foodonastump- The Sun Cloud is not just a "space heater", it's an infrared, thermostatically controlled heater that performs more like a furnace than a warm-your-toes-under-your-desk space heater. We've owned nearly every style of "space heater" there is to compare it to. It's designed to warm much larger spaces (1,000 sq. ft.) more efficiently than other space heaters. It's a more comfortable heat and it's the same temperature all around the rooms. No hot or cold spots. Doesn't rob the humidity out of the air. We only heat the main area of our home (living room, dining room, kitchen, guest bathroom - close the 3 bedrooms and master bath off - we don't heat the full basement - 1,372 sq. foot house) and maintain a cool 62-67 degrees F. We've used a Sun Cloud as our main source of heat in two different homes and have gotten the same results over an 8-year period. The only time we run our whole house furnace is during extreme cold (last winter we got down to -15 - but that's not normal), and even then we turn the furnace to a very cold temperature so it only comes on infrequently (usually at night). Passive solar heat helps during the day, and NO windows on the north side of the house. I do a lot of dehydrating in the winter, so the residual heat from it also helps. We keep the furnace FAN going constantly, and that distributes residual heat to all the rooms, so the unheated bedrooms don't usually get below 57-degrees F. The basement also stays in the mid-50's. Our wintertime utility bills are less than half what our neighbor's are, in homes of similar size with two adults in the house hold. Our home is 5-years old and very energy efficient. We also add a layer of bubble wrap to our windows for additional insulation (see link below), and the doors (2) are covered floor-to-ceiling with insulated drapes. We gave Sun Cloud Heaters to our two adult children and they get the same energy-savings we do. We purchased ours locally and they also service the heaters, although we've never needed any. We have replaced one bulb. I know 8 families who use the Sun Cloud as their primary source for heat. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Build-it-Solar - Bubble Wrap Window Insulation

Now you're making me want a 28 qt, too! I haven't been canning, but plan to this year. I made salsa last year and froze it. It took up too much room in the freezer, and it could've made good Christmas gifts in cute little jars with bows...Not so good frozen in wimpy plastic containers! I was thinking my wish list might be for the 10 qt brazier, and the 12 and 16 qt stock pots, because they're all 12" in diameter, so can share lids. But maybe bigger diameter would be better for canning? Also, the 12 qt is what I need for family cooking, but when having other families over or doing bigger events, like I hope to in the future, I suppose a giant one could come in handy...And I always hoped to make dbl batches and have some to freeze, but with the 8 qt can only make enough for a meal with maybe a bit left over for lunches. I hope, ChefKev, that when I said I was thinking how I needed more than 1 pot, that I wasn't sounding greedy and wanting your friend to sell more than 1 to me at cost. I was just saying that even if I got one now from Katom.com, that another could be helpful, too.

I appreciate everyone's continued help in this. I think the discussion is very helpful. Obviously, the insta-hot is not life or death and if I can't realistically make it work for pasta, I can't. (I'm sure it will still be fabulous for the tons of oatmeal that my kiddos go through, etc.) Mooring Girl did nail my situation, though. I work outside the home part-time and am now pregnant with my 4th child. I try to plan my meals, but there are many times when I pull a jar of sauce out of the pantry or some of my homemade sauce out of the freezer and need to make it into a meal almost instantly. Those extra minutes are precious to me (and to those very hungry little kids). I'm the person you probably wonder about who buys the pre-chopped onions and mushrooms, bagged lettuce, etc. My kids are setting the table as I'm putting everything together(pretty good for a 5 and 3 year old!). For me, all these little shortcuts help me get a relatively nutritious meal on the table faster, and time is precious in our household. I'm always looking for something to shorten the time out of prep work. I may end up getting an electric kettle and saving the dilemna altogether-- thanks for the rec :)!

absolutely, John Innes is a great base but on its own, it gets a bit claggy and loses structure on its own so if you can find Levington's 'Jack's Magic' or any of the New Horizon composts, or grit or perlite, it will help with aeration and drainage. Up to a quarter of the JI can be replaced with a compost mix (or leafmould) or any of the mineral amendments (clay hydroleca, chick flint, horticultural grit, perlite, vermiculte et al). I would also use a good proportion of garden soil which, as well as equalising (to some extent) the difference between pot and garden soil, it also has the added advantage of being teeming with microlife (unlike bagged mixes which are sterile and inert). If you can scrape some soil from beneath a tree, there will be lots of arbuscular mycchorhizae which attaches to the root system, increasing surface area and uptake efficiency. Finally, I like the organic Osmo slow-release fertilisers (they do a good rose one) which you should find online (not many garden centres stock it). I get mine from Fargro or LBS horticultural supplies. A spring topdressing lasts all season.