Hi Yana, Welcome to our Bromeliad Forum. It's always great to see new members joining our group of brom lovers and it's even better when the new member is from a country which we don't have many members from. The only other member from Belgium I can bring to mind is gardenlover25, so chalk up another one for Belgium. I can't name your vriesea but it is similar to many of the unnamed mass produced hybrids going around the department stores here in Australia and could very likely have come into our country in flasks from one of the big nurseries in Belgium or Holland. If you get onto the FCBS web site and look through the Photo Index of vriesea hybrids, you may just track down the name. All the best, Nev.

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@pollyanna - yup that's the place. Good luck with your project! @NewSouthernBelle - the island is huge. 8' long and 6'9" wide. The short straight side is just a little under 4', and the other side is the curved one. The shape is pretty cool, and the whole island isn't quite squared up with the rest of the kitchen - rotated about 20 degrees or so, which also helps make it look interesting. The countertop is supported on three legs and a pretty thick plywood top. The extra thickness is great - because of that, the granite is stacked up triple thick on the island which makes the countertop look really beefy. The three legs are just a little too close to the edge of the counter, though - it's possible to bang your knees depending on where you're sitting. Unfortunately, all that stone is heavy, so fixing that doesn't seem really practical. Here's a link to a layout diagram that will hopefully help you visualize it:

@Mentha, Golden is a smart breed, Australian Shepherd is also a smart breed. 2 smart breeds combined together... Bet Ketulah is very smart and eager to pleased... :) I don't know how to train for S&C, I only know how to train for dog showing, as I am owner-handler in the show ring. We are always try to find "button" in a dog. What it means by that is, what really excite the dog so they will do anything for that. It can be treats, food, toys, anything! When we find that, then training will be very easy. :)