Thanks Dottie! We are traveling- to our future home in Traveler's Rest SC. We recently bought 7 acres of woods, and we're going to spend a couple days planning homesites and surveying the timber. We plan to leave much of it woods, as it is all nice hardwoods, with no brush or vines. Of course, we have to let a little sun in for the garden! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's to all our online friends!

Jamie, I'm so very, very sorry. I'm just now catching up, and my heart just bleeds for your devestating loss. She is a beautiful girl. She always will be. My heartfelt wishes go out to you and your family - that you are surrounded and supported by those who love her. May the many beautiful memories Rachel leaves with you help you through this sad time.

Natalie, you've come a long way from your initial plan, making some great changes that will make your kitchen work well, but there are still some issues you need to resolve in order to have a well-functioning kitchen that you'll love for years to come. I'm going to be blunt. If you don't have room to add a 3-4" deep buffer, taller than the counter, behind your range - if space is that tight - then your plan needs to be adjusted to avoid serious safety concerns that *everyone* here has mentioned. 42" between table and back of range *is not enough*. I'm glad you haven't had any problems with this type of set-up so far but your kids are young. They will grow and get bigger and take up more space than they do now. My youngest is now 6 feet tall. He used to run circles around my island *beneath* the counter overhang. NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) guidelines state that "Countertop should extend a minimum of 9" BEHIND the cooking surface, at the same counter height as the appliance, in any instance where there is not an abutting wall/backsplash." (emphasis mine.) You are planning to have 0" of counter behind your range, which is more highly powered than your existing cooktop. Adding a 12" deep cabinet is only one option. Here are photos showing another option that takes up about 3-4". [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/colonial-farmhouse-remodel-farmhouse-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~34650) [traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by boston architect DSA Architects Eliminate the rounded curve for seating, just have the counter go straight across the top. You can see how this gives you a buffer around your range without intruding into the room that much. When someone bumps up against the range side of the island, instead of getting close to burners or pot handles, they bump this small bit of cabinetry with its counter cap instead. Bruises are way better than burns. Here are two photos showing what it would look like from the range side. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/hill-section-home-rustic-kitchen-burlington-phvw-vp~34443) [contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by other metros architect Birdseye Design There's an outlet, barely noticeable, tucked along the backsplash to the left of the bowl of fruit. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-kitchen-transitional-kitchen-denver-phvw-vp~96636) [eclectic kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by seattle general contractor Neil Kelly Company - Design & Remodeling You can see the outlets more easily in this photo. It also shows an angled island with cooktop and prep sink, somewhat similar to what you're planning. I don't think the sink as you show it is going to be very functional from the range side of the island. There's no sink frontage facing that way. You'll end up wedging yourself into the corner of the L - made even tighter because your range sticks out beyond the edge of the counter (see my next paragraph). You'll also need to lean over to use that sink. If you really want a sink next to the range and not closest to the fridge (most work flows fridge to sink to prep to range), then angle the inner corner so that you have easier access to the sink. Your aisles will actually be less than you show in all cases because you're not adding in the counter overhang (1" to 1-1/2"), the actual depth of the CD fridge (add 4" at least, not counting handles) or of your slide-in DCS 36" range, which is 27-1/2" deep according to DCS, other sites list it as 28-1/8" deep or 29-1/4" deep. Difference could be because one includes handles, knobs, the other doesn't. Either way, it's definitely not 24" deep as you show. You're also still skimping on counter overhang on the peninsula. I understand that you're trying to keep as much open space as possible but shrinking overhang from 15" to 12" will actually backfire. Chairs will need to be scooted farther away because there isn't enough leg room under the counter. You need to show accurate clearances to settle on a plan that will work IRL as well as it does on paper. If you don't, you won't discover the pinch points until it's built. Here's a suggestion to address the island concerns I mention above: I shifted the range section of the island forward 3-4" to allow for a backsplash behind that area, as per photos above. I angled the inner corner and added a 14-15" wide rectangular sink. You still have 36" of prep space to its left. Most work flows from fridge to sink to prep to range but having your sink placed in the inner corner allows you to use the faucet (get one with a pull-out sprayer) as a pot filler, which would be really handy. The downside is that I think this will still be a pinch point because the range sits deeper than the counter. You're seriously crowding your counter space around your main sink. You have 14" to the left and less than that to the right because of the upper cabinets that sit on the counter. You don't accurately depict the depth of the upper cabinets either. They will sit 12" deep, not including the doors, not the 9" you show in your drawing. I'm not sure why you've opted to move one of the peninsula seats to the mudroom sink wall. You've plenty of room for 3 to sit side by side on your 6' long peninsula (recs are for 24" for each person). As you've placed them, you'll actually have more collisions when either of the people seated at the inner corner move their chairs away from the counter. It will be even worse if both get up at the same time. btw, my math the other day was off when I was talking about your pantry/W/D closet. I saw 6' and thought 60". D'oh. So you could end up with a 15" pull out pantry cabinet to the left of your W/D (I'm allowing for 3" wiggle room for moving W/D in and out without scraping the heck out of the pantry cabinet). Will that, along with your countertop pull out cabinets give you enough pantry storage for your family of 6? That seems on the skimpy side to me but maybe you shop regularly instead of buying in bulk. Lastly, I wasn't suggesting such large slide-in doors for the whole closet, only for the W/D cabinets. They would be much shorter and lighter, and should hold up without a problem. Natalie, you actually have quite a generous space to work with but the constraints you insist upon reduce options for planning ample workspace for your new kitchen. Your largest sections of counter are not next to the main sink or the range. This is your kitchen and you admitted you and your husband are stubborn so it's likely you'll do as you wish, despite our best attempts to help. I just think that would be a shame because kitchen remodels take time and money and they are not fun to live through. I'd like to see you get a huge return for your efforts when all's said and done.

I don't do much on the actual day, but usually attend one or two Christmas Eve services. Several years ago I cut back substantially on sending cards to a fairly large number, but send to a number of family and friends, including a message to update them on my activities. I've cut back substantially on giving gifts to non-close folks also, and have increased contributions to charities instead. Support for charitable and religious causes, plus political contributions produce some income tax credits and last year they enabled me to reduce my federal tax to zero, and my provincial tax to about $700. Many of my friends are older and considering cutting back on their possessions to prepare for moving from a house to an apt. ... when one is past 80 - who needs more "stuff"? Sometimes have dinner with son or a friend. This year, hauled 7' tree from garage to son's apt (part of his Mom's estate), as his lady friend wanted to be rather festive and they erected it at her house. Son reported that they found a mouse nest or two in it - don't think that they're still there. We had substantial Christmas dinner last Sunday, as daughter was up from AZ and we helped make it, but son's lady did most of the preparation. We exchanged a few presents after the dinner, mostly utilitarian things: clothing, storage containers, candy, etc. and daughter gave me auto club membership for next year (that was what got me a free tow 120 miles from TO when my radiator spring a leak, back in July): she'd bought my original membership for me, about 4 years ago. I'd hinted for a potato peeler with the floating blade (didn't get one) ... and for something else, too ... but I can't remember what, at the moment. I realized later that I should have hinted for a kitchen timer, as well (one purpose of which would be to set when I turn the radio off when a progrqam that I don't like much comes on ... for usually there's one just after it that I like, and I forget to turn the radio back on before it's at least half over). Life does have its problems, doesn't it? ole joyful