Thanks Connie and Myrle! Connie, I do worry about deer, as there are at least a couple of hundred of them in the immediate area. I know because they feed them in Eagle River, MI, just a mile away, and I've seen that many there at one time! I've planted mainly 'deer resistant' varieties, all the time knowing that deer will eat anything if they get hungry enough. I'm just hoping they don't get hungry enough!! We don't have moose here. They are withing a hundred miles, and someone tried to bring them into the Keeweenaw, but they wouldn't stay. Guess they didn't like us that well. Myrle, just keep looking for those wheels. They really are a great accent. We'd have had wooden ones if we'd found any for the right price, but so far we haven't. The two pairs we have are metal and we got good buys on both, one at a neighbor's garage sale and one from an elderly antique dealer who is trying to sell out her stock. Hmmm... guess I did't post the pictures of the second set of wheels. We have them set up with rocks at the entrance to our main clearing. Let me see if I can find them....

Some basic questions as I have recently replaced the older appliances in our home. What type of range are you currently cooking on? Do you already have a gas range/cooktop? The reason I ask is that when your used to one type of heating switching can be a surprise. I've had the Frigidaire FGGF304DLW (in white) all gas double oven range. I've only had it for a week so I'm still getting used to it. So far I really like to double oven feature. We've only used the larger oven once, but the small upper oven preheats quickly. Can't really comment on temperature uniformity/accuracy but the temps don't seem far off. The one surprise is how much heat is 'wasted' on the cook top with the sealed burners. We had an older (not sure how old) coil top electric stove before. If I try to boil a cup and a third of water in a 6" diameter pot (an AllClad) it seems to take longer than the old coil stove. Also we've found out that our over the range microwave has a overtemperature feature that turns on the exhaust fan. It had never gone off before. I'm still on the learning curve so I won't give a full review. Just to let you know if your going to a different system, you may be surprised at how different it is. If your already using a sealed gas cook top, it might not be that different. The Consumer Reports appliance review did mention that even the electric smooth top ranges are more efficient than the 'consumer' gas ranges they reviewed. In terms of your other selections, we have Kitchenaid DW and cabinet depth french door fridge that we are happy with. Also look at the 'distributor's' in your area. These are the companies that sell directly to builders, they may also sell to consumers. I'm in Cincinnati and the one I've dealt with has come close to on-line prices (definitely beats big box stores). Also see if there are stores that have scratch and dent show rooms. Often the slight damage is in the unexposed area.

I've been using my 36" BS for over 2 months now and I continue to find reasons why I love it. It is most definitely a range built for those who love to cook. The high BTU is excellent and I finally bought my wok 2 weeks back and it's simply amazing on the 22K. But that simmer burner... I have yet to burn rice and it makes warming up small amounts of baby food a breeze, even if I walk away and completely forget about it (which seems to happen quite often with the kids). From what I've read on the appliance forum, there really isn't another simmer burner that works like this. I also must comment about how easy it's been to clean. The cast iron grates are a dream compared to my old porcelain and enamel tops. A few wipes or a dry scrub and they are done. I've yet to use any cleaners aside from a soapy sponge on it. Lastly, my oven does come with 3 (not 2) racks, one of which is a full-extension roll-out. My one complaint is that the oven door and knobs get quite warm to touch, hot even, when the oven is on full blast. This topic has been discussed to death over on the appliance forum, so I won't go into it. I really wanted to get the Bosch 800 plus series, but we had to compromise somewhere. If you can trim 1K somewhere else, this is the package I'd go for. Good luck!

I bought my appliances with my Ebates and Sears discount as well $core!!