(Duh! it occurred to me that I should just cut and paste the narrative so it doesn't get separated, so here it is. Sorry for confusion.) This is the house that was torn down in 1922 in order to build the new brick-veneer bungalow. (Also please see my other picts, as well as the thread, "1922 farm house landscaping," for history.) Much of this old house was recycled into the new house, as we have seen in the plaster wall lathing, some structural wood, and the upstairs doors. Plus, I'm still finding foundation rocks and bricks and even parts of teacups as I work my "rainbow garden" soil (which see), that I located on the slope of the lower terrace that they built up by filling with sand and all manner of things. Not much time or money for landscape gardening back then. I'm sure they had their "garden," meaning the vegetable garden, and they also would have had fruit trees and bushes (not considered part of the garden), but if they wanted beauty, these people as they sit here would have been viewing their own time period's version of my present-day view from the porch (which see). The elderly lady in the rocker on the left is my great great grandmother; the 15-year-old boy on the far right is my grandfather. His parents are the couple in the chairs, and his three older sisters are shown with their children. (The great great g'mthr and her son, my great g'fthr, would die six years later, putting the responsibility of the farm onto my grandfather.) The picture was dated by deducing who the babe-in-arms on the porch was. These folks are Germans, by the way. A bough from the black pine can be seen on the left. The tree can be seen in other pictures in this series. My father said that my grandfather reported that the tree was always pretty much that same size all the years he was growing up. Once it gets to a certain height, it just flattens out on top and grows only wider and wider. (I've planted several more black pines in recent years scattered here and there--partly for sentimentality, and partly because white pines aren't an option with my penchant for planting different varieties of gooseberries, which are known in some regions to become co-hosts for white pine blister rust.) Egyptianonion

Sorry for the delay, but this is the third time I have tried to continue my answer. I did take more photos of the countertop and cabinets, but after uploading them to my server I felt that they do not add anything to my first photos and the ones on the earlier post. I did a search of all of the Wilsonart HD Series and I have included an URL to one that says it goes well with all woods. Is the grain in your oak doors very prominent, and are they a natural color, or are they stained? I think going with a laminate that is on the light side or the dark side will not show as much 'movement'. I work at a building supply and our samples of the Wilsonart are 3" x 5". I originally selected a different pattern, but went to a local Lowes to see if they had my choice made up on a display countertop. They did, and I immediately changed my mind. If you can see some display countertops I think that will help you very much since they also have the cabinets with the countertops. I do have a beveled edge, and unless the glue would for some reason 'melt', I think you would have to take a hammer to make a chip. Make sure your fabricator is top notch to insure a great countertop. Good luck with your choice. I am very happy with mine. Jane Here is a link that might be useful: Wilsonart

Well, DH and I are just finalizing our window order for our new home and we selected the Teton over the Siteline EX (and Sierra Pacific Windows). I'll be happy to share the differences we learned between the two (sorry I can't answer waldstein's question about Siteline and Siteline EX) from a consumer standpoint - someone else will have to chime in for a technical review! FYI, the only Siteline EX samples available were handmade and not exactly "ready" to show as sales samples because they were a bit crude. This was one of the reasons we decided to go with the Teton, because we didn't want to be the guinea pigs for the Siteline EX. I'm sure when they come out with the production samples, more people will have confidence if they see a true sample of the finished product. One difference we noticed was the exterior; the Teton window is recessed and the Siteline is flush (similar to the Custom/Pozzi window). I don't think either one is "better" but it's more a matter of personal preference and what fits your style home. We're doing mediterranean, so recessed is better for us. The crank handle (we're doing casements) on the Siteline EX was a folding handle, vs. the Teton's regular stationary handle. We liked the folding better, but luckily you are able to order the Teton with the folding handle as a very inexpensive option. The interior wood trim on the Teton is larger and more detailed than the Siteline EX, which we like better (these are our first wood windows, so more visible wood is better for us!) However, the deciding factor for us is that we really liked one of the Custom/Pozzi colors (Redwood) and we found out that Jeld-Wen would do a special run of the Teton in that color, but not the Siteline EX. For a brief moment, we thought about going with the Custom/Pozzi just because the color was pretty important to us, but we're glad it worked out this way (and so is our budget!) Also, by getting the Custom/Pozzi color, we're also getting the Kynar 500 resin system, which has a 20-year finish warranty. One more thing, the price difference was very, very insignificant...the Siteline EX came in at about 5% less than the Teton. Here is a link that might be useful: Our Home Building Blog

Wood conditioning Wood apply to many different methods and types conditioners, many that contain water. I wood call what you describe as water popping. I almost always use oil based penetrating or wiping stains and never felt the need to condition the wood. I do highly recommend trying on sample piece if the same wood preferably from the manufacturer. one could look into some woodworking forums, they have all kinds of methods to condition and stain.