Hi all, Can someone help me figure out the difference in power and functioning in the induction cooktops. I have decided to get a 36 inch induction and have been looking at the inductionsite website, but don't really understand what power to look at. I am considering Wolf (5 elements, 2 boost) and Diva (5 elements no boost) and also Electrolux and Miele which are both 5 element, 5 boost. I can't figure out where there is power sharing and from a pure heat capacity per burner, which is better. It seems that Wolf does have an advantage in higher capacity in the largest burner (without and with the boost). But I am really not sure I understand all the implications. Thanks

Checking in - have been unpacking stuff that has been waiting for the bedroom closet. With the additional shelves on the sides they are now my linen closet replacement (don't have one in this house) so I'm pretty pleased with this. Now I can move our hanging clothing still in the trailer through the wash and finally home. Happy Happy! And as the boxes leave here, the space is evolving. More items are finding where they belong or don't. I watched another episode of Hoarders today - I know we are all on the right track. I understand the psychology on how things can get out of control when life wallops you, I understand how good it feels when you regain control again instead of letting items take over. We are all different. Our belongings mean different things to each and everyone of us. I want to cherish what brings me joy, memories, are of practical use. Sometimes things change along with their value. Life changes. I want to change with it down the path where I can step freely. Tonight will should be a better sleep not seeing items pushed against the wall because they had no home. Our bathroom feels like heaven when taking a shower because there is room enough not to knock things down, stub my toe. Our kitchen will continue to be a work in progress until we get those cupboards but at least I can choose to have organized storage until then...and hopefully we can both keep it that way. Instead of walking around something that should be put away, I'm going to start picking more up every day. That job is becoming so much less hassle as my space has definition. Clutter brings clutter. Space brings peace. Next week I think will be a great week to clean the windows again to enjoy the sunny days when they arrive. See the snow sparkle at night when it falls. It all starts with one box, one bag, one item. We are doing this. We are empowered. Please share your week with us, ups and downs. Are you feeling better now? Until later, need a cuppa and think about dinner for later. Cheers my friends, Peggy

When our kids were at home, we celebrated the 12 days of Christmas. We did do gifts, although only the one given on 12th Night/Epiphany/Feast of the Three Kings was a big one. The others were small, sometimes shared (such as a family movie), and for years they involved a treasure hunt each day to find them. They loved the treasure hunts so much that it didn't matter if the treasure was nothing more than a colorful pen or a candy bar. We kept up our tree and lights through Jan. 6th (even got a nastygram from the HOA in one neighborhood for not taking down the outside decorations fast enough.) At least once, but more often on the 26th and again on the 2nd, we had "backwards day" for which we ate pizza for breakfast and french toast for supper and stayed in our pajamas all day. Since we homeschooled, we scheduled a break from Christmas Eve until Jan. 7th. Our kids were into Legos, K'Nex, Puzz3D, and all sorts of building toys, so we spent a lot of our time working together to assemble new sets. We also watched the movies (VHS back then) they received, as well as old favorites. We took turns choosing the menu for each day so that everyone had favorite foods (even when that meant PBJs for supper.) On Epiphany, we enjoyed our first King Cake of the season (which runs until Mardi Gras.) Whoever got the "baby" (we used a plastic baby hidden from the bottom, but some people use a large nut) was the King (or Queen) of the Feast. These days, we're not together for most of the 12 days of Christmas (if at all.) I order King Cakes for each of us from a bakery in New Orleans that delivers them on (or the day before) Epiphany, but that's all we do now.

I'm so excited to see your final plan(s)! On the one hand, having the prep sink at the end of the island could come in super handy if you cook a lot of noodles -- just a quick turn-around to dump the water in the prep sink and let them drain in a colander there. Who wants to take many steps when carrying a pot with boiling water? The end of our island (we've no prep sink, anywhere!) is also opposite our cooktop (like yours), although ours is truly across the aisle (your island is not centered on your cooktop), and maybe it's just the way we cook / live, but we rarely use it as a staging area for things to be cooked: we tend to hoard all the prepped stuff to the right of the cooktop, sometimes the left, but mostly the right. But, because the left of your cooktop has the bar sink (a great compromise!), you'd only have the right of the cooktop, so maybe you'll like having the end of the island be just countertop. ??? Although, because the non-sink portion of that end of your island is the part which is across from your cooktop, I think you'll be okay. Don't you? Thinking of the way I like to prep / cook, I'd leave it as is (in your original drawing, the top post). I also like the way your prep sink is so close to your trash pull-out, so you can just swivel with your cutting board to drop whatever into the trash. I really like getting as little exercise in the kitchen as possible .... About the plasma over the fireplace: that's what we have and ours is all brand-new (we installed the fireplace where there had not been one). Look at the specs for your tv and it should tell you how far it needs to be from a heat source (ours, a Panasonic, did). I have to say we really like having our tv up as opposed to eye level, although I totally understand why others would be concerned about it. For us, it's actually a more comfortable viewing angle plus no petit people (aka our children) walking in front or their multiplying toys on the coffee table obscure the view. We also LOVE being able to see the fire and the tv a la meme fois. Love it!!! I am just so excited for you how close you are. Yippee!!!