Cast Iron is my primary choice for campsite cooking. If weight is not an issue, pack a 12" and maybe a 10" diameter pot. When choosing a brand, choose an american made Lodge as opposed to an asian import that lacks in quality. There are two types of dutch ovens. One type is made to use over a direct flame and has a dome shaped lid, and may be selp-basting. The other type is raised on 3 short legs and has a lipped cover that can hold hot coals. This one is the most versitile as it can be used over an open flame, directly in a campfire. or over a campfire with the use of a tripod. It may seem that it would take longer to cook using a dutch over, requiring firing up a campfire or charcoal fire, but I have found a way aound this with another piece of equipment I cannot do without. Again, this will not work for backpackers! I carry one of the CampChef double burner stoves with me on my camp trips. They put out much more BTU's (30k)than you are used to on your home range (7-10k). Either type of the Dutch ovens will seat on the surface of this stove. It produces enough intense heat to get a boil going fast, and then you can turn it down unbelievably low to keep a simmer going, because of the excellent seal produced by the dutch oven and lid. The propane tank can do double duty as a fuel source for other items such as a propane lantern when not cooking. If I want to bake on the stove, I can do that too. I have what is called a charcoal chimney for starting charcoal. This generally takes 10 to 15 minutes to get hot coals when using newspaper and a lighter to start the coals. However, by utilizing the other burner of the stove to start the coals, I have hot coals in 5 minutes or less. Then they are ready to pour on top of the dutch oven. I also like to carry a couple of teflon coated saute pans, a 7" and 8". Gotta flip my eggs in the morning and use the larger one for omelots. With these four pots & pans, a coffee pot, and a few utensils I've got everything I need to cook for 4 to 6 people.

What a wonderful guest apt! You are looking for a 'soft' rustic look rather than a heavy masculine one so I think using your grey barnboard with white walls would work well. Reminds me of the pics I see on European blogs. What type of flooring do you have? Sea grass rugs might work well with this style - over some easy care hard flooring of course. Focus on textures rather than color with this scheme. I'll post some links that might give you some inspiration: "Color scheme" of pale grey, white, natural willow, and red accent. Painted furniture works well with this type of 'soft' rustic style. "Blog header pic" uses whites, greys, and natural materials. "from this blog" "from this site." "barn conversion" Of course another idea is to use color without going to the heavy masculine ones. Let me know if you need pics or links of that and I'll see what I have.

Sieryn and Pop, Forget the cookies, Lets get a bottle AAARRRRGGGHHHH and get me a 7 3/4......Who ever said your love for your children has to be greater than your hatred for your X keeps repeating in my head with all these stories..And for the most part, all the DHs on the board sound like dolls, putting up with all this junk from these nightmare Xs from hell...What MAKES a woman behave like this????? Sigh, a new thread for sure.....

Sorry I was M.I.A. ....we had family over yesterday evening and church this afternoon....I'm back. :-) I just wanted to say thanks again to you all. I just got done reading all of the comments and advice.....lots of food for thought. All of this advice will be helpful when we get our "real plan" in place. I've learned a lot. ....and I agree that our plan is lame, lol. So, we are going to start looking for a professional, or just buy this plan, (lol): http://www.architecturaldesigns.com/PlanDetail.aspx?plannumber=6537RF Total Living Area: 2,579 sq. ft. Main Flr.: 1,399 sq. ft. 2nd Flr: 1,180 sq. ft. Basement Unfinished: 1,399 sq. ft. Bonus: 410 sq. ft. Porch, Combined: 954 sq. ft. Storage: 313 sq. ft. Attached Garage: 3 Car, 1,163 sq. ft. Bedrooms: 3/4 Full Bathrooms: 2 Half Bathrooms: 1 Bry911....wanted to thank you for taking the time to sketch up modifications. Your explanations were really helpful. Thanks again to you all :-)