Toad, I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you need a little attitude correction here. You do not come onto an internet forum where participants are sharing their knowledge and experience with you for free, and yell at them for not telling you what you want to hear. You also do not denigrate them by telling them they live in the wrong area, nor by waving your "professional" in their faces. Nor can you by demand conjure up a person with the right opinion located exactly where you want them. For what it's worth, you have heard from some very accomplished professionals above, and also from some knowledgeable do-it-yourselfers, as you might have known had you researched the forum a bit before posting. Furthermore, some professionals that you find on the ground are idiots, or brown-nosers who will tell you anything you want to hear so you'll hire them. If you want people to help you on the internet, then politely answer the questions you're asked, and try to open your mind to the answers. Also, don't forget to say thank you, even if the advice isn't quite what you expected. Participants come here to have fun, and being insulted and talking to someone who has a brick wall for a brain is no fun at all. So such posts are usually left to sink without further responses down the forum into oblivion... which is what was starting to happen to your thread before you bumped it up again this morning. Now, I'll try one more time to frame IB's question so that you'll understand its importance: Is it really necessary to raise this patio and if so why? The patio may in the end be nice and practical, but if it is raised it will look like a sore thumb and if surrounded by concrete blocks it will be butt-ugly, no matter where you live or what you plant around it. KarinL

Too long!!! It seemed as though things came out of the woodwork. I would start packing ASAP. There is always the chance that the schedule will have to be modified and kitchen demo could come sooner than expected. About 2 weeks prior to having to demo the kitchen I went through and packed up what I didn't think I would need (food and all other kitchen items). MY DH thought I was packing too early. There is no such thing as packing too early. This allowed me to use and live with that I thought I would need and adjust what I packed if I had to. I probably didn't pack enough, but with 2 young kids I didn't want to be stuck without. I did pack all dishes and glasses and we are using plastic and paper. I am washing the plastic and recycling as much as I can. I didn't want to use "real" dishes and glasses b/c my temporary kitchen is in the basement and nothing will survive if it is dropped on the cement floor. I also have young children and wanted to eliminate as much breakage as possible. Don't forget under the sink (in my kitchen it was a black hole). I can't believe how much was back there. And most of that will have to be packed away (kept on-site in a plastic container), unless you are lucky enough to have a dishwasher in your temporary kitchen. I suggest you go to your temporary kitchen location and set up as much as possible before hand. In my case, I have placed food items in the playroom and my sink, range (the construction crew ran a dedicated electrical line so I could move the range to the basement) and fridge is in the unfinished part of the basement/laundry room. I have a large, deep 2-basin utility tub. I purchased 4 plastic tubs (using two as bases for the remaining two where I wash in one and place cleaned dishes in the other). I also have a drying rack with telescopic ends that also fits over the rinsing part of the utility sink for dishes to dry. I had my DH place a drafting table across from the sink to use as a work surface. He will be setting up another for me today. You will also need somewhere to store all your things. Since I have young children, it is a bit more of a challenge b/c they see the wooden spoon, colander, and the like as things to play with (I found a whisk in my bed). The items we are not using have been packed in moving boxes and we rented two storage containers and put them in there. They delivered the storage containers to the house, we packed them and they were removed to a climate-controlled facility. We also had to empty our master bedroom and bathroom, dining room,TV room and breakfast room. We couldn't put it in the basement, since the construction crew needs access to the basement to run pipes for the new kitchen and bath, and to deal with the furnace and the HVAC issues. We used these containers when we put our last house on the market to de-personalize the house and it worked great. What didn't I anticipate??? We are renovating above the unfinished basement/laundry room and we get dust and pieces of who-knows-what coming down through the exposed sub-flooring above. I have moved my work/prep area as far from where renovations are taking place above. I also keep everything covered. Also bear in mind how many things you plug into which outlets. Between the construction needs upstairs and the electrical needs in my temporary kitchen I have had circuit breakers trip. If you can, try to figure out which electrical socket is on which circuit breaker and don't overload it with too many appliances. Our basement is much cooler than the rest of the house so my DH went to Sears to purchase a ceramic heater (this led to the first circuit breaker tripping). Now I only have one freezer (I used to have an old fridge, but it was sent to the dump to make room for the fridge brought down form the kitchen) and this has had more of an impact than I would have thought. Though it is a rather nippy 30 degrees outside so I guess I could just put some things outside...... Other Issues: Do you have internet service and where is your router? We use wireless, however my router used to be connected to a wall that no longer exists. I had to have it relocated so I could continue to have internet service during renovation (the thought of being cut-off from GW was too much to bear...there also was that little issue of being able to pay bills). If it is located near where renovation is occurring, during construction the electrical to that router could have to be turned off and you will lose internet service. Make sure your fridge is not on the same circuit breaker as any of the kitchen electrical sockets. If they need to turn off the electrical you will end up with ice cream soup. I don't know what type of fridge you have but you might want to check on the electrical requirements just to be safe. Will you have adequate lighting in your temporary kitchen? I am sure there is more. All I can say is that so far this experience will make me appreciate my new kitchen even more. I am beginning to fantasize about the first meal I will cook in my new kitchen.... Good luck!

We just got back from 10 days in France. I carry a backpack, totally packed that weighs between 15-18 lbs. I think mine actually weighs less than my DH's pack! LOL My backpack isn't standard. It is GoLite. It weighs practically nothing. I use the feather weight stuff sacks from REI to sort my belongings. I roll my clothes. I take clothes that are a blend of cotton with a touch of spandex for stretch and wrinkle-resistance. They also dry faster. Most of my clothes are from Chico's, Soma and REI. I don't purchase the "travel clothes", just the ones with the right fabric blend. I get the Vanity Fair microfiber undies and they dry quickly, roll up into a tiny size, so you can take a sufficient supply. I do like the Soma traveler's bras without the underwire. Roll up small and wash/dry quickly. Here's what I took to France for temps in the mid 60s & 70s and I could have carried less. I washed out my jeans a couple of times and hung them on the drying rack outside at the apartment (dried in one day while we were out and about). All of the black items were matching coodinates. 2 pairs of Chico platinum jeans (light and dark indigo) 2 pairs of black slacks 1 pair of Gramicci quick-dry pants (we went hiking) 1 black skirt PJs 1 pair of grey yoga pants for hanging out at the apartment 1 long sleeve blue top 1 short sleeve hiking T 1 3/4 sleeve turquoise top 1 3/4 sleeve lime green top 1 long sleeve black top 1 short sleeve black T 1 sleeveless black tunic with 2/4 sleeve tie front jacket 1 3/4 sleeve floral top 1 b&w lightweight checked jacket 1 multicolor knit jacket (went with all tops except the floral) 1 Royal Robbins lightweight black rain jacket 1 pair of tan NB Country Walkers for hiking (wore those on the plane as they weighed the most) 1 pair of black Keen strap mules 1 pair of TravelSox (for the plane) 3 pairs of Coolmax casual socks 2 pairs of Coolmax tan hiking socks 5 sets of lingerie 1 pack towel (for hiking/beach) 1 Sudoku book 1 novel Bose headphones (DH had the iPod for music with a shared connector) 2 books on France 2 roadmaps Toiletries: toothbrush Listerine strips (bought mouthwash in France) travel toothpaste travel size floss Neutrogena tinted moisturizer with SPF 20 (in lieu of foundation and moisturizer) Sample size of Lancome mascara from dept store Lipstick Travel size bottles filled with shampoo and condition Travel size bottle filled with facial cleanser bought lotion in France I also carried a small Eagle Creek black purse, my Canon Elph camera with charger and extra memory cards. Everything I just mentioned is in this photo! We were on our way from our hotel in Nice to the train station to pick up our rental car. I walked about 2 miles with no problems. Easy to get through airports and customs...no checked bags to wait on; no lost luggage. Totally portable. I'm 54, not some young thing! LOL

Thanks so much! I'm a bit confused..your directions say to place the pieces on a greased cookie sheet-but you used a pie plate. ?? OR do you mean to arrange them in the pie plate & place the pie plate onn the cookie sheet? If so-why would you need to grease the cookie sheet? I want to make this on Xmas morning for my family. I think I may have used too much oil that one time I made it. Can't wait to do this recipe!