Ya, that's what we're kind of thinking - just bite the bullet and get new AC along with the furnace. It just seems so crazy when we use the AC so little but I would not be without it on those hot, humid summer days. That's my concern now - it's non-functional due to the problem and I want functional AC by the time we have our first hot day. Who knows when that will be though - it's snowing right now....

I used to cook at home most of the time with an occasional lunch out with a friend and breakfast out with some of the few family I get along with. Over the winter my out-eating has increased dramatically. I found a few mom & pop places with wonderful breakfasts and good prices. One of them is open for evening meals too and I occasionally go there. Plus I go to Old Country Buffet for breakfast occasionally and have started going for a dinner more often too. Get there before 3:30 pm and you get the lunch rates and that's $3 cheaper. And figuring that beverages and dessert are included it's a good value. Food varies. Certain days have more to my tastes. And it's clean and well maintained, unlike most buffets. I generally eat only one "meal" per day. Might have a snack or something at home, but seldom have more than one full meal in a day and I don't remember the last time I ate breakfast, lunch and supper! When I'm going to have a long day at work I like to get a good old fashioned breakfast and that lasts me the day with the exception of a possible snack later.

Males tend to dominate females, and if that is established early in their personalities and chemistry, it is not good for the female. They do not work it out, other than the female eventually learning to hide and be reclusive. This has been my experience with getting males and females. So I would separate them, for the female's sake, as it is not fun to be dominated by someone bigger and more aggressive by nature.

I installed a 42" wide and 24" deep Rangecraft hood with 600 cfms over a gas 36" CC rangetop with 6 burners. My criteria when choosing a hood were: -42" wide -24" deep at least -baffles instead of mesh filters -600 cfm minimum -quiet -attractive shape I cook almost every meal from scratch every day, and, as a SAHM, I cook a lot. We also entertain a lot, which to me means that I cook for everyone. I don't do potlucks in my house...ever. I saute, steam, stir fry, simmer, and boil regularly. I haven't deep fried in the new kitchen, but will tomorrow when I fry Arancini di Riso for a dinner party. Aesthetically, I love the hood. I wanted an uber expensive Modernaire barrel hood, which was way out of my budget, but was lucky enough to find my RC on their clearance page for a decent price. Functionally, it's a bit too loud for me to use every time I cook. Like TR, I try to turn it on 5-10 minutes before cooking if I'm doing something really messy or stinky. Then, I let it run for at least 5 minutes afterwards. For just a grilled cheese, for example, I don't turn it on to save my ears and my mental sanity. I'd like to investigate putting a silencer in the duct run in a couple of years if that's possible. I throw my baffles in the DW about once a week or two. It's nice to see the grease on them instead of my kitchen. It's so easy to throw the baffles in the DW, and they come out perfectly clean every time. As far as the cfms go, I had planned on a 1000cfm Kobe until I found my RC hood. The hood already had a 600cfm fan installed, and, since it was clearance, it was as-is. I gambled that the wider hood would help make up for the less than recommended cfms. I find that on high, my hood does an adequate job of sucking HOGS for almost all my high-heat cooking. I seared some steaks once last winter in a very hot pan and found a little smoke and odor escaping. BUT I do all my messiest and stinkiest high-heat cooking on the rear center burner so the HOGS have the best chance of being captured by the hood. I do occasionally wish I had more cfms, if only for the noise factor. (A hood with 1000 cfms will be quieter at 400cfms than will a hood that maxes out at 400cmfs.) An in-line silencer would help mitigate my sound issues. As mentioned above, I think the depth of your hood is an important criteria often overlooked when shopping. Mine is 24" deep, but it just barely covers the front edge of my rangetop burners. 27" deep hoods aren't common, but I often wish mine was that deep. I sometimes see a little steam escaping out the front edge of the hood when I have the hood on the low setting. All in all (after all that rambling ;) ) and knowing what I know now, I would make the same hood choice again.