Sorry thefarmMe. I have to disagree with your statment that Homesteading Today being a "very fine website". Joining was no problem for me. However, attempting to particpate in their forums has proven to be an exercise in frustration. The site appears to be a nice set up and is very attractive. However, that's as far as it goes. There's an old saying that seems to be applicable here...pretty is as pretty does... After registering, I received the confirmation email and followed their instructions "to the letter". However, the website thwarts every attempt I make to particpate. It appears I have not been "approved" yet and the adminstrators have not responded to my queries. Well, I know that I'm a farmer and I have plenty of past experience to back up that statement. I have nothing to prove and certainly don't need anyone's approval so I can't be bothered with the Homesteading Today website. I believe the Homesteading Today website is not worth my time. It is definitely NOT user friendly and the adminstrators don't appear to be in any hurry to change the way they manage the website. Perhaps you or other Homesteading Today members that belong to our forum could contact those adminstrators and tell them about the "negative press" their getting. I'd like them to know that farming/homesteading IS NOT A CLUB with exclusive membership! Kat katymattice@hotmail.com

Ritaweed, I've been to the New River and it's just breath taking country. There's a book called Follow the River that takes place between there and Virginia. We're at the opposite end of WV, about as far north as you can go in the Eastern Panhandle, about 10 minutes south of Hancock, MD. But this part of WV is beautiful, too. Our farm is 23 acres with a nice big pond, and the pasture almost fills a little valley in the woods between 2 mountain ranges. Berkeley Springs itself was the nation's first spa, and it now has the beginnings of being an artist town. For being so small, there's a lot going on. Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. Here is a link that might be useful: About Berkeley Springs

I have a gas range top. It will light with a match when the power is out. I think its an important feature for people living in certain areas, ie hurricane prone areas or frequent electrical outages. When hurricane Charlie hit us, we had no power or water for over a week. It's a long time if you haven't experienced that kind of event. All of our friends had ranges and gas ovens that could not be lit with a match. We all had tons of food in the freezer thawing so everyone came to our house to cook. It was fun having everyone bring their food and cook it on my 6 burner stove top but I would never have a stove top without the ability to light it with a match. The oven is electric but I can live without that. My husband went on a long distance kayak trip many moons ago. One fellow was a professional baker who made an oven from a cardboard box. I wasn't there so can't give the details but stories are they ate well with everything he baked from bread to breakfast pastries etc he was the hit of the trip. How one can construct an oven from cardboard and use it to bake over a camp fire leaves me wondering. But...it's a true story Inga

A very large majority of major brand gas and dual ranges can be lit manually during a power outage. There are so many manually lightable models that you might have better luck picking a budget or price limit and starting a thread with a title like "best current model gas range less than $____?" When you get your recommendations, then check the user guides to weed out the the weird ones. FWIW, four years ago the majority of the "manual lightable" problem ranges were the higher priced Electrolux Wavetouch and Icon stoves and the Whirlpool-made double-oven gas ranges. A further FWIW, KitchenAid is one of Whirlpool's more upscale brands. If you want a gas stove without a convection fan in the oven, you'll have better luck looking at the company's Amana and plain Whirlpool product lines.