t-bird: You don't get into it. It is designed to be taken down later after the plants get growing. If you wanted to get into it you can pull the row cover out on the end and crawl in. I had to do that to fix a hole I missed in the drip tape. Wasn't fun, but very doable. Here is what it looked like before we got all the bows in. I will leave the cover on until the weather evens out. I am also going to try some broccoli and cauliflower in a low tunnel. Later this spring, I am also going to plant some cucumbers, watermelons and cantaloupe in several low tunnels, if I don't run out of row cover first. Jay

I had a little surprise today - I was using the now 21 yr old Lawn Boy 10684 with Tecumseh 195 and it suddenly started acting like it was running out of gas. I had just finished yesterday washing it, changing oil, changing blade and air filter and cleaning/greasing the rear drive. I used it for an hour before it started sputtering, and there was gas in it. So, I did the old float bowl orifice bolt cleaning but it was perfectly clean - no carbon, no discoloration, just a beautiful brass bolt that looked new. I went to my special/small tools drawer and found the wire tie that had been in there for many years and rodded out the tiny orifice even though it seemed to be clean. I put it back together and sure enough, it immediately started and ran great. I've been running Premium gas with Startron in it for years but perhaps a tiny piece of something managed to get into the small orifice. BTW, when you go to do this orifice cleaning, stand the mower up on its wheels just like you're going to dump the oil. Fuel in the float bowl runs back to the tank. Typically when you remove the bolt, the float bowl stays put - just watch out for the washer under the orifice bolt head.

Update: After running for 8 days w/o the condenser fan, I hear it no more, so I think the compressor finally locked up. It was sounding really ragged near the end, kinda like a small engine running with no oil. Whereas I would never intentionally destroy anyone else's property, having that old earsore of an air conditioner finally bite the dust through someone else's negligence isn't going to make me shed any tears. In any case, there was a huge yellowjacket's nest inside that electrical disconnect box, and I wasn't going anywhere near it, I'm allergic to wasps. Dave

Hi Rhome, You're right I'm not worried about resale but I would still like it to be nicely designed. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to spend all this money and then have something stick out like an obvious amateurish move, if there's another better way to design it that will still function and look nice. And I totally take your point re. the pot handle clearances and nowhere to rest a spoon, if the stove is against a side wall. That would have been a rookie move so thanks for the feedback -- you saved me from designing the antithesis of elegance. :-) I guess it's the 48" stove for us then. Not sure why I don't totally love that yet but maybe I just need to find a more understated hood than what's in the mockup, to tone down the look a bit... I think the ovens will be okay. I just tried unloading a pretend turkey while standing behind my dishwasher and that worked well anyway ... there's room enough, but I do wish real-life turkeys were so light, lol! You asked about dish storage. That is somewhat problematic. I'll store dishes, mugs, and most glasses in the 39" upper to the left of the pantry on the fridge wall. It's a fair haul from the dishwasher but I'm used to it now as it's the same in the builder design we've been living with for a year. It has its pluses too though: close to seating for setting the table, and will be at the beverage and snack area so my husband won't need to get into my space when he's making a snack or having a drink. At least I'll have my pots and pans and cooking utensils close to the cleanup zone, so maybe the walking will somewhat even out. :) You also mentioned lack of zone separation as a potential issue. I'm curious about that since I've been reading about zones on gardenweb with much interest over the past months. I confess I thought I'd done okay with it in this layout though (other than the dish storage thing). I figured that since the cleanup zone (left sink and left side of island) was separate from the prep zone (right sink and right side of island), across from the cooking zone (back wall with range and pot/pan/cooking utensil storage), with a separate food storage zone (fridge and flanking pantries), and separate beverage and snacking zone (coffee, sink, bread drawer, snack making surface), that I was home free. Wrong? I know I have no right to ask for more of your help -- you've been so helpful already! -- but if you could, can you suggest which zones I'm missing and are there tweaks or more serious changes I should consider to make the flow better? Thanks you so much again; I really appreciate it! And Merry Christmas to you and yours! :-)