same picture of the artistically plated dish up thread by Sleevendog would look totally different if it were taken with better lighting; No shaking, no bad lighting, that is the “Map” to good photos even with cheap cameras. Just do it. Plate, click, plate, click ------- Small investment in learning time for a life time of amazing food fun! dcarch

If you don't add a prep sink to that island, you'll still be using that same small area between the sink and the range as your primary prep space. Your habits won't change. There won't be any reason for them to. Adding an island won't help your kitchen function better at all. I think you have some decisions to be made here. Is creating more function more important than creating a more social space? If social space is more important, then just put a counter height dining table there and call the remodel done. If getting yourself out of facing the corner while you're prepping is more important, then doing the island with a prep sink is what you need to focus on primarily. If your table is just "steps away", then I personally don't see the need to have more than maybe 2 stools for perching at that island. Adding in seating at the island just gives you another space for the kids to mess up rather than a place to confine the mess to. Perhaps setting better ground rules as to where food or toys are allowed in the open space would give you the clutter control and the prep space you need. You created a playroom. That's where toys are allowed. You have a dining table. That's where food is allowed. Period. See if you can start that program right away and then judge the results of those efforts before trying to decide about your island.